Confidence in youI stopped at the patio and choreographed the rest of my evening handily, directing Caleb to go and fetch that perfect whiskey and I would meet him back here with my best glasses and the giant ice cubes that we only use for these occasions. He was surprised but refused to show it to give anyone the satisfaction as a witness. He nodded and strode toward the boathouse quickly while I went inside in search of a slip dress and a warmer wrap. When I returned with a tray with cheese and bread and fruit on it with the glasses prepped and ready he was already there, having dragged both of the big chairs right to the edge of the grass overlooking the cliff.
Is confidence in me
Is confidence in high speed
He smiled when he saw the food. You're either very thoughtful or completely ravenous.
Both, of course. Always.
He grins and pours our drinks. An inch for me and slightly less for himself. He shouldn't be drinking with all the pills he takes for his heart and he shouldn't be getting me drunk either. But we are teenagers and we break all the rules whether they are designed for us or not.
I hold up my glass in a toast.
Here's to that pool being the only thing saving my sanity these days. It was flip and insincere. We all know I have no sanity at all. But he grins and says he is still waiting for that midnight swim for two.
I remind him he'll be waiting a while unless he wants to have it with PJ. I'm narcoleptic. I'm rarely awake after eleven and if I am I'm sick to my stomach because of it. If I ever got a whole night's sleep I would be better but these days I awaken if someone else dreams and am bolt upright if I hear a toilet flush five neighborhoods away or if Dalton pets the cat. Dalton sleeps on a different floor.
All that besides being woken up constantly by Loch or Ben or both and then they argue about letting me get some sleep, for fucks sake.
Yeah. None of that circus leaves much room for being up late on purpose.
He changes the subject. He wants to know what Sam is up to these days. He's digging for information casually, offhand. He's being sneaky but it's late enough and I don't know why. I put my feet up on his knees to distract him and it works. He starts stroking my leg absently and sits back with some cheese and his glass and stares out to sea.
Sam is helping Ben with me, I tell him.
Interesting turn of phrase.
Well, it's not like Ben has the issues, is it?
Oh, Ben has issues. He's the one who took off like he was on fire.
I gaze at Caleb with open hostility. He was, though.
Touché. I don't know how he manages, up against Lochlan.
You admit Loch is a force to be reckoned with.
No. Loch's a vagrant, for fucks sakes. I meant his hold over you.
Same thing.
No, it isn't.
Well, it's getting late. I crunch a cracker into my face and stand up, mainlining the whiskey like it's water and throwing the ice cube out onto the grass. Thanks for the company and the drink.
Why don't you take a break from the drama for the rest of the evening and come stay with me.
Because mine is the bed I made and it's where I must lie.
Or you could shut it the fuck down already and go where you'll be cherished.
That's the only thing I've never had to seek out. I laugh. The heat is creeping into my cheeks, across my chest. I'm drunk because this probably wasn't whiskey after all. Goodnight, Diabhal. Sweet dreams. I blow him a kiss and by the time I drunkenly spin around and hit the ground Loch is there to catch me.