V

DECLINED

Lauren, Ava, Deandre, Jett, and Kitsie sat quietly trying to avoid each other’s eyes. Deandre shot a glance at Kitsie before adjusting himself in his seat. He sat with his back to her, showing his resentment for the events from the night before.

“I said I was sorry,” said Kitsie. “I don’t even remember us doing anything. Last night is a blur.”

“Yeah, I was three sheets to the wind last night,” said Jett. “I don’t remember anything either.”

“All I remember is a vegetable coming toward my asshole,” said Deandre with his arms crossed. “That’s enough for me.”

Lauren shook her head and placed her arms on the table. Her eyes searched over the group until they rested on Daniel. Everyone else was dressed, but he was still shirtless. His jeans drooped down and revealed his v-line muscle leading down to the elastic of his underwear. Lauren took a deep breath. Her eyes traveled up his body and rested on his face. He wiped a bit of coffee from his mouth, a few drops falling onto his chest. He took his strong hand and slowly wiped the drops away leaving a sheen of wetness across his pecks. Lauren bit her lip in admiration of the way he glistened in the morning sunlight peeking in through the kitchen window. Something within her chest fluttered, breaking her gaze from him. She placed a hand over her bosom and felt a small, unknown thumping against her hand. The thumping dissipated within seconds, giving her little time to question it, when Rico sat down next to her and belched in her face. She waved a hand in front of her nose. “Jesus, Rico, that’s disgusting,” she said.

“Ugh,” groaned Rico. His hair was a mess and he had vomit all down the front of his clothes.

“Is all that from you?” asked Ava pointing to the throw up.

Rico looked down. “I thought I smelled something funky.” He took off his shirt. “This is from Scotty.”

“Where is Scotty anyway? We haven’t seen him.” asked Ava.

“He’s passed out in the shower.”

“AAAHHHH!” yelled Scotty from the bathroom. “What happened to my face?!”

“He’s not anymore,” said Ava. “Sounds like he just noticed Deandre’s artwork.”

The sound of running footsteps grew louder as Scotty neared the kitchen. “Who did this?!” he screamed, his face red with anger. He pointed to the crudely drawn genitals on his face. Deandre looked around the room and acted like it wasn’t him.

Daniel got out a washcloth and ran it under hot water before handing it to Scotty. “Here, try to wash it off.”

Scotty ripped the cloth from Daniel’s hands and scrubbed his face. Rico let out a large burp and scrunched his face at the smell it left. “Ugh, what is wrong with me?” he asked, stumbling to the table.

Daniel took a sip of coffee. “Welcome to a world of consequences,” he said, setting his mug on the counter. “You can’t drink that much without getting a hangover.”

“Is this what a hangover is like? It sucks balls,” said Rico. He put his head on the table. “How was everyone else’s night?”

No one said a word. Deandre crossed his arms again and Kitsie looked down at her lap. Jett just sat in his chair and tried to avoid eye contact.

“Jeez, what crawled up your asses?” asked Rico when he didn’t get an answer.

Deandre stood up from his chair. “What’s that supposed to mean, mother fucker?”

Rico lifted his head. Kitsie and Jett gave Deandre evil looks.

“I mean...it was alright,” said Deandre. He quickly sat back down in his chair.

“It’s not coming off!” yelled Scotty as he furiously scrubbed his face. He looked at his reflection in a metal toaster on the counter. Rico couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not funny!” screamed Scotty as he scrubbed harder.

“Don’t rub those things too hard,” said Rico. “You don’t want more of a mess on your face.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” said Scotty with sarcasm.

Rico smiled and sat up in his chair. His stomach growled. “Dan, do you have anything to eat in this dump?” he asked, patting his stomach. “I’m assuming that noise means the tank is empty.”

“I don’t keep much, but we can go out to eat if you’re hungry.” Daniel closed his eyes, signaling his regret for offering to take them out.

“Sounds great!” said Rico.

Daniel sighed. “C’mon. You can borrow one of my shirts”

Later at the restaurant...

“Man, this is so good!” said Ava, stuffing her face with bacon. “I’ve never had anything like this before!”

“Yeah, I don’t remember chow ever being like this back home,” said Jett with his mouth full.

Daniel watched the group scarf down their food. He had taken them to a small pancake house for breakfast. He wasn’t fond of the food, but it was cheap.

“Wow, you guys were really hungry, weren’t you?” asked The Waitress when she brought the check. Daniel reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card. He gave it to her and looked back at the group. They were leaning back in their chairs with empty plates in front of them.

“Dan my man, that was an awesome meal,” said Rico. Lauren looked up at Daniel and smiled in agreement.

Daniel smiled back at her. “I’m glad you liked it,” he said while he watched her take a small sip of milk. It left a milk mustache which she didn’t realize. She set her glass on the table and cocked her head in confusion when Daniel let out a small chuckle. He pointed to her lip. “I think you have a little something there.”

Lauren lifted a spoon to use it as a mirror. She covered her mouth with her hand. Daniel could tell she was smiling due to the creases forming around her eyes. He handed her a napkin.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice muffled from covering her mouth.

Daniel nodded in place of saying “your welcome” and didn’t notice The Waitress had walked back to the table.

“Your card was declined,” she said, holding his poor excuse for a credit card. Daniel grew stiff and his eyes widened.

“Dude, give her another credit card,” said Rico.

“I don’t have another one and I don’t have enough cash to cover the check,” said Daniel leaning closer so the waitress couldn’t hear.

“Shit. Now what do we do?” asked Rico. He and Daniel looked at each other for a moment before exchanging looks with the others.

“Well, how are you going to pay for this?” asked The Waitress.

Daniel slowly stood up from his chair. “Uhm.”

Without thinking he bolted for the exit. Rico and the rest did the same. They jumped over the table knocking their plates to the floor as they ran for the door.

“Go! Go! Go!” yelled Daniel as they raced to his car.

Rico zoomed past him and slid across the hood of the car. In doing so, he scratched the paint and left a huge dent in the hood. Daniel gasped and ran up to assess the damage.

“What the hell did you do?!” he screamed as the rest scrambled into the car.

“I took a short cut,” said Rico. He got into the front seat and let Kitsie climb in.

“A short cut?!” yelled Daniel. “Do you know how long it took me to fix up this car?”

“Dude, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Look at what you did to my car!” yelled Daniel.

Rico looked at him. “Do you really want to talk about this now?” he asked as the Manager from the restaurant ran out into the parking lot.

Daniel let out a frustrated groan and quickly got in the driver’s seat before peeling down the road.

Once he was a safe distance from the restaurant he pulled over and turned the car off. He sat quietly in the driver’s seat gripping the steering wheel, his grip so tight it turned his knuckles white. His breaths were deep and heavy as he kept a fierce stare at the damage to his car.

“Dude, it’s okay. It’s just a car,” said Rico. “I’m sure you can fix it.”

Daniel slowly removed his hands from the steering wheel. “Kitsie, move out of the way,” he said calmly. “I don’t want you to get hurt when I RIP RICOS’ HEAD OFF!”

Daniel took off his seat belt and lunged out of his seat toward Rico. Lauren crawled to the front of the car. She placed her hand on Daniel’s chest and lightly pushed him away. “Calm down,” she told him.

The touch of her hand cast a spell over his anger. He stopped, relaxed his posture, and looked into her eyes.

“We’re sorry about your car. He didn’t know any better,” she said softly.

Daniel broke his gaze from her and placed his hands on the steering wheel. He let out a long breath and, without a word, proceeded to drive home.