When I wake from my nap it's almost lunchtime. I decide to head back to my place and fix myself something to eat while I study. Tomorrow's my last class for the term and the only one with a final exam. Once that's done, I'm free for over two weeks, except for the never-ending work on my thesis.
I think I'll talk to Master this weekend about going home while I'm on break. I miss New Orleans and I miss my parents. Skyping with them last weekend made me worry a little about my dad; he looked so tired. A trip back will give me the chance to make sure he and mom are taking care of themselves. I'll start checking airfares after I finish my test.
Several of us in the cohort decide to go for celebratory drinks after our exam. It's mainly the group that went to Snoqualmie last month, with the unfortunate addition of Bella. While we wait in the hallway for everyone to finish we decide to go to Agua Verde Café. Bella complains about Mexican food giving her gas but she's overruled. For a moment I hope she'll bow out but she whiningly goes along.
Erika and I drive in my Audi; this ensures that I won't drink too much, plus I get to watch drunk Erika – she's fun! It's mid-afternoon so it's too early for happy hour but that gives us time to go kayaking before any of us get too full or wasted. Agua Verde has a paddle club where you can rent kayaks (single or double) or paddleboards by the hour. Erika and I decide to split the cost of a double for two hours. After getting some snacks to tide us over until we get back and have a full meal, we paddle over to Gas Works Park to enjoy the view of the Seattle skyline. Bob and Joan are in another kayak, leaving Vera stuck with Bella. I can hear Bella's whining all the way from the other side of Bob's kayak. In spite of that, we're having a fun time and a good workout.
Although the scenery is way different, I'm reminded of the times I've gone out on the bayou with Tonty Juju in her little pirogue. A wave of homesickness comes over me and now I'm more determined than ever to make a trip back home. I miss New Orleans and I miss my family.
We get back in under the two hour limit and now it's time for happy hour. We get our tables, order drinks, and study the menu; after much back and forth, we decide on several appetizers that we'll share. That taken care of, we all sit back and relax. The conversation naturally turns to analysis of the final exam. Other topics include who's taking what courses over the summer and everyone's progress on his or her thesis.
I'm enjoying everyone's company, even Bella's, and a sense of contentment envelops me. I look around and at one of the tables further away I notice a man sitting alone who seems to be watching me. He's wearing a hat, sunglasses, cargo shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt; it takes me a while but I finally recognize Luke. Holy shit! Has he been sitting there since we got here? Obviously he wasn't out on the water with us and now I'm wondering if that violated the safety clause of my contract. Oh well, if it did then there's nothing I can do about it now; I'll just have to face the consequences, if there are any, when I see Master this weekend.
Our food arrives and everyone orders a second round of drinks. This is where I switch to club soda but I'm surprised to see Bob line up a couple of tequila shots; I mean, he did drive here with Joan. Then I remember that Joan's apartment is nearby, so maybe he'll be crashing with her if he gets shitfaced. I've been thinking something was developing between those two.
Erika's already started her third margarita and it shows. She dares Bob to do tequila suicides and the moron actually takes her up on it! Shouts of "Bob! Bob! Bob!" go up from our table as he lays out the lime wedges and lines of salt. I almost can't watch as he snorts the salt or squirts the lime in his eye but he's apparently done this before since he starts laughing like a loon when Joan slaps him. Either that or he's already hammered.
The after-work crowd is starting to fill the place; it's getting noisy and crowded. Vera and Bella decide to go sniffing; I pity the poor guys they lock onto – they won't know what hit them. Erika decides to try tequila suicides herself but she only manages to blow salt all over the table and squirt lime juice all over her face. She finds this hysterical and the rest of us can't help but laugh, especially Bob who's still snorting after doing his shots. Shit, if Bob goes down, who's going to help me pour Erika into my car so I can take her home?
Then I remember that Luke's here. If push comes to shove I can always ask him for help, although I'd rather not. Even in her inebriated state Erika would remember him and while she knows not to delve too much into my personal life, I'd rather keep the two of them separate. I should probably try to sober up Bob so I don't have to rely on Luke.
Erika announces that she needs to go to the rest room and in the time-honored tradition of women everywhere, we go together. I'm so hoping she's not going to barf but thank fuck, she only has to pee and fix her makeup. I may as well pee too since if we stay any longer there's bound to be a line later on.
On the way back to our table I check to see if Luke's still hanging around. Shit! Not only is he still here but Bella's glommed onto him. Shit! Fuck! Damn! I'm shocked by the intensity of my reaction. I'm sure it mostly has to do with my deep dislike of her but still, it's unsettling.
Erika's already back at our table so I shake myself back to reality and rejoin the others. Vera's back as well; she says she just needed a break but I suspect she got tired of Bella dominating their sniffing expedition. Bob's looking a little queasy and he's started slurring his words. Joan hasn't been drinking as much and she clearly looks worried about him.
Erika thinks maybe Bob will sober up if she can get him to twerk so she starts twerking to get him to join her. Bob gets up and tries but only manages to trip on his own feet, knocking over one of the chairs, and falling on his ass. Bella picks this time to drag Luke to our table.
"Hey, everybody, this here's Luke!" she announces in a loud, drunken bray.
"Hi, Luke!" we all say together, sounding like a Greek chorus.
"Luke, I want you to meet the gang," Bella continues, "this is Bob and Vera and Joan and Erika and Severine but we just call her Teebs or Teebie." Luke's eyebrow goes up when he hears this. I'm doing my best to pretend like I don't know him. Could this afternoon turn into any more of a clusterfuck?
"Luke, can you help me get Bob on his feet?" Joan pleads. Bob's still sitting on the ground with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Sure thing," Luke answers and grabs Bob by the bicep and lifts him onto a chair.
"Thanks, Luke!" Bob yells at him and then promptly proceeds to do a face plant on the table, right in the guacamole. Fuck! Well, at least Erika's stopped twerking but now she's starting to look queasy. She looks up at me with puppy dog eyes and begs, "Take me home, Teebie, please? I don't feel so good." Fuck, that's all I need now – Erika barfing in my car. Oh, well, if she does, she does, it can't be helped. I'm not going to leave her here.
"Okay, E, come on, let's go. Can you walk?" She nods but then her eyes roll back in her head and she also does a face plant on the table but at least she misses the guacamole. Shit! What do I do now?
As if answering my unspoken questions, Luke calls over, "Teebie?" and I swear he's got a smirk in his voice. "I'm going to help Joan get Bob in his car so she can drive him home. Then I'll come back and help you with Erika, okay?"
"Fine, thank you," I tell him as I sit down to wait. Vera decides to ride home with Bob and Joan in case Joan needs help at Bob's place. Bella's pouting now since all attention has been diverted from her.
After a very long while, Luke returns. We try to coax Erika awake but it's no use so Luke picks her up and carries her to my car. Bella follows us, grumbling the whole time. She grumbles even more when Luke informs us all that he'll follow me to Erika's apartment in case I need help getting her up the stairs.
Giving me the dirtiest of looks, she gets in her car, slams the door, and peels rubber as she leaves the parking lot. Well, fuck her! Stupid bitch.
We make it to Erika's place and Luke has to carry her up the stairs. He lays her down on the living room couch and I make sure she's comfortable, covering her with an afghan. She has a roommate so I'm not worried about leaving her alone; he'll see her lying here when he gets home. I get a bottle of water from the fridge and place it on the cocktail table so she'll have it handy when she wakes.
Since I don't have a key, I can't lock the deadbolt but I make sure the thumblock in the handle works. It does, so Luke and I head back to our cars. We stop at my car door and I turn to him, "Thank you for helping. My friends usually aren't this crazy."
"Yeah, well, tequila suicides will do that to anyone. I wouldn't want to be them in the morning."
I laugh. "Me neither. Will you be following me home?
"Just to your parking lot."
"Okay. Thanks again, Luke."
"No problem, Teebs," he replies and this time it's definitely with a smirk. I just roll my eyes and get in the car. It's a short, uneventful drive back to my place and once I've parked my car, he drives past me and toots the horn. I wave back at him as I get out. For a moment, I think about inviting him up for some coffee but my second thought is that it would probably be inappropriate.
The next couple days are blissfully empty. I still have my workout session on Thursday and my salon appointment on Friday but nothing scheduled other than that. I spend a little time working on my thesis but mostly I do a lot of leisure reading, junk tv watching, and coffee drinking at Starbucks. I also check airfares to see what it'll cost me to go back home for a few days. I have two full weeks until the summer term starts so I can squeeze in at least three or four days to visit.
June is not the busiest vacation season for NOLA so the fares are pretty decent. I won't schedule anything until I check with Master but I don't think the prices will change drastically before Sunday evening when I can book the flights.
Friday evening finally arrives and I drive to Escala. When I get to the penthouse, Taylor's waiting there as usual and takes my bags. But instead of heading to the kitchen and/or great room as I've done before, he tells me Mr. Grey wants to see me in his office.
My stomach drops a little when he says this. Shit! What now?