“The best thing you can do is show him that. Preferably without adding a bunch of contradictory words that mud…muddy…. muddle things up.”
“How am I supposed to show him when he’s never home?”
Okay…that made sense, right? Zakk stared down the neck of the bottle at the liquid sloshing against the sides. Sure looked like a long way down. Empty too, save for that little bit at the bottom. Tipping it up made the liquid roll towards him, getting closer and closer until it dawned on him that he was about to commit alcohol abuse. He smacked himself in the nose in his effort to get the bottle to his mouth, but at least he didn’t spill any.
Was Riley still talking?
Why was Riley talking?
And what the fuck was he talking about?
“Zakk!”
“Why you loud?”
“For the same reason you’re drunk.”
“I am just.”
“Exactly, though what I think you were going for was ‘I just am’.”
“You am too.”
“No, I am not because my very rude host killed the bottle without offering me any.”
“We should throw it a funeral.”
Zakk did not see what was so funny that Riley buried his face in his hands and laughed until his chair slid out from under him. He’d have to call a repairman in the morning. The floor wasn’t supposed to tilt that way. Zakk shook the last few drops out of the bottle and onto his tongue before setting the bottle on the floor beside his chair.
Man, the room was getting hazy. Zakk wondered if the repairman could fix that too.
Blah blah blah blah blahhh blah blahhh
Oh. Riley wasn’t laughing anymore. All the sounds blended though, leaving Zakk confused as to whether he was talking, singing, or trying to curse him out.
“I need you to focus for a minute, can you do that?”
Ohhhhthat’swhat he was saying. He really shouldn’t ask questions though. All the answers were sort of swirling around on the slowly tilting floor.
“Can you put it in the safe?”
It took a moment for Riley’s words to register with the help of the box Riley was shaking at him. When they did, Zakk wanted to laugh. “Sure, not why, might as well,” he muttered, well aware that his words were slurring, and his eyelids were getting heavy. Better take care of it now while he could sorta remember the combination.
Three tries later.
Or was it four?
Had he remembered to keep count?
Meh.
He was supposed to be doing something.
Oh yeah. That’s right.
He tucked Riley’s ring box right beside Dez’s, shook his head at the mess his friends were making of their love life and shut the safe, wondering if he was lucky for never having a relationship progress as far as theirs had, or seriously missing out on something he’d forgotten the name of.
Chapter 5