Revive Me (10 page)

Tessa

“D
amn babe, you clean up nice.” I walked out my front door to find Reese leaning against an old, burnt-orange, rusted four-door car. He tossed a cigarette on the ground before making his way up to me. A pair of cargo shorts hung low on his hips, and his hair was swept back in another ball cap.

“Thanks,” I muttered, I’d managed to run a straightener through my hair and swiped some mascara on my eyelashes.

He bit his lower lip, clasping his lip ring between his teeth. “You ready for a good-ass night?” he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his chest. His lips smacked into the top of my head before grabbing the handle of the passenger door as it squeaked open. I got in and immediately the stench of stale cigarettes and old socks hit me. I held my breath and quickly rolled down the window.

“I was thinking we could get something to eat first?” he asked, getting into the car and looking over at me.

“Sounds good.” I was curious what he had planned for us. I didn’t see Reese as the romantic date night guy, but hey, I never thought I’d be out getting wasted alone, either.

“Pizza cool with you? I know this killer pizza joint.” I nodded, and the car’s engine slowly stirred to life after a few turns. “Damn, you’re easy to please,” he laughed, grabbing a pack of cigarettes from the cup holder. He brought the entire package to his mouth and slid one out with his teeth. “You mind if I smoke?”

I’d always hated the smell of smoke. I’d been lucky enough that neither of my parents smoked, and I’d never picked up on the habit. Tony Higgins dared me to try one during a game of truth-or-dare freshman year. I’d stuck the bitter stick in my mouth, inhaled gently, and nearly choked while everyone cracked up in laughter around me. It wasn’t a good experience, and I’d always liked Tony for that.

“Go ahead,” I grumbled, rolling down the window further and wishing I’d backed out. Why was he so persistent for me to go out with him? I’d noticed the girls he hung out with at school. They were nothing like me. “But you know that stuff will kill you, right?”

“We all have our vices, sweetheart,” he said, a flicking his lighter open. The end of the cigarette burned orange. “We all have our vices.” His words hit close to home. Yes, we did. “I’ve got some kick ass jams in here,” he said, hitting the volume button on the radio as rock music came through the speakers. “This is my friend’s band.” I nodded, wincing at the loud screaming, and I knew I’d have a headache by the time we got to dinner. Reese either didn’t seem to notice or care, because he kept his eyes on the road and bobbed his head to the beat.

He pulled into the parking lot of a building with a giant pizza sign at the entrance. I hopped out, adjusted the bottom of my shorts, and shut the door. “I’ve never been here before,” I commented. He grabbed my hand and led me through the entrance.

“They have the most bomb pizza in town,” he said, opening the door for me, and we walked into the busy area. Tables were spread throughout the middle of the room and large booths lined the windows. Red and white-checkered tablecloths covered each table with containers of Parmesan cheese and spices stacked in the corners. I followed him down the middle aisle, passing full tables, as we tried to find an empty one. I spotted a few waitresses, all of them wearing tall, white chef hats with checkered aprons as they scurried around with drinks and pizzas in their hands.

“Found one,” Reese called, pulling my hand, and I stumbled forward as he charged across the room and fell down into the hard booth. He dropped my hand, and I sat across from him. “What kind of pizza do you like?”

I shrugged. “Whatever is fine,” I answered, scanning the menu and the variety of choices. The only topping I preferred on my pizza was chicken, but I didn’t have an appetite, so I wouldn’t be eating much anyways.

“Babe,” he said slowly, and I looked up from the menu to him. “Tell me what you want. Don’t be shy. This is our date, so we can get to know each other, and I think knowing what kind of topping you like on your pizza is very important.”

“Can we do chicken?”

He clapped his hands together, grabbed my menu, and placed it at the edge of the table on top of his. “Chicken it is.” He waved his hand over to the waitress standing to the side and she sauntered our way.

“Hey Reese,” she greeted, her voice sweet, and her bright pink lips smiling at him, as she pulled out a pad from her apron.

“What’s going on, Molly,” he replied, looking at her briefly before putting his attention back on me. “What do you want to drink, babe?”

“I’ll have a water, no lemon,” I answered, and she scribbled it down without looking at me.

“I’ll have what my girl is having,” Reese said.

“Right,” she drew, tapping her pen against the edge of the pad. “Are you ready to order for you and
your
girl?”

Reese grabbed our menus and handed them to Molly. “Large chicken, extra cheese, and a small order of breadsticks.”

“I’ll get that in for you,” she said, jotting our order down and walking away.

“I’m glad you came out with me,” he said. “I was sure you were going to bail on my ass.” Molly returned and set our drinks down without saying a word and left.

I played with the straw in my water. “I was sure I was going to bail.”

He laughed, playing with his piercing, and grinned. I eyed him, wondering what it would feel like to kiss him. I’d never been with anyone sporting mouth metal.

“You didn’t, and that’s what’s important. I think you’re starting to warm up to me. Sooner or later, you’ll be completely comfortable, telling me everything.”

“Oh really?” I asked, forcing a small smile across my lips. Nobody would ever know my secret.

I picked at my pizza, while Reese told me about going to his buddy’s show the other night. “You have to come with me next time. They’re so kickass, there’s no way they won’t become big time in the future. I’ll definitely be a roadie for them, too,” he laughed. I didn’t say much, just listened to him ramble.

Molly brought the bill, setting it on the table, and Reese picked it up.

“Here, let me get mine,” I said, unzipping my purse.

He nodded. “Okay, looks like it’s twenty-five bucks, if you’ll just give me twenty that’ll be cool. I’ll leave the tip.”

My head jerked up in disbelief. I always offered to go Dutch on the few dates I’d been on, but the guys always declined, insisting dinner or the movie was on them. But Reese was sitting across from me, holding out his hand, and definitely not saying dinner was on him. I grabbed a few bills from my wallet and handed them over.

“Thanks, babe.” He pulled money from his pocket and shoved them on top of the bill.

“You’re going to have fun tonight,” Reese said, getting back into his car. “Even if I have to force it out of you.”

I pulled the seatbelt across my body, and the music shot to full blast again. I didn’t ask him where we were going. I just kept my eyes on the road and hoped we’d get there soon before I had to start plugging my ears. The band wasn’t terrible, but they weren’t going to be hitting the big time in my opinion. We turned down a dirt road that led into an open field lined with cars and trucks. I squinted and made out bright flames in the distance as a few people walked across the lot and headed towards it. Great, so much for him not taking me to another party.

I’d always enjoyed bonfires. They were pretty popular in our town. We didn’t have fancy hangouts, bars, or clubs. I didn’t mind that, but I wasn’t expecting him to do something else. I looked down at the grimy floorboard covered in bags of Cheetos in disappointment.

He got out of the car and pulled a lever underneath his seat. I watched him open up the trunk from the side mirror. He pulled out a case of beer and set it down onto the ground.

“Yo babe, a little help here!” he called out. I secured my purse around my body and got out. He could’ve at least pre-warned me so I wasn’t wearing my flip-flops while walking through a field. He handed me a few bottles of alcohol and grabbed the case of beer. I held a green bottle out, reading the label, and my stomach twisted.

He looked over at me and laughed. “That’s your best friend, babe. I got that just for you.”

“I don’t think my stomach can handle that again,” I said, holding out the bottle and examining it. He laughed, pulling out a flask from his pocket, and filling it up with a dark substance. “How do you even get all of this?”

“My dad or my older brother.”

“Oh.” He rested his hand on the small of my back and led me toward the flames.

Dawson

“T
hanks for coming with me, man,” Cody said, hopping into my cab and slapping me on the back. He slammed the door shut as I reversed down his driveway.

“No problem,” I replied. He’d asked me to be his wingman tonight to make sure his ass didn’t get into any more trouble. Since the shooting, he’d been arrested twice. “You sure you’re cool to do this? If you get busted, they’re going to put you back in the slammer.”

He rolled down the window. “My PO is cool, just as long as I pass drug tests and shit. We both know I ain’t going there.” Cody’s dad had died of a drug overdose, so he’d never messed with that shit. Alcohol, yes. Drugs, hell no.

“Or hit someone,” I added.

He laughed while rubbing two fingers in between his eyebrows. “Yeah, that too. That’s the difficult part about being on probation. I can’t punch assholes. But my PO’s too busy to be chasing our asses around at parties.”

All of us had changed since the shooting and losing our friends. No one was the same. Cody’s coping mechanism was beating the shit out of anyone who said the wrong thing to him. Our friend, Ollie, had resorted to drinking and having sex with any female that looked his way. Daisy became a recluse, refusing to leave her house, or talk to anyone. I was sure the only thing she talked to was the ghost of Tanner. Tessa, I wasn’t sure about her yet, but I was trying my hardest to figure her out. And me? I was the one trying to pick up everyone’s broken pieces.

I drove down the street, pulling into a small trailer park and honking the horn in front of Ollie’s place. He rushed out with his mom trailing behind him. She was wearing a robe with her slippers, and a cigarette was hung out of her mouth. “You keep an eye on him, Dawson,” she called out, taking the cigarette from her mouth and pointing it at me as Ollie slid into the truck.

“You know I always do, Stella,” I yelled, waving to her before pulling away. Ollie’s mom was a bit overbearing, but he was the only person she had in her life.

“Boys, we haven’t been to a party together in months,” Ollie shouted, slamming his palms up on the headliner of my truck. “Let’s make this shit count for Tanner.”

“For Tanner,” Cody shouted, and we all repeated him as I turned out of the trailer park. He guided the way and told me where to go. “It’s right here,” he said, pointing to a hidden drive.

I turned, drove through an old iron gate, and headed into an open field packed with cars parked in every direction. I inhaled the scent of fresh wood burning through my open window and watched the bright lights flicker from afar as the gravel crunched my tires. I kept driving until we hit the back, where another dirt road was, just in case the party got busted and we needed to sneak out. Ollie pulled some beers from his backpack and tossed a couple to Cody and me.