Blondie Wannabe: A Billy Hargrove Fanfic

Morsels

Thank Jesus Sal left my keys in the car, doors unlocked, otherwise I would be limited to places I could walk to. So the post office and maybe the school if it wasn't so goddamn cold.

But I had my baby, so the bar it was. Maybe Sal would tell his coworkers to stop serving me or something petty like that, but until then, I wanted to be drunk.

The very idea of vodka was enough to make me gag, but a decent pinot noir would hit the spot, and take the edge off the hangover without giving me a new one. Also, in my mind, drinking wine at half-past noon on a Saturday was less pathetic than hard liquor.

A small part of me hoped I'd see Mullet Boy again, a very small part. Not to have sex with him, not a chance, but just to see if he was as attractive to me when I was sober as he had been in last evening's fever dream.

But, alas, it was just me with my glass at the bar. The only other people here were some day-drunks, people watching the game, and two people who looked to be doing something work-related. The guy behind the bar had short brown hair and glasses, but I probably wouldn't be able to pick him out a lineup if someone asked me to.

The wine reminded me of winters at my family's cabin in Park Slope, Utah. Drinking something similar or an Irish hot chocolate or maybe peppermint schnapps. Going skiing with other kids of mind-numbingly wealthy parents. When we were younger, Steve and I would race or have snowball fights, sneak into the kitchen and eat the peppermint bark right out of the wax paper-lined pans. The last three times we'd gone, he'd brought his bitch of the moment. First was this girl Tina, who was fine, if a little dull. Then a girl who was so insufferable I barely spent any time around them; if they were in the suite, I was on the slopes and vice versa. I don't even remember her name. And finally Nancy, who seemed nice enough, but at that point, I wasn't speaking to Steve.

"Can I have another?" I asked.

"Same thing?"

"Yeah," I said. Was this three or four? Was I actually drunk?

No, I decided, I was sad, but it felt the same, numbing and heavy and right in the chest. I missed Craig and college and my friends, but most of all, my stupid little brother. I wanted the relationship we had back. Sipping on the third/fourth pinot noir, my mouth felt sour and raw, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

"How much?" I asked, standing up.

I paid in cash and went to my car, drove to the supermarket. I got white and milk chocolate morsels, candy canes, marshmallows. I had no clue how to make peppermint bark, but it didn't look too hard.

Walking out to my car, shopping bag dangling off my wrist, I had the eeriest sensation of being watched. Ignoring the prickling on the back of my neck, I stuffed the groceries into my trunk.

I turned around and had to muffle a scream at coming face to face with a strange man. Looking up at his face, I saw that I was mistaken, it wasn't a strange man. It was Mullet Boy.

He grinned down at me, eyes blue as ever. "I thought it was you."

"Yes, it is me," I said stupidly, clutching my keys so I wouldn't shake.

"What are the odds?"

"It's a small town."

He laughed, not like Sal, not at all like Sal, but not necessarily worse. "Sure is, sure is."

"Uh, you're not- you're not from around her, right?"

"No, not originally, California, but I've been living here for a few months. What about you? I think I would remember someone like you," he said, looking me up and down, not even bother to hide it.

"I was away at college, but I'm home now."

"Little early for winter break, isn't it?"

Lying crossed my mind, but I didn't even know this guy, why should I care if he knows? "I dropped out."

He seemed almost impressed, which was a first. I couldn't get over how gorgeous he was, with his perfect teeth, perfect face, perfect body. The wind picked up, pushing my hair away from my face. I wish I could say I looked like a supermodel, but it was so cold I had to duck my head and wrap my arms around myself.

"I'm sorry, you're freezing, wanna come in my car?" He gestured to a blue Camaro with dusty sides that had rain and snow tracks cutting through it, his voice smooth like honey.

Cocking an eyebrow, I twirled my keys around my pointer finger. "How about you come in mine?"

This one's a little short, but I'm hoping to have the next chapter out soon, thanks for reading!