Nikki hands me a drink.
"What is this?" I ask.
"Jeremiah Weed and Pink Lemonade," she replies.
I've never heard of Jeremiah Weed, so I ask the girls about it.
"What's Jeremiah Weed?"
The girls giggle as they look at each other.
"It's a sweet tea whiskey," chimes Mindy.
"So delicious," Bridget says as she smiles, taking a sip from her cup.
I look down at the light brown colored liquid in my cup. I've been drinking Moscato and Chardonnay for the past four years. I'm positive hard liquor is going to kick my ass tonight. I take a sip and find it surprisingly impressive; I cannot taste the whiskey as its light and tastes precisely like sweet tea. These will go down rather easily.
The girls walk off and mingle amongst the piles of men that have staggered around. I skim the room again looking for Jason. Since I can't see him, I make my way back to the stairs to head down to the garage. Someone grabs my arm, and I turn around. I realize that it's the guy who works for my dad who put Jason in a headlock earlier today.
"Hey. Remember me? I never got a chance to introduce myself. I'm Austin," he says as he sways back and forth.
"Hey, Austin! Nice to meet you. Again," I reply with a smile.
"Are you looking for Jason? I'm pretty sure he went back into the house with a girl not too long ago," he laughs.
I giggle.
"Yeah, I am, and I see Jason hasn't changed at all."
Austin walks with me out into the garage. I recognize more familiar faces; the guys I had lunch with today and a few faces from High School. Everyone is amicable and half in the bag already. I guess I am a little late to the game.
I watch as a few guys participate in keg stands and chant as they take shots of Fireball and Wild Turkey. They manage to get me to take a few shots too. Fireball burns all the way down and leaves a warm but fuzzy feeling. I'm not too fond of this stuff.
Jason appears in the garage after my fourth drink of this fantastic sweet tea and a couple of fireballs. He lifts me over his shoulders, and I get a sudden urge to pee.
"About time you showed your face," I slur with a smile.
"I was getting lucky," he boasts as guys chant around us, and a few of them give him fist bumps.
"I have to pee!" I shout.
Jason whispers in my ear while he throws his arm around my shoulders, "Everyone has to piss outside, but you can go in the house. It's the second door on the right."
I feel glad I do not belong to the "everyone" category, considering how close we are. I am also not comfortable popping a squat outside while intoxicated. Jason takes his arm from around me and smacks my ass as I start to walk away. I turn around, giving him the middle finger and stick my tongue out at him. I have to pee so bad.
I make my way to the house and notice the driveway that goes past the garage. I can see the light shining through the trees. My curiosity takes the better of me, and I head down the road, forgetting that I need to use the restroom. At times like these—peeing takes a backseat to curious adventures.
Chapter Five
I follow the dirt road, for what seems like forever. However, I have not ventured too far from Jason's house. When I look back, I can still see the garage light through the trees. The loud headbanging music fades as I travel further down the dirt road. I stop when I see a ginormous pole barn.
The light shines brightly from the top of the pole barn. As I walk closer, I can hear the faint sound of music coming from the building. There are three large doors across the end, with a small main entrance on the side. I reach for the handle and can make out the song Are the Good Times really over? by Merle Haggard. The kind of music that my dad listened to.
I open the door.
"Hello?" I say softly as I step inside.
I looked around this vast building and notice that there is nobody in sight. I am surprised to see a pole barn with a concrete floor instead of a dirt one. I see a black Dodge Charger in front of me. As I walk further in, there is another car that I am not quite sure of, because it's so rusted and smashed up. In front of it is a lifted Denali truck. I spot a few dirt bikes, two four-wheelers, a side by side, a boat, and a motorcycle filling the rest of the space.
This place is phenomenal—all the tools, toys, and cars. Even the workbench is astounding. Is this Jason's too? I notice out of the corner of my eye that there is a car under a sheet. I am surprised that I didn't see it earlier. I'm feeling nosey, so I make my way over to it. I lift a part of the sheet to see collector plates. The plate reads ALIS HERO. Now, my curiosity is stoked further. This plate is very familiar. My mind is buzzing with questions. Why is it on this car? I had it made for my dad one year for Christmas when I was in High School. Why does Jason have it?
"What are you doing?" I hear a voice coming from behind me.
Startled, I drop the sheet and turn around, quite buzzed from all the drinks and shots. I look up to see Luke standing with a wrench and an angry look on his face, which quickly fades into shock.
"I— I, why are my dad's plates on
