by K. Aten
While there were more that weren’t doing shots, and some that were not in attendance at all, the little group on the back porch was the usual crowd of misfits that raided uncle Manny’s tequila cupboard during family gatherings. Besides Antonio and Veevee, there was Manuel, Jose, and Alex. Preferring the shortened name to his full name of Alejandro, Alex was only twenty-five and worked at the hotel. He was young, suave, and very gay. Jamie found it funny that three of the Ramirez cousins turned out to be gay, but was happy for Kelsey too. It was hard to disown one when there were so many in your family tree, and clearly her family had come to accept it. Jamie wished that had been the case with her own family, but it was not. Rather than dwell on her childhood, she shook free of the memories and raised a shot glass with the rest of the group. Antonio led the toast. “Here’s to those who’ve seen us at our best and seen us at our worst and can’t tell the difference!” Everyone threw back the shots and slammed the glasses down on the tile tabletop.
Veevee immediately started pouring out more shots and Kelsey held her hands up. “No more for me, thanks.” She actually didn’t care if she did another shot but she knew that Jamie didn’t like tequila so was trying to get them both out of it without putting all the pressure on her friend.
Antonio quirked a perfect eyebrow at her and gave them both an evil grin. “Mi querido primo, have you gone soft while living up north? Can you no longer keep up with the family?”
Jamie knew that Kelsey liked tequila and knew that she had turned down more shots for her sake. She also found it cute the way her friend scowled and growled a little under her breath with Antonio’s teasing. She put a hand on Kelsey’s arm and leaned close to whisper in her ear. “It’s fine, really. We’re not driving anywhere so what’s the harm?”
“Speaking of driving.” Kelsey looked up at the group in general. “How are you idiots getting home?”
Alex grinned. He knew his cousin was going to cave to Antonio’s teasing. She was too competitive and always caved. “Mateo is driving us all. He’s going to drop Antonio, Manuel, and Jose at ’Tonio’s house, and he’ll drop me and Veevee off at the club. I can ride home with friends. See, we will all be safe. Live a little, chica! Show your girlfriend that you know how to have fun!” Mateo was their nineteen-year-old cousin and because he was under the legal drinking age, he was not allowed to drink at family gatherings.
Kelsey sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, line them up. But you delinquents are going to pay if we have a hangover at abuela’s party tomorrow!”
“Bueno! All right, I think Jamie should be the one to give the next toast.” Veevee turned her dark gaze onto the blonde at her side and Kelsey could see the calculation in her cousin’s look. She didn’t like it at all.
Jamie shrugged. “Okay, let me think for a second, let’s see, all right.” She thought of a toast and raised her glass. She was mimicked by the other six adults on the veranda. “Here’s to the nights we’ll never remember with the friends we’ll never forget!”
A rousing mass response was said by the Ramirez cousins. “Salud!”
Jamie had been feeling pretty good with all the punch she drank earlier but two shots of tequila in a row left her feeling decidedly unsteady. She sat down abruptly and watched Kelsey and her cousin Alex, joking with each other. After a few minutes, Kelsey called her name. “James, Alex is going to show me his new car. You want to come?” She understood Jamie’s look and answered her unspoken question. “He drove here but will just leave his car overnight. He’ll be back for the party tomorrow so it’s no big deal.”
“Oh, okay. I think I’m just gonna sit right here for a bit.”
Kelsey grinned down at her, taking in Jamie’s lazy grin and heavy sleepy eyes. “You’re wasted aren’t you?”
A wobbly nod. “Oh yeaaah. I think the tequila just hit me, Kels. What is that stuff?”
“El Luchador. It’s one hundred and ten proof, so if you’re not used to it I’m not surprised it has you on your ass.” She looked down at Jamie one more time and decided her friend should probably sober up a bit or she’d really regret the next day. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Sure enough, Kelsey returned a minute later with a glass of ice water. “Here, drink this while I go look at Alex’s car.”
Jamie looked at Kelsey and gave her full puppy dog eyes. “Don’t leave me, Kels! What if an, uh, armadillo or something eats me out here?”
Kelsey couldn’t resist giggling at the blonde and running her hand through Jamie’s hair. Jamie leaned into the hand and Kelsey knew they’d have to talk soon. “The yard is walled in and we don’t have any armadillos back here. I think you’ll be completely safe. Now I’ll be back shortly, all right?”
“Fine, just leave me then! The only soul I know.” She sighed dramatically. Kelsey started to laugh but it was abruptly turned to a frown as Veevee walked up.
She sat in the chair right next to Jamie and put her arm around the drunk woman’s shoulders. “Hey, you know me!” She turned to look up at Kelsey with a decided smirk. “Don’t worry Kelsey, I’ll keep her company. Aunt Kaitlyn was telling me all about your friend here and how she came down to keep you company. I won’t leave her alone for a second, I promise!”
It was in that moment that Kelsey knew Veevee had found out that Jamie was not actually her girlfriend. “Fine.” She ground the words out through gritted teeth and spun around to go with Alex. She couldn’t help mumbling under her breath as she walked away. “That’s what I’m afraid of!”
Alex glanced sideways at her. “What was that, cuz?”
“Nothing. Let’s go see that car. Brand new, you said?”
Jamie missed Kelsey as soon as she was out of sight. But she didn’t have time to reflect on the emotion because she was quickly distracted by Veevee. “So how long have you and Kelsey been friends?”
She turned her head to focus on the person who only bore the slightest of resemblance to the woman who had been dominating her thoughts. She wanted to correct Veevee and tell her that they were girlfriends, but she didn’t know if that was the right thing to do. Kelsey had not actually talked about anything with her. She always seemed to avoid any serious discussion about the night they slept together and now they’d done it again. Jamie wasn’t sure what it all meant. “Um.”
“Hey, want to do another shot?”
Jamie shook her head and felt it spin a little. “I don’t really like tequila.”
Veevee looked shocked. “What? How can you not like tequila? It’s the favorite drink of all the Ramirez cousins, including our Kelsey! You don’t want her to think you can’t keep up, do you?” Jamie just shook her head again. She didn’t want Kelsey to think that at all. “Okay then!” Veevee leaned over and poured two more shot glasses. When they picked them up, Veevee’s grin had turned decidedly predatory. “Cheers to the Ramirez women and their friends!”
They downed the shot and Jamie barely noticed the flavor. She giggled and mumbled to herself. “Third time’s a charm!”
Veevee leaned closer to her. “So Jamie, are you seeing anyone back home?”
Jamie looked up at her, wide-eyed. “Kelsey said—”
The less than honorable Ramirez cousin interrupted her. “I know what Kelsey said. She only said it to keep me away from you. We’ve had a rivalry for a long time. Besides, Aunt Kait said that Kelsey told her you weren’t the dating type. So I know she was lying about you guys being girlfriends.”
Pain lanced through Jamie’s chest at the younger woman’s words. “What?” Kelsey had to feel the same way she did, she had too!
Veevee didn’t see the other woman’s pain. She saw an opportunity. If her cousin didn’t want the attractive blonde, then she had no problem with scooping her up. “What’s the big deal anyway? Clearly you two were just pretending, and I can attest that this Ramirez cousin is a lot more fun.” She kept leaning closer while speaking until the last few words were spoken right in Jamie’s ear. And when Jamie didn’t move away, Veevee let her tongue run up the curve of
the blonde’s ear.
It was in that exact moment that Kelsey had walked through the gate into the backyard. The gate was right behind where they were sitting so she had no problem at all hearing her cousin’s words, nor seeing her actions. Her temper flared immediately with a flashback to a surprise party all those months ago, then it burned itself out just as fast with what Jamie did in response. The blonde pulled back from Veevee’s too-near face. “No!” She abruptly stood, then had to grab the table to keep from falling back down again. “I don’t want you. I only want Kelsey!” She swayed and grabbed the table tighter again. “I—I don’t care if she lied. I still only want her.” Tears had started to fall down the very drunk woman’s cheeks.
Kelsey watched for only a second and could not stop the whispered words. “Oh, James.” She quickly rushed to her friend’s side when it looked like Jamie was going to fall over. “Hey, what are you doing over here? I got you. Just put your arms around my neck.”
“I’m—sorry, Kels. Got s—so drunk. Dunno how. It hurts though.” Veevee looked on with interest.
“How did you get this drunk? You weren’t like this when I left.”
Jamie held up two fingers. “We did a nuther sh—shot.” Then she held up three fingers. “Was only one more, Kels! Don’t be mad.”
At only an inch shorter, Kelsey barely had to look up to meet Jamie’s eyes. Her best friend was completely hammered. She whipped her head around to glare at Veevee. “What the hell were you thinking? How could you give her another shot?”
Veevee shrugged. “She seemed fine. And she’s a grown woman who is very single. She can make her own decisions.”
There was steel in Kelsey’s voice as her innate overprotectiveness kicked in. “You are a grown woman as well who damn well should have known better. That was completely irresponsible of you to give someone so drunk even more shots. You’ve completely crossed the line.”
The seated cousin raised an eyebrow at her. “So? What are you going to do? It’s not like you two are going anywhere. I didn’t think anyone would get hurt.” Kelsey glanced at Jamie’s face as the blonde clung to her in an attempt to stay upright. She understood her cousin’s double meaning. Truthfully, Kelsey really didn’t know where she and Jamie were going but that didn’t excuse her cousin’s behavior. She coldly looked down at the woman who had made Jamie cry. Family or no, she had to leave. “That’s the problem with you, Veronica. You never think about how your actions affect other people. You’re selfish.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Alex had come back in with Antonio.
Antonio also took in the scene of a very drunk Jamie, Veevee’s smirking grin, and furious gaze of Kelsey. “What’s up, Kels?” Then he moved his gaze back to Veevee. “What did you do this time, bruja?”
Anger finally replaced the sneer on Veevee’s face. “Just like always, hermano. You take her side!”
“I grew up with you, Vee, and I know exactly how you work! Let’s go, we’re leaving.” She started to protest and he held up a hand. “Mateo is in the car already. That’s what we came in to tell you. You can go to your bar and get laid like everyone else. Leave Kelsey and Jamie alone.” Veevee’s face took on a stubborn look but her older brother was having none of it. “Vamanos! Or I will tell Mama why you really missed her birthday party last month. “Entiendes?”
Veevee snarled and shoved by him through the gate. “Si, I understand just fine!”
Antonio sighed and ran a hand through his thick black hair. He looked at Alex, and the youngest of their group gave a nod of his head to the older man. “I’ll be there in just a minute. I’m going to help her take Jamie up.” The blonde was only standing because she had a lot of help from Kelsey. He took one side of the inebriated woman and Kelsey took the other. Everyone else had gone to bed hours before so they had to be quiet going up the stairs. Once Jamie was situated on the bed, Alex turned to his favorite relative. “You okay, cuz?” Kelsey rubbed her forehead, looking very much like her papa in the moment. Then she gazed down at Jamie’s sleeping form and shook her head. “You want to talk about it.”
She looked up at him. “Yes and no. But I know you have to go, so maybe tomorrow.” She looked back at Jamie again and her features softened with affection. “I just didn’t know.”
“Does she know how you feel?”
Kelsey wrenched her eyes away from the blonde and looked back at him. “She’s my best friend.”
He gave her a soft smile. “But does she know how you feel?” She shook her head but stayed silent. Alex gave her a little chuck to the shoulder and took a single step to the door of the room. “Maybe it’s time you told her because it’s pretty clear that she’s already fallen for the Ramirez charms.”
That finally elicited a smile from the Irish-Latina. “Maybe it’s my O’Brian charms. Everyone says my mama is half leprechaun.”
He smiled tenderly. “Or maybe it’s just Kelsey’s charms, eh? I’ll see you tomorrow, cuz.” Then he was gone.
That left her to put on some light pajamas and get into bed with her best friend. Jamie was facing the far wall and because of the size of the bed, Kelsey was forced to spoon her from behind. She both cursed and reveled in their position and let out another sigh that rustled the hairs on the crown of Jamie’s head. Her voice was quiet as she spoke the question into the midnight hour. “Oh Jamie, what am I going to do with you?” She was only slightly startled when Jamie pulled her hand up close to her chest and sleepily mumbled a response. The words were so quiet Kelsey nearly didn’t make them out.
“Please love me.” Kelsey shivered in the air-conditioned room and drew the blonde closer.
SUNLIGHT SHONE THROUGH the tiny window that was situated on the wall opposite the door to their room. Something tickled Kelsey’s awareness, both a sound and a vibration. She became aware that the woman in her arms was moaning softly as she swam upwards from the depths of sleep. “James, you okay?”
Jamie moaned a little louder but managed to whisper a word at the end. “Sick.”
“Oh damn.” Kelsey quickly moved away from her and rushed to grab the small trash can that was sitting under the sewing machine. She made it back to the side of the bed just as Jamie was leaning over. The smell threatened Kelsey’s own resolve but she held her breath as best she could to avoid joining her friend. Kelsey didn’t like vomit but she’d actually smelled and seen worse while working.
When Jamie finally stopped heaving she hung over the bed, curled around her pillow. Her face was scrunched up in pain. “Gonna die.”
Kelsey looked from her friend to the can of sick, then back to Jamie again. “You’re not going to die, James. You’re just hung. I’m going to get you some water and ibuprofen. I’ll be back in a minute.” She quickly rushed to dump the trash can into the toilet and rinsed it thoroughly before leaving it upside down in the shower to dry. Then she ran downstairs to grab a glass of water. Her mother entered the kitchen a minute later.
“D’ya know why my trash can is in the shower, Kels?”
Kelsey went to get a glass out of the cupboard, then changed her mind and opened the fridge to see if they had any bottled water instead. “That’s my fault, Mama. Jamie got sick and that was the nearest thing at hand. I’m just down to grab her some water and ibuprofen.”
“Ah, she’s wrecked then?” At Kelsey’s nod she went on. “You kids weren’t giving her that tequila, were you?” Kelsey nodded sheepishly. “Nothing but demons, all of ye Ramirezes! Ye don’t stop til you’re all half ossified.” She shook her head at her only child sternly. “And speakin’ of Jamie, I’d like to talk to ye. You keep sayin’ yer friends but friends don’t look at each other the way you two have been goin’ on.”
Kelsey sighed. “Please, Mama, can you just let it go?”
The redhead nodded. “I will, yea. Now go take care of yer friend.” Kaitlyn emphasized the word friend, her words lilting with a fine Irish brogue. Kelsey narrowed her eyes at the older woman. Her mama always said “I will, yea” when she actu
ally meant the opposite. But at least she had bought herself the morning without any heavy discussion. She turned and rushed upstairs to deliver the water and pills to Jamie.
Later that afternoon, Kelsey was off playing another intense round of croquet with her papa, aunt, and uncle. She and Jamie had made the meat for the tamales in a crock pot the night before, but she put them all together after breakfast, without Jamie’s help. Now that it was later in the afternoon Jamie was at least up, though barely. The blonde was sprawled in a chair on the veranda, wearing a pair of borrowed aviator sunglasses. She was nursing a water and trying to keep the piece of dry toast down that she’d eaten for breakfast. She glanced up as Kelsey’s mama and abuela came out of the house through the French doors. Kaitlyn’s hands were busy helping the elderly woman keep her balance as she tottered along with her walker. There was a portable oxygen tank in the little basket attached to the front with the hose running up the front of her shirt to wrap around her ears and come back across her cheeks under her nose. Other than the oxygen, she looked in good health, certainly better than Jamie herself felt. She scrambled to pull out a chair and winced when her stomach threatened to rebel. Again. “Here, let me help you ladies.” She situated the chair for the old woman and helped to settle her then went back to her own seat. Kaitlyn went back inside.
“Young Jamie.” She gestured to the yard full of bickering adults and spoke with a heavy accent. “Why aren’t you playing with the other kids?”
Jamie had been introduced to the feisty old woman when Manny brought her home from the hospital a little before noon. She had immediately poked at Jamie stomach and declared that Kelsey had caught a fresh one. Jamie’s sore stomach severely disagreed with the old woman’s treatment, but she appreciated the acceptance from someone of her generation. It was refreshing. Jamie shook her head slowly and pushed her glasses up a little higher to try and block out the midafternoon sun. “I’m not feeling the best, Abuela. I told Kelsey I wanted to sit this one out.”
