Labeled

by Jenni Linn

  "Ladies, this is my brother Vance," he points to Vance as he continues to introduce everyone, "and our friends Chase, Nate, and Shawn." We all exchange hellos. Vin pulls another table up, making more room for our new company. The girls sit near each other, and Vin goes right into chatting up the redhead.

  "What are you ladies drinking? Let me buy you each a drink." Nate waves over a server, and he flashes his cash. They rattle off some weird drinks to the server, and I see the one blonde eyeing him up. The redhead is still chatting with Vin. I don't think Nate is gonna be taking her home tonight.

  An hour later the band has vacated the stage, and there's some rock music coming from the jukebox. It's easier to talk without live music. The whole table is still chatting, seats have been switched, and they're in small personal groups of two. Vance and the bleach blonde are getting chummy, and I won't be surprised if they cut out early. Vin has surprisingly moved onto the other blonde, and Nate with the brunette. Shawn and the redhead have seemed to hit it off, and it may be him who lets them know if she's a natural.

  The brunette, Jenna-- I think--was trying to pull me into a conversation. I wasn't feeling it. I was polite and answered her questions but didn't make it out to be anything more. I think she got it and moved on to Nate. I finish my third beer and go to the bar to get water. I'm not even close to being buzzed, but I'm responsible for getting these guys home. Well, the ones that plan to go home. I may just be driving to my house alone. I approach the bar and take an open stool.

  Only one bartender is working at the moment. She is a petite, tan little thing. Her black hair is long and thick with a red bandanna wrapped around her head. She has on a black shirt, that says Sliders across her chest, with ripped slits above the bar name, showcasing a nice chest in a neon green bra. The sleeves are ripped off, showing a full sleeve tattoo covering her right arm. It is too dim to make out what it is exactly--looks like flowers and some swirls. She comes right up to get my order. That's when I really can see her face. Black makeup lines her brown eyes, and she has a piercing above her plump, red lips. I ask for a glass of water. She smiles and says, "Sure thing, handsome."

  If I wasn't so hung up on another brunette, I'd be trying to get this girl’s number, but V has me under some damn spell. Speaking of…I pull out my phone and shoot a text to V. While she was focusing on the pizza that Taylor brought, I quickly programmed my number in her phone, sent myself a text, then deleted it. Was it smart? Probably not. I've lost all common sense when it comes to her. The bartender drops the water on a coaster in front of me. "Thank you."

  My phone pings. "Need anything else?" she asks.

  "No, I'm good," I tell her while unlocking my phone to read V’s message. She taps the bar top and saunters to the other end of the bar. That's when I notice the back of her top also has slits all down the back. I unlock my phone to read V's message.

  Nic: Jerry's sad. :(

  For obvious reasons, I couldn't put her in my phone under her actual name or nicknames. The chances of the guys seeing my messages, or her name popping up on my screen isn't one I'm willing to take quite just yet.

  Me: Jerry will get over it.

  I find myself smiling at our conversation.

  "Water already?" A voice comes from my right, I glance over my shoulder as Vin strolls up to the open spot next to me.

  "Yeah, Yeah," I say to his teasing, putting my phone down, and giving him my attention.

  "You may just get off the hook on taking us all home."

  I laugh. "I kind of figured, but I still gotta get my ass home."

  "True," He pauses, "So what's up with you? I saw that chick trying to get you to talk. "

  "Yeah, I don't know. She's pretty, seems nice but I wasn't feeling it." He nods. My phone pings, and it makes me smile. I'm anxious to see her response. I feel like a teenager again.

  "Ahh. I see" He taps my arm with the back of his hand. " You got someone waitin' for you?"

  I rub the back of my neck, not quite sure what to say, and I have to be careful with what I do say, "No, not really."

  "Well damn, that smile on your face ain't nothin."

  I laugh, I guess I have to give him something. "Yeah, just talking to someone."

  "No shit. Who is she, do I know her?"

  "I don't think so." Lies.

  He says, "Tell her to come here."

  "She's out with friends." She's also not legal and...your sister, bro.

  "Tell her to bring them along, dude."

  "I don't know, man, seeing y'all may just scare her off."

  "Or she might just ditch you for one of us." He ribs.

  "Not likely." I say, "It's new, we haven't gone out yet, just talking." My phone pings again.

  "Ah shit. Chase are you smitten?" he jokes. I can't help but laugh.

  "You must really like her."

  "Yeah, I think I do." I nod.

  "My dude!" He pats my back. The hot bartender comes back and stops in front of Vin.

  "Hey there, stranger," she purrs.

  "Well if it isn't my favorite bartender," Vin replies.

  "The one and only. Guinness?" she asks.

  He winks at her. "You know it. Oh, and a Bay Breeze."

  She pulls out a glass, putting it under the spout and pulling the handle to release the beer from the tap. She moves on to the Bay Breeze while she lets the Guinness settle. Once it’s been a couple minutes, she places both drinks in front of Vin.

  "Anything else?" she asks Vin, then me.

  I shake my head, as Vin says, "That's all baby doll." He hands her a couple of bills, and she smiles, taking them from him and putting them in her top as she saunters away.

  "You guys have a thing?" I ask curiously.

  "Me and Jade? Nah. We went to school together, dated briefly. She's a cool chick, it just....didn't click," He takes a drink from his glass. "Well, I better get back to someone who I do click with." He pats me on the back, grabs the other drink, and walks towards the table. I know I have to join them, but I take the time to read the texts from V.

  Nic: I suppose he'll have to.

  Nic: I don't mean to be rude, but why are you texting me?

  I sigh. Good question. I should be talking up a girl. Any other girl but V. But she’s the one on my mind, and I enjoy talking to her.

  Me: I like talking to you.

  There's silence for a bit. I glance at the TV hanging in the corner of the bar; a baseball game is on. I watch it for a bit until I hear the ping.

  Nic: Where are my brothers?

  Well, I wasn't expecting her to ask about her brothers when I just told her I like talking to her, even though I told her that last night.

  Me: Busy.

  Nic: And you're not?

  Me: No.

  Another pause in messages.

  Nic: Because you rather text me?

  A hand clamps down on my shoulder. "Dude what are you doing over here?" Vance says standing at my side. "Who ya texting?" He leans in, "Who's Nic?" I press the side of my phone, making my phone go dark. I turn to him, "No one, just a girl I'm talking to."

  "She hot?" is all he asks.

  I laugh. "Yeah, she's hot."

  "Nice."

  This is so fucked. He doesn't even know.

  "Come back to the table and join the festivities!"

  "Okay, I'll be right there."

  As soon as Vance walks away, I unlock my phone and respond to V's message.

  I’m Not Ten Anymore

  It's almost midnight. Jerry went home claiming that he has a big bed he can sprawl out on, rather than sharing a bed with two girls or sleeping on the floor. Taylor is passed out next to me. We came up to my room after watching the last movie they picked. Some freaky ass shit that has me looking to my open closet in fear. Assholes.

  None of my brothers are home yet, and I'm going to be pissed if they're not up and ready to go to Harry's tomorrow morning. I sent both Vin and Vance a text telling them so, but not too surprising; I haven't heard back from them. M
y phone buzzes and my heart picks up. Chase and I have been texting almost all night. It has me completely reeling and so, so confused. I hate to assume that he likes me, but it seems obvious at this point. Why else would he be at a bar, where I'm sure there are tons of girls, texting me? Not to mention he put his number in my phone like he had this planned already. Ugh.. I hate overthinking shit, and I feel like that's what I'm doing. I look at Taylor. Her blonde hair is all over, mouth parted, and her breathing even.

  "Taylor, am I overthinking this?" I ask her. I put my pointer finger on her chin then move it like she’s speaking, making my voice a little higher, "Yes, yes you are bitch." I move my finger away and reply, "I knew it! Thanks, Tay." I laugh at myself. Taylor lets out a snore and rolls on her side facing away from me.

  "Good chat," I mutter. My phone vibrates, and I pick it up off my chest, swiping it open.

  McSwoony: Yes.

  And there it is, ladies and gentlemen. He would rather be texting me than be ‘busy’. Okay. Alright. No problem. My palms are sweating. What do I say back? I look at Tay’s back. "What do I say?" I whisper. My phone vibrates in my hand, but Chase hasn't sent another text. I go back into my messages and see Vin has. A simple text telling me to be ready by nine am. I set an alarm for eight-thirty am and send him a quick one-word response.

  Me: I'm flattered, glad I can keep you out of trouble and disease-free.

  That's playful, right? I don't want him to know how much his response really meant. I put my phone on my chest and wait.

  I'm startled awake by the vibrating on my chest, and the loud ringing. Shit. I grab my phone and turn off my alarm. Taylor groans next to me.

  "What the fuck was that?" she mumbles.

  "My alarm. Sorry."

  She mumbles something incoherent.

  "I'm going to the junkyard, I'll be back."

  "O-Kay," she whispers, then she's snoring. I rub my face and open my phone to see if Chase messaged back. I must have passed out before he responded. He did, and more than once.

  McSwoony: Haha real cute.

  McSwoony: You fall asleep?

  That was sent about seven minutes after a winky face.

  McSwoony: You fell asleep.

  McSwoony: I must be boring.

  Three minutes later.

  McSwoony: Sweet dreams.

  I smile wide and clutch my phone to my chest. I hear lots of movement out in the hallway--doors opening, and closing, and the toilet flushing. I jump up from my bed and quickly get dressed in jeans and a tank. I throw my hair up in a messy bun. My door whips open.

  "You ready?”

  "Shhh!" I glance around my closet door at my brother and point to Tay who's still sleeping. "Yeah, I'll be right down," I whisper. Vin ducks out but leaves the door open. Jerk. I grab my boots from the closet and leave my room, trying to close my door as quietly as possible. At the bottom of the stairs, I place my boots on the last step before entering the kitchen. I find myself pausing again at the threshold taking in the scene. Vin and Vance’s backs are facing away from the entrance. They’re eating and too busy with their phones to notice me. My eyes collide with Chase’s as he’s leaning against the counter, and I watch as a smile slowly spreads upon his lips. The butterflies are flapping in my stomach. I don’t know how long we stand there looking at each other until one of my brothers lets out a loud fart, completely breaking our trance.

  “Ew, You nasty!” I yell. Vance looks over his shoulder, “Oh hey V, didn’t see you there.”

  “Like that would matter.” I move into the kitchen to grab a cup from the cabinet.

  “Nope.” He laughs in agreement.

  "Vin, you seriously need to knock before coming into my room."

  He rolls his eyes, "You ain't got nothing to see."

  "I hate to break it to you, I'm not ten anymore."

  Vin puts his phone down and walks to me in two strides. He scoops me into a hug and squeezes, then proceeds to run his hand all over my head making a huge mess of my hair. I try to push away from him, but it's useless-- he's much bigger and much stronger.

  "You'll always be ten to me, but I'll knock." He kisses me on the head, and releases me, walking back to the table. I don't even look at Chase. I’m totally embarrassed.

  "Asshole," I mutter. I bend over, pulling the hair tie out of my hair and redo my bun. I stand up and put my hands on my hips.

  "Alright, we ready?" Vance asks. Vin is grinning over his cup. Ass. Hole.

  "Yup!" I skip out of the kitchen and sit on the steps to put my boots on. The guys walk past, Chase being the last. He pauses, and I look up at him, then at my brothers who are walking out the front door.

  "Sleep well?" he asks with a smile.

  "Yep." I slip my feet into my boots and start tying the laces.

  "How was your night?" I ask curiously.

  "Okay. Got bored once the girl I was talking to fell asleep on me."

  Oh.

  "Ouch. You must've bored her to sleep. I'm sure you had others to occupy you though." I stand up, and he moves closer to me causing my breath to hitch. I have to tilt my head up to look into his blue eyes. His hands go to my hips, holding me in place...What is he doing?

  "The only girl I wanted to occupy me"—he scans my face—"was you." He winks then turns, walks out the door, leaving me completely speechless. He's left me a puddle in more than one way. I gather myself the best I can and rush out the door, grabbing my sunglasses and slipping them on top of my head. Chase's truck is parked out front, and I can see them sitting inside the cab. It would make sense to take his truck, as we all have smaller cars. The truck gives us more room. Surprisingly, my brothers are in the back, leaving the passenger seat open for me. I open the door and heft myself up. Chase has his sunglasses on, but his smile is wide.

  "You okay?" he asks. "You look a bit flushed."

  Asshole!

  "Yeah, I'm good," I mumble and close the door. I slide my sunglasses down onto my nose. We start driving. It's awfully quiet so I turn to see what my brothers are doing in the back. Vance's head is tilted up towards the ceiling of the truck, his sunglasses covering his eyes, and his mouth is slightly open. He's fast asleep. If I was sitting next to him, I'd pick on him hardcore. I turn to look at Vin who is on his phone.

  "What time did you guys get in last night?" I ask Vin.

  "Later than I wanted to."

  "And him?" I point to Vance.

  Vin laughs, "I think he came in shortly after I woke up this morning." I shake my head. Vin leans forward between the front seats. He taps Chase and asks, "Yo, did you meet up with Nic then?"

  I stiffen and very slowly look over at Chase. Are you fucking kidding me right now? He did NOT just touch me in the house and say what he said when he was with someone else last night. I can feel the anger rising; the warmth is spreading and my body is shaking. I look away from him, watching the world zoom by outside the window. I'm clenching my jaw so hard, it's hurting. I don't even want to hear his fucking reply.

  Chase laughs. He fucking laughs. "No, I told you she was with her friends."

  "Dude," Vin says, his tone sarcastic.

  "Actually…" Chase pauses, and it forces me to look at him. He puts his hand in his front pocket and pulls out his phone then hands it to me. What? "V, can you send Nic a text for me? Just send something nice, like, ‘good morning beautiful’."

  I glare at him. He may not be able to see it, but if looks could kill, he'd be dead. He's lucky. Not only would my look kill him--if it were possible--but he's also lucky my brothers are in the cab with us. It is the only thing that stops me from telling him what he can do with his fucking phone. I school my expression and my temper the best I can, forcing a smile on my face as sweetly as I can.

  "Sure. I'm sure Nic is SO lucky," I respond with as much sarcasm as possible. Chase smiles so wide, I can see his molars. I can't fucking believe this--or him. I want to scream. I want to cry. Fuck that, I want to punch him. My brothers are right. Men are fucking pigs. I swipe open his
phone and push on the little envelope icon. ‘Nic’ is the first name in his messages. I don't even see my name...and we were texting last night, too. I should text her and tell her that Chase is a dickhead. I smile to myself. I am such a bitch. I don't even try to read what they talked about even though part of me wants to--I just can't.

  Chase is a dick, and you should run far, far away from him.

  I stare at what I wrote in the message box, hesitate for a second, and press ‘send’. I smile and hand it back to him without even looking his way.

  My phone vibrates and pings a minute later, the only person I can think of that would be texting me right now is Tay. I open my bag and pull my phone out of the front pocket. I have a message from ‘McSwoony’. What the hell? I swipe my phone open, go into my messages, and find that the text I just sent ‘Nic’ sits in my inbox. It takes me a second to register what just happened. I can't help the smile from spreading, and I laugh. The anger I just felt is replaced with relief and happiness. I am ‘Nic’, and he told my brothers about her--well, me. I laugh a bit more and take a deep breath while holding my phone to my chest. I guess it's a good thing I don't have a superpower that can kill with one look; I'd be pretty sorry right now. Vin isn't even paying any attention, he's still talking to Chase, but I feel Chase's eyes on me. I rest my head against the seat, a smile on my face, watching the trees blur by.

  Hit or Miss

  V's face when Vin mentioned Nic was so apparent. She was pissed. It may have been mean for me to mess with her like that, but I obviously couldn't tell her that she IS ‘Nic’. I think I made it obvious that I'm into her, so the ball is pretty much in her court. After a twenty-minute drive, I pull onto the gravel road of ‘Harry's U-Pull It’ and pull the truck into a makeshift spot. I put the truck in park and cut the engine. Vance shoots up. "I'm awake!" he shouts. We all face him and bust out laughing.

  "Shut up," he mumbles as he grabs for the door handle. He gets out of the truck pulling his small tool bag out with him. Once we're all out of the cab, I lock the doors from my key fob. No one speaks as we approach the pay booth.