Whatever It Is

Carlos remained being a dick throughout dinner, but the other three were able to tune him out pretty easily. Gordon had lost track of how many beers his friend had had, but when he noticed Carlos’s completely blood shot eyes he knew he was drunk.

“I should probably get him home,” Gordon said, grabbing his wallet. Anne and Hazel tried paying for their share, but Gordon refused to let them.

“Psh, look at Mr. Moneybags over here,” Carlos slurred.

“Oh, I can’t wait for the long ass haul across town to your place,” Gordon remarked.

“I thought you lived right around here?” Hazel asked.

“I do, but Carlos lives way on the other side of town. I don’t think either of us were expecting him to get drunk, so this is just a minor speed bump. I’m not looking forward to the drive, but what can you do?” Gordon laughed.

“Yeah, I’ve got to drive this one across town too,” Anne stated, pointing over at Hazel who shrugged sheepishly.

“Excuse me for not having my car yet,” Hazel remarked. Anne said something softly to Gordon, and Hazel took a sip of her drink as to not intrude.

As Gordon and Anne continued their side conversation, Carlos suddenly leaned his head onto Hazel’s shoulder, complaining that he didn’t feel well.

She cringed, hoping he wasn’t going to puke, and put her ice-filled cup against his forehead without thinking. She absentmindedly ran her other hand along the back of his head and neck, causing him to groan.

“That’s perfect!” Anne exclaimed, snapping Hazel’s attention back onto the conversation.

“What’s perfect?” She asked them. Gordon and Anne both turned to look at her, simultaneously giving her odd looks at her and Carlos’ position.

“Um, well since Anne and I live over here, and we figured out that you live right near Carlos, Anne and I were just going to ride in her car and maybe you can drive Carlos home?” Gordon asked rather than stated.

Hazel looked at them incredulously for a moment before realizing that they were right. It would be a waste for both of them to drive all the way out there for no reason.

“Besides, you two look pretty comfy,” Anne remarked. Hazel glared and was about to say something back before Carlos spoke.

“Whatever she’s doing is fucking amazing so shut up before she stops,” Carlos murmured. Hazel rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away, and she pulled her cold glass away from his forehead as well. “See?” He scolded at Anne.

Gordon shook his head, and helped his friend up when they were ready to leave.

“She’s got magic hands, man,” Carlos told him.

“She’s a masseuse,” Gordon replied.

“Hot,” Carlos sounded. Gordon ignored him and the four of them exited the restaurant to the parking lot. Gordon opened the passenger side door of Carlos’ truck, and began helping him into the seat. He got him all settled before turning and handing the keys to Hazel.

“He still should be able to give you directions back to his place. None of us know how he does it, but it’s like his sense of direction gets enhanced once he’s under the influence,” Gordon laughed.

“Wait. What is going on?” Carlos questioned.

“Hazel’s going to drive you home,” Gordon told him.

“No she’s not. You are,” Carlos argued.

“She lives right by you,” Gordon retorted.

“She’s not driving my truck. I barely let you drive my truck,” Carlos insisted. Gordon sighed, turning towards Hazel.

“He’s a little possessive over his truck,” Gordon informed. “He really does only let me drive it in these situations, and even then he gets so neurotic you’d swear he was sober.” He turned to Carlos to see that he was glaring at him. “Anyways, he’ll get over it.”

Before Carlos could protest, which he was definitely about to, Gordon shut the passenger door. He also briefly explained to Hazel where Carlos lived, in case he passed out or was unable to direct her for some reason.

“Listen, I want to apologize for him,” Gordon said to the two girls. “He’s just a really intense player, so he takes losses kind of hard. I swear, he’s a nice guy,” he directed that towards his sister.

“It’s no problem,” Hazel assured. “He just needs to cool off.” In reality she was kind of disgusted by Carlos’ behavior, but it was obvious Gordon felt bad enough and she didn’t want to make him feel worse.

“Yeah, and sober up. He’s lucky we have late practice tomorrow,” Gordon said. He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he trusted a drunk Carlos with his sister, but he also knew Hazel could hold her own if need be.

The three of them all said goodbye a few moments later, and Gordon told Hazel he’d call her the next day.

Hazel nodded and got in the truck, and immediately Gordon could hear Carlos complaining. He laughed to himself before turning toward Anne who was unlocking her car.

“I’ll drive, if you want?”

“Okay,” Anne smiled. They got in her car and he pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward thier apartment.

“So, minus Carlos acting like a jerk, I had a good time tonight,” he stated.

“Yeah, me too,” Anne smiled, glancing at Gordon.

“How long did you know Hazel was here?”

“The whole time,” she grinned. “Her moving up here was supposed to be a surprise, so she contacted me about it a couple months ago.”

“Did she say what moved her away from Georgia? Did she get in a fight with our parents?” He asked, concerned.

“No,” Anne smiled. “She just wanted to be by her brother.”

Gordon smiled and leaned over to kiss Anne at a red light.

“I hope the next time we go out with Hazel and Carlos, it will be when he’s in a better mood, like after you’ve won,” Anne pointed out.

“I highly doubt Hazel is going to want to be around him again, regardless of his attitude. She’s real big on first impressions,” Gordon told her.

“Really? She seemed pretty understanding,” Anne noted.

“She was just being polite. She’ll probably deck him in the face now that they’re alone,” he laughed.

“That’s too bad. He really is a nice guy.”

There were a few moments of silence before Anne spoke again.

“Gordon, what exactly happened to make him the way he is?”

“I dunno, it’s just how he always has played, I guess,” he shrugged, thinking Anne meant his intenseness as a player.

“No, I mean…personally.”

Gordon glanced at her, confused.

“When he was left at the altar,” Anne provided.

“Oh. Well, yeah. That’s it. He was left at the altar,” Gordon remarked, pulling up to their apartment. “What else do you think made him that way?”

“Well, she had to have left for a reason,” Anne said.

“I don’t think even he knows why she left, Annie.”

Anne got out of the car with Gordon, wondering how far across town Carlos and Hazel had gotten.

“You need to pull over right now,” Carlos said for the millionth time.

“Carlos, get over yourself. I’m not letting you drive, so just shut up,” Hazel retorted. Carlos heaved a sigh but remained quiet and hunched up in his seat. He glanced over at Hazel, looking her up and down.

“You’re really pretty,” he remarked, several minutes later. Hazel looked over at him, ready to fire back a comment when he saw that he wasn’t looking at her snidely. He was being genuine. Drunk, but genuine.

“Er, thanks,” she nodded.

“No problem,” he shrugged. “Now can I drive my-”

“No.”

“Damn,” he muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

A while later they had reached Carlos’ apartment and Hazel parked the truck. She walked around and opened his door, helping Carlos stumble out. She shut his door and locked up the truck, heading towards the building with Carlos’ arm slung around her shoulders. They made their way up to his door and Carlos pointed at his apartment key. Hazel unlocked the door and walked inside with Carlos, asking him where his bedroom was.

He told her where to go and as soon as they were inside his room he shut the door by pressing her up against it.

“What are you-”

Carlos pressed his lips to hers, effectively shutting her up.

Hazel couldn’t comprehend what was going on, but she knew she liked it. If he was making her weak in the knees while he was drunk, what on earth could he do while he was sober?

Carlos’ hand suddenly slipped up her shirt, jolting Hazel to reality. She pushed Carlos off of her roughly, causing him to look at her bewildered.

“What the Hell are you doing?” She asked, eyes wide.

“Did you or did you not ask me where my bedroom was?” Carlos slurred. Hazel narrowed her eyes, understanding what he was implying.

“To put you to bed,” Hazel told him. Carlos stood there, and Hazel could literally see him comprehending what she had said.

“Easy mistake,” Carlos shrugged, leaning in again. Hazel rolled her eyes and dodged his lips, walking towards the small table next to his bed. She set his keys down, and he raised an eyebrow at her. “You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that,” Carlos said. “You kissed back.”

“Yes, I did. I’m not going to deny that. But you are drunk, and I don’t like you very much. So I am gonna go,” Hazel said.

“You’re going to walk? At this time of night? How far?”

Hazel was caught off guard for a second, wondering why he was so concerned. But before she could say anything, Carlos rushed off somewhere, groaning. Hazel followed him to the next room swiftly, wishing she hadn’t when she saw him drop down in front of the toilet and empty the contents of his stomach.