Where Are You Now?

Ali David wasn’t big on birthday’s; they just weren’t very important to her. The only one that really mattered to her was the big 2-1, and she hadn’t hit that yet. “One more year,” she mumbled as she stepped out of the airport in Arizona. The dry, hot hair hit her immediately and she almost choked. She hadn’t readjusted to it yet. She was still used to the good old New England coast, where the only hot air there occurred in the summer and even then it was humid and sticky and just not very enjoyable.

She searched the airport pick-up/drop off area, wondering who would be picking her up this time. She was from Emerson college in Boston for winter break; she wasn’t home very often but when she was, the person picking her up was always different. Sometimes, it was one of her friends. Other times, it was a family member. She could never be sure whose face would show up, but she was okay with that.

Suddenly, she heard her name being called out. “Ali!” someone yelled. She turned around in circles, looking for the mysterious voice. Soon she saw him; it was her brother Aaron. Of course, with his 6’3” frame and his dark brown hair, all inherited from his father, he was easy to find.

The two hugged. “How’s college life?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “Same old, same old. How’s Arizona life?” she asked as they walked towards his car with her luggage in hand.

“Nothing’s changed around her, Ali. Oh!” he said suddenly, as if remembering something important. “Stephen and the guys just got back from tour the other day though.” He gave his younger sister a look, as if this was privileged information that she should be thanking him for.

“Uh, alright?” she said, giving him a funny look. As if she cared about those guys. Well, minus Jess. She and Jess had always been really good friends. “Who cares?”

Aaron shook his head in amusement at his sister. “You’re a piece of work, Al.”

She shrugged, not caring. “Whatever, let’s go get some lunch or go home or something! Just get me out of this heat, please!”

“Chill, I’m brining you home. By the way,” Aaron said to his younger sister as they got in the car, “there’s a party at my house tonight. It’s for your birthday, so you’re coming.”

She stuck her tongue out at her brother. “Bossy now, aren’t we?”

***

Alcohol wasn’t Ali’s thing. She hated the burning sensation when she drank vodka or things like that, and beer tasted awful to her. But, her brother was a part time bartender and so he had mixed her up her all time favorite drink—the only drink she would have if she didn’t have a choice—a Long Island iced tea. She swished the liquid around in her cup and then took a sip, amazed at the fact that she hardly tasted any liquor at all.

She sighed as she looked around the apartment that her brother and one of his friend’s from high school occupied. It was decent; at least, it was before the party started. Now it was relatively trashed but that was okay with Ali. She’d jet in the morning before anyone had any time to notice and or make her clean anything up.

She stood from her sitting position on an empty bar stool in the kitchen and wobbled slightly. The Long Island iced tea was doing its thing, clearly. She set the drink down and decided to take a break from it for awhile. She walked through the house, looking for Jess; Ali was becoming bored. Ever since her brother ditched her to flirt with someone, she had no one to hang out with.

“Ali!” a guy’s voice called out. She turned in the direction of where her name had come from and smiled when she saw John standing in a pair of skinny jeans, a tank top, and his ever present glasses with the lens popped out.

He hugged the blonde. “Happy birthday!”

“John, you look like a freak.”

“Hey now!” he exclaimed. “That’s Mr. Gomez if you’re going to call me a freak.”

She laughed. “Fine, Mr. Gomez. Have you seen Jess?”

He smirked. “Yeah, she’s kicking some serious ass at beer pong.”

Ali laughed. “She would. Who’s she playing?”

“It’s her and some other girl against Brian and Stephan.”

Ali frowned instantly. She decided she wasn’t going to head over there. She would see Jess later. But, John had other plans. “Come on!” he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the area where the beer pong tournament was being held. Jess was now playing only Brian. “Go Jess!” John yelled.

Ali stayed on the outskirts of the crowd. She watched her friends play and eventually, of course, Jess defeated Brian. He protested that the drummer had cheated, but Jess just waved him off. As she turned around, she spotted Ali. “Al!” she yelled, running to her. The two girls hugged and laughed. “Oh jeeze, I’ve missed you! Happy birthday! How’s college?”

Ali laughed. “Thanks! Good, good. I love it in Boston. You need to come visit sometime!” Ali exclaimed.

The brunette nodded enthusiastically. “Of course I will, just tell me when and where.”

The two talked for a little longer and then they scoped out the party so Ali could get the low down on everyone from high school. As Jess was telling her about a certain class whore of theirs, Ali spotted him. He was standing with some girl, talking and laughing with her. Ali knew that girl. Suddenly, she interrupted Jess. “Why is Stephan talking to her again?”

Jess looked over to where Ali’s gaze was directed and shrugged. “Who knows? You know how Stephan is; he’s nice to a lot of people.”

“Does he not remember what she did to him?”

“Am I sensing a little jealousy, Ali?”

Ali narrowed her eyes at her friend and said, “No, Jess. You aren’t. I just think he’s being an idiot.”

Jess shrugged and said she’d be right back, that she needed a drink refill. Ali nodded and continued to watch Stephan chat it up with the girl who had ripped his heart out and stomped on it two years ago. “Boys are so stupid,” she mumbled and then went in search of her own drink.

After she got her brother to mix her another Long Island iced tea, she took a drink and went back into the living room. She decided it was her turn to have a little fun; this was, after all, her birthday party. She walked over to the beer pong table and called out to the entire room, “Who wants to play beer pong?” A few drunk guys whistled at her and cheered, but no one accepted the offer. She pouted, but was soon surprised by who stepped up to play with her.

“I’ll play you, but just you and me.”

Ali turned around only to be faced with the one person she was trying to ignore. “What if I don’t want to play with you Stephen?”

“But you will because no one else will.” He smirked. “Play with you, I mean.”

She shook her head and walked up to the table. “Fine,” she muttered.

After the first throw, where Ali got the ball into the cup on a bounce and Stephen had to drink two cups, she smirked. She was going to kick some serious ass and have fun doing it. “You forgot how good at this I am, didn’t you?”

“You aren’t very forgettable, Ali. Of course I didn’t forget.” While she stared at him, he threw his ball at her cups and made it in. She drank the cup and narrowed her eyes at him.

Game on, she thought to herself.

***

Twenty minutes later, Ali was doing a victory dance. “I won, I won, I won!” she exclaimed, dancing in a circle.

“So modest,” Stephen laughed.

She shrugged. Now that they had warmed towards each other a tad more, things were less uncomfortable. “How have you been, Ali?”

“Better than you, Stephen,” she smirked.

He laughed and nodded. “It’s possible.”

“Yeah it is, especially because I’m not talking to the girl who broke my heart two years ago again.”

Stephen looked surprised. “What are you talking about, Al?”

“Why are you talking to Emily again? She hurt you! Are you stupid?” Ali said to her friend rather viciously.

“I’m over it, Alison. We’re just friends now. It’s easier to be friends with your ex’s than it is to hate them forever.”

She glared at him. “You are stupid,” she mumbled and then walked away. She went into the kitchen where her brother was still mixing drinks and said, “I need a drink.”

He laughed. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. He quickly mixed her another drink and handed it over. She took a sip and didn’t even care what it was. It burned a little, but at this point in the night she just didn’t care anymore. She drank some more and walked through the house looking for a friend.

“Ali.”

She whipped around too fast and her head started spinning. She squinted to try and stop the dizziness, but it didn’t work. “Stephen.” She recognized his voice. She would always recognize his voice.

“A little drunk are you?”

She shrugged. “Not really.” Then she hiccupped, giving her away. “Alright, maybe a little. I did have a couple Long Island iced teas earlier and well, you know how those are,” she smiled, stumbling slightly.

Stephen laughed. “Come on, you should probably get some sleep.” He grabbed her by the arm, slipping it over his shoulder. She leaned into him and let the warmth of his body so close to her envelope her like a blanket. He guided her back to a spare bedroom and shut the door behind him. “Sit down,” he told her gently and she did as she was told.

Of course, she was drunk, so her body flopped back on the bed. She laughed to herself and then tried sitting up. Successfully, she sat up, leaning on her elbows so she wouldn’t fall back again.

Stephan chuckled and said, “I’ll be right back alright?”

She nodded and he left. Within minutes, or what Ali thought was minutes, he returned. He had a pair of sweatpants and a tank top in his hand. “Here,” he said, handing Ali the clothing. “You should get out of those jeans and this fancy looking top.”

She smiled and looked down at her clothes. Suddenly, she was exhausted. “I don’t wanna,” she mumbled, letting her body fall backwards again.

He sighed. “I’ll help.” He had her stand up and then he slipped the shirt over her head. He grabbed the white tank top quickly and slipped it on over her head. Then he unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down, having her lift her own legs so he could take them off. She sat on the bed and he slipped the black sweats on her legs and she pulled them up the rest of the way.

She curled up on the bed in fetal position and mumbled, “I’m tired.”

Stephan watched as the pretty blonde in front of him fell in and out of consciousness. “Ali,” he said, trying to wake her up for at least a few minutes. He had something to tell her. “Hey Ali?”

“Mmm?” she mumbled, not quite awake yet.

“You know how I said it’s easier to be friends with ex’s than it is to hate them?”

“Mhm.”

“I wasn’t talking about Emily,” he said quietly. But it was too late. Ali had already drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

He sighed and lay down next to her. He would wait until the morning and then tell her what was on his mind.

***

The sunlight was blinding that was coming through the open blinds. Why would anyone leave their blinds open? she thought to herself. Ali sat up and was hit with a headache the size of Texas. “Shit,” she mumbled.

She crawled out of bed and looked down to discover she was in sweats and a tank top. “Well, at least my clothes are on.” Just as she finished her sentence, she looked over to the bed she had just crawled out of. Laying next to where she had been was a sleeping Stephen.

“Shit,” she mumbled.

Of course, Stephen tended to be a light sleeper. He stirred and sat up. Groggily, he said, “You were leaving, weren’t you?”

She didn’t even try to lie to him. “Yeah, I was. In fact, I am,” she said and then turned to leave again.

“Hold on, Ali. I need to talk to you.”

Ali wasn’t stopping though. So Stephen got up to follow her. He grabbed her arm lightly just as she stepped through the door. “Stop,” he said, pulling her back. “I need to talk to you. You’ve been gone for several months; can’t you even give me that?”

She stopped and stared at him. “What do you want, Stephen?”

“Did you just choose to forget that we’re ex’s? Or did I mean that little to you?”

She gulped. It wasn’t that. It was anything but that, actually. “Stephen, you know me so much better than that. You know that’s not it.”

“Then what, Al? Why’d you go all the way to fucking Boston to get away? Why do you act like we’re nothing more than acquaintances?”

“I was scared, ok? I acted like I was alright, like I was okay with everything going on around me, but it was too much. Everything was happening too fast.” She scoffed as an afterthought. “Why do you care, though? It’s been three years.”

Stephen shook his head. “Ali, you’re crazy if you think I got over you. I wasn’t over you when you left, I wasn’t over you when I got with Emily, and unfortunate for me, I’m still not over you now and I don’t know what to do about it.”

She shook her head and pushed her hands through her hair. “We’re so dysfunctional.”

He nodded. “You never answered my questions, though.”

She nodded, too. She knew she didn’t; she didn’t want to. “I know. Look Stephen, I left because I had to. Everything was happening so fast. You guys were starting to tour and you had a path. I, on the other hand, had no fucking clue. I hated that. All I had was you and the guys and Jess. That was it. I couldn’t depend on you guys anymore than I already did, and believe me; I depended on you guys a lot. I had to get out and figure some stuff out before it was too late.”

Stephen nodded. “I can respect that, Ali. But why the cold shoulder every time your home, which by the way isn’t a lot?”

She sighed. “You know what I hate?”

“Uh, what?” He wasn’t sure where this sudden change of topic was going, but he went with it.

“Birthdays. Because every year, you get older and people think the older you get, the wiser you are. That’s not true though! Things like guys and relationships—you’d think that by now, those kind of things would be easy because you’re all wise and shit right?” Stephen chuckled lightly but shrugged. “Well, it’s not. It’s not easy, and you still do stupid things and you still have a really hard time getting over people, even if you know, you know you should just get over someone. But you can’t.”

Stephen gave Ali a funny look. “Ali, what are you—”

“I’m not over you either Stephen. I may be twenty now, and maybe people think I’m supposed to be wise and stuff, but I’m not. I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to this stuff and I’m not over you and honestly? I just want to kiss you right now because I feel like that would be the best birthday present ever.”

Stephen smiled and leaned in, pulling Ali close. Their lips connected and Ali slipped her arms around his neck. He backed up and landed on the bed, Ali straddling him. “So, wise one,” he mumbled against her neck, “are we doing the right thing?”

She smirked, kissing him on the lips. “I have no fucking clue, but I couldn’t be happier.”