Eskimo Cold

I stumbled over a dead tree branch on the ground, catching myself on a sleeved arm. I drunkenly giggled.

"Oh my god, Alazae," Mac laughed out, still amused at the joke I just made about his newest music video. "You're fuckin' killin' me, girl."

I laughed with him, pulling my lighter out and sparked the joint we had just rolled. I took a long drag before passing it into Mac's hand.

"I don't even know where we are right now," I confessed, my words slurring as they left my tongue. He laughed through his hit. Everything was funny to us at this point.

"What would you say if I told you I slipped some molly into your last drink?" He asked, shining his phone light on me to see the reaction I would have.

"Malcolm," I screeched, "did you drug me?!" The boy smiled widely.

"I didn't say I did!" He shot back taking a step over a tree root. "But maybe I did." I rolled my eyes at him. That would explain why I was speeding my face off. I figured I was just drunk and happy to be reunited with my old friend.

Neither of us were really sure how long we had been away from the campsite. We were sent on a mission to the car to get more papers but lost the path somewhere along the way.

"I missed nights like this. LA doesn't compare to a sick backwoods banger," Mac said, looking up at the stars before looking at me. "And I missed you, Zae."

"That's why you haven't called then? Cause you missed me?" I asked him drunkenly. I probably would have never said anything if I were sober. I knew Mac was busy doing his thing. But I also knew he had been in town multiple times in the past year.

Mac didn't say anything at first, but he did stop walking. Noticing he wasn't beside me anymore, I stopped too, a few steps ahead of him.

"Why did you stop?" I wondered out loud as he passed the roach back to me. I took the last few hits and tossed it into the dirt.

"I meant to call," he told me. "Things just got so crazy." I nodded and pretended I understood. But in reality, I didn't know what he meant at all. That wasn't my lifestyle, it was his. I was mediocre compared to him. He frequented late night mansion parties with models and strippers.

"It's okay, Mac, I was just kidding," I told him softly, taking a few steps towards him. Between his hat and his hood up over it, I could barely see his facial features. So instead, I just stared up at the almost full moon, resulting in feeling even more intoxicated than I already was.

"There were so many times I wished you were there." I could feel his mood sway drastically. I now looked at his dark figure with curiosity.

I couldn't really tell what was happening. Everything was so hazy. Mac put his hand on my hip, then it slid to my lower back. He flipped his hat backwards and pulled me closer to him. His warmth, his scent, his breath on my cheek... It was all so much for me take in. Looking up into his eyes, I forgot to take a breath. His gaze smothered me, making me feel small. I could feel myself melting. But maybe that was just the drugs.

"Alazae?! Mac?!" Voices called our names through the lush darkness. Our bodies jumped apart, leaving me feeling suddenly cold as I began to sober up quickly.

"There you guys are!" Dani exclaimed, handing me her drink. I smiled at her, more thankful than she could comprehend and took a long sip of the bitter liquid. "Did you get lost?" She laughed, pulling out a cigarette. I peaked at Mac from the corner of my eye. His now uncovered face watched me closely in the moon light. I smiled at Dani who was flashing her phone light around. "Did you at least get the papers?" My inebriated friend asked after she realized we weren't answering her previous question.

"Yep, we got them," Mac said, walking past us in the direction Dani came from. I wondered if he knew exactly where we were the whole time.

"Hey babe," I greeted loudly as my eyes tracked down Ricky. My boyfriend watched Mac like a hawk as he made his way towards his friends. I leaned up, giving him a long kiss on his lips, stealing his attention away from the other male. With a look over my shoulder, my eyes connected with Mac's. For a moment, I saw jealousy. But once again, I chose to blame it on the drugs. Breaking the stare, I grabbed the bottle of tequila from one of Ricky's friend's hand and began to take long swigs from the cool glass.

**

The next morning was nothing but a blur. My head pounded as I rolled over in Ricky's bed. I squinted as a sun beam streamed through the curtains covering the window. I whimpered a bit, creeping out of the blankets. When I was sure my boyfriend was still sound asleep, I threw on my clothes and slipped out of his room.

Luckily for me, Ricky's parents were no where to be found as the floorboards creaked under my feet. I pulled my sunglasses out of my bag, covered my eyes and stepped out of the front door.

The summer sun glared down on me as if it were mocking me. I didn't remember much after returning to the campsite last night and I assume that was a good thing. I probably didn't want to remember much anyway.

I didn't bother checking my phone as I walked down the sidewalk. My stomach growled, reminding me of my long night without any food. I forced myself to continue on, finding myself at the market.

Ordering a sandwich, I was just thankful to be out of the heat. Summer was far from my favorite season. I couldn't stand the Pennsylvania humidity.

"Zae," a voice dragged out my nickname. I turned, smiling at the familiar voice.

"I think you're stalking me," I told Mac, raising my eyebrows at him. Suddenly, I felt extremely self conscious in my clothes from last night and sweated off make up.

"Jimmy was hungry," he replied, throwing a look behind his shoulder to where our childhood friend sat at a table, typing away on his phone. "You know how he gets when I don't feed him. Dudes an animal."

I let out a chuckle as my sandwich was slid across the counter. Reaching into my purse for money, I felt my stomach growl again.

Taking a seat next to Jimmy, he finally looked up from his phone screen.

"Oh, hey Al," he greeted me, a blush creeping at his cheeks. "When did you get here?" Mac rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Probably somewhere in between your direct messages from random bitches," Mac scoffed. Jimmy was that friend who was always on his phone.

I wanted to enjoy the time with Mac while I still could. He was never home for long. There was no telling when I would see him next.

"Yo, we were gonna go catch a movie," Mac started, throwing his garbage away. "You wanna come?"

Just as the words rolled of his tongue, my phone began to vibrate on the table. Ricky's name flashed on the screen. Without any thought whatsoever, I hit the ignore button.

"Absolutely. Let's go," I smiled up at him. What did I just do?