Prompt Me Hard - 1. 245 - Whiskey and You

“Those are nice boots.”

Aaron tilted his vision from where he had been staring at the starlit sky through the fat blossoms of the magnolia tree to look at the speaker. He didn’t look like he would know what Aaron would have meant if he’d referred to his grey leather cowboy boots as ‘shit kickers’, he looked as out of place at this damn thing as a clown would’ve been at a funeral, and as superfluous as Aaron felt. Aaron smiled back at the kid anyway and motioned to the grass beside him.

“Y’all welcome to pull up some grass and join me if ya like.” The boy folded himself into a lanky heap and sat obediently, “You stick out like a sore thumb here kiddo. Where’d they haul you in from?”

The boy shook his head slightly in order to hide behind his violently fuchsia and electric blue hair and picked at the ragged hem of his jumper. He had that sort of look favoured by underweight teenagers who liked boys with guitars, eyeliner and too much hair product. Aaron grinned anyway and took another swig out of the thick square glass bottle which by now was only half full of amber liquid. He offered the whiskey to the boy.

“My mum made me come,” he explained, “To the engagement party,” he boy added, “The bride to be is some big client of hers.”

“Sure,” Aaron uncrossed his boots, clicked and stretched his legs then re-crossed his legs in the same manner, “Ellen is some big shot realtor.”

“What about you?” The nameless teenager handed back the whiskey with a small smile, “No offense but you don’t exactly fit in her either.” He gestured with a slender hand to the thronging assembly of suits and cocktail dresses doing their civilised chin wagging dance on the formal lawn. It was a pretty sight, if you liked that sort of thing: men in expensive suits with champagne and too-loud laughs, women in flashes of silky colour and glittering gems with hard calculating eyes. Aaron realised that he was probably being harsh, but he wasn’t in such a jovial mood right now. He knew that he shouldn’t have come to the damn celebration. Like there was anything to celebrate.

“Bryan!” There was that voice, the high pitch nasal tones that set his teeth on edge, “Bryan!” the voice that had appeared in his ears four months ago and ruined his life, “Where are the staff?” The voice that had invaded his quiet little country life and ripped the heart out of him, “Bryan! You need to tell them that we’re out of toilet paper.” The voice of the girl with the synthetic blonde hair and the wicked smile. The voice that had stolen everything he’d ever wanted.

Aaron realised that the kid was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. He took another swig of the whiskey and stood, stamping his boots on the rough grass under the magnolia tree. He dropped the bottle.

“Kid, if you’re ex, the love of your life, ever invites you to his engagement party…” Aaron took a deep breath and looked down at the hair dyed boy, he did not want to see the shape of Bryan, he wasn’t sure he could cope with that punch to the chest again, “… If that ever happens to you, don’t go.”

The boy watched him, slack jawed, staring after the shape he left as he turned away. Aaron jumped the fence behind the magnolia tree as though it was nothing. In days gone by, he and Bryan would have climbed the tree and sat drinking and kissing and talking and singing until the sun came up. Part of him begged to go back to the party and find Bryan and remind him of who he really was, who he’d been before the promise of money and influence had taken him from a rough farm hand to a man in a specially tailored suit. The other part of him turned to stare at the nameless teenager.

“Kid?”

“David.”

“You ever been in a real country Chevy Dave?”

The teenager was on his feet in an instant, bottle in his hand, eager grin plastered on his face. Aaron stuck his hands in his jeans pockets in the way that he knew would make the light flash on his belt buckle.

“You fancy having an adventure tonight boy?”

Dave clambered over the fence like the offer was going to expire if he didn’t get there in under sixty seconds. Aaron sucked in a deep breath, clear summer air flavoured with the heavy scent of the tree. Tonight he would do what he’d been telling himself to do every night since Bryan had left for good. Tonight he would manage it with this pretty kid. Tonight he would try.

Tonight he would get over his broken heart.