Thankfully, the car ride was short. Vincent spent the majority of it lecturing me to get my content to him as soon as I could. He wouldn’t post it until Saturday, but he apparently thought I might be distracted this weekend. 

            “Benny!” I called out as I walked through the door. The lights flashed in response. I walked in on Benny curled up on the sofa watching Katie’s favorite horror series on the television. I grimaced, “Oh, not more of this.”

            Benny made a gurgling sound, that I now knew well enough to recognize as him laughing at me. I shook my head, tossing my purse on top of him as I walked by. The lights sizzled again with his annoyance. It was jarring seeing him materialized so strongly, and my brain had a hard time translating the images my eyes were sending. The flickering of his body was a shadow you were supposed to see out of the corner of your vision, not while you were staring directly at him. But here he was, the side-effect of spending so much time with Katie. 

            Leaving him to his ridiculous shows, I went to my room to change, switching into a tank top and satin sleep shorts. My sweatshirt was still folded on my dresser, where I had left it after retrieving it on my date with Hunter. Picking it up, I held it to my nose. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of him that still clung to the fabric, then I tucked it neatly into a drawer. Smiling to myself, I went to the kitchen to make tea. I still had so many questions for Hunter. His admission earlier had thrown me, and then I let myself get distracted by my hormones. It was not my proudest moment. 

            Settling in at my computer, I tried to focus. I had sketched out several strips earlier, which was typical of my process. I could struggle for weeks for ideas, then sit down and lay out entire storylines at once. I just had to get these colored and lettered, which would make for an easy night, especially since this was my favorite part. Adding life and brightness to the sketches was calming and brought a feeling of satisfaction every time. Tonight, I kept gravitating to shades of blue, probably because my mind kept drifting to Hunter’s face and eyes centimeters away from mine. I was happily lost in my own imagination when my phone went off. The sound of it vibrating across the table jolted me. 

            “What’s up?” I asked. 

            Katie hesitated on the other line, then finally said, “I’m really sorry to ask this, but can you come get me?”

            “Where are you?” I asked, looking at the time. It was close to midnight.

            “I’m at Ryder’s house. Jessie was supposed to come get me on her way, but she got really plastered at the party and Ian took her home instead. Sen, I’m supposed to be staying at her house. My mom will freak if she finds out Jessie’s home and I’m not there with her.” She wasn’t even trying to hide the panic in her voice.

            I muttered to myself. Why does no one listen when I say don’t drink the punch? “Alright, it’s not far, I’ll be right there.” 

            “Thank you.” 

             “Sure.”

            I hung, then I spun around in my chair to see Benny waiting in the doorway. He had heard Katie’s voice and made a concerned noise. 

            “She’s fine, just needs a ride. I’ll be back okay?”

            The electricity flickered and Benny made another low, vibrating sound.

            “No, of course you can’t come with me,” I scoffed at him. What was getting into him? I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my purse. Benny looked dejected as I left him alone in the living room.

            There was almost no one out on the road, which meant I could drive with the windows down and enjoy the smell of the night. Plus, I had made good progress on the comic. I would be able to send several strips to Vincent to edit when I got back, so it was a good time to take a break. This wasn’t a terrible way to stretch my legs.

            I pulled up in front of Hunter’s house. The front porch light was on, and I could see lights through the blinds of the picture window. Ryder answered the front door. 

            “Hey,” he greeted me with a friendly smile. His eyes widened a little as he looked me up and down. I pulled my shoulders into a cringe as I remembered I was still in my pajamas. Fantastic. 

            Katie was standing behind him, peering over his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, did I wake you up?”

            I narrowed my eyes at them both in annoyance. “No, I was working. I just wasn’t planning to leave the house.” 

            Katie blushed. “Sorry.” 

            “It’s fine. Are you ready to go?” I asked. 

            She nodded. Ryder stepped back to let her pass him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and rushed out the door. He smiled after her. 

            “Are we leaving you alone?” I asked him. 

            He nodded. “Hunter’s still at the party.”

            “I’m probably being silly asking this, but are you okay with us leaving you to wait for him by yourself?”

            He chuckled a little. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He took in my outfit again. “Just don’t tell Hunter I said that. If he realizes he missed out seeing you like this, because I didn’t lie, he might ground me.” 

            Katie laughed behind me. I shook my head at them both and walked off to my car. Ryder waved from the door as we drove away.

            “Thank you again for coming to get me,” Katie said. 

            “You can always call me. I’ll always come get you. Maybe do me a favor and remind me to put clothes on next time, though?” I joked. 

            Katie laughed. 

            “What did you two do all night, or do I want to know?” I raised my eyebrow at her as I asked. 

            “We just watched movies,” she admitted, almost sullen. Then she quickly perked back up. “Oh, and I showed him your comic strip! He found the dedication you put. I didn’t even know that was there!” she gushed. 

            I laughed. “I have a t-shirt for you at my house. Compliments of Vincent.” 

            She made one of her joyful squeal sounds. “How was the party?” she asked. 

            “Same as usual, full of people. Vincent got what he needed then took me home.” 

            Katie watched me quietly, then asked, “Did you see Hunter?”

            I nodded. “Yeah.”

            “So, are we still going to the drive-in Saturday?” she asked cautiously.

            I laughed. “Yes, we’re still going to the movies.”

            She let out the breath she’d been holding and smiled at me.  

            I sat quietly as I drove. I wanted to tell Katie all about what I had learned tonight, but I expected she would have as many questions as I did, maybe more. And I didn’t have most of the answers, yet. Besides that, it wasn’t entirely my secret to share now. I needed to know Hunter was okay with Katie knowing before I divulged anything this personal about him. 

            Once we were back home, I walked Katie to her house. As she went to unlock the door it gently parted open. A short woman stood in front of us in a cardigan, her hair a mess of dark curls. “Katie!” she whispered in surprise. 

            Katie’s anxiety spiked at the sight of the woman. “Hey, Mom.”

            “I thought you were with Jessica tonight?” her mom asked, still in a whisper. I assumed to not wake her husband.

            “She wanted to come home, so I went and picked her up,” I shared. 

            The woman turned to me, her eyebrows wrinkled as she squinted and tried to identify me. “Who are you?” she asked.

            Katie piped in, “Mom, this is Sen. She lives across the street. Jessie started to drink with some friends, and I didn’t want to risk waking Dad, so I called Sen for a ride.” I raised my eyebrows at her quick response. The best lies stem from small truths. Katie spun that like a pro.

            Her mom let out a sigh. “That girl is going to find herself in trouble one of these days.” Shaking her head, she looked back to me. “Thank you.” 

            I nodded. “Of course.”

            Katie waved good night to me and followed her mom into the house. As I walked across the street, I could see the shadow of a figure inside the enclosed patio. Bennie had been watching the exchange anxiously. If it had been her stepdad that answered the door, I don’t know what he would have done. Hell, I didn’t really know what he could do, but I was glad I didn’t have to find out.

As I entered the house for the second time that night, I got a text from Hunter. 

Sounds like I missed out on seeing you. 

            Still at the party?

            Just got home. I could still come over, if you miss me. 

I laughed as I read his response. Goodnight Hunter.

            See you Saturday. I’ll pretend to be surprised. Was the last thing he sent.