Page 43 of Take Care, Taylor

“Then where the hell is ‘everyone’?” She looked around. “Looks like it’s just you two.”

“You’re drunk.”

“Drunk, not blind.” She rolled her eyes. “You said you weren’t close with her, but you’re out here—shirtless with her and a fire?”

“Let’s not do this here,” Taylor said quietly. “Get back in the car. Let’s see if he can drive us home.”

“Which home?” She scoffed. “I can’t let my parents see me like this, and I think your roommate likes having you all to herself at your place.”

“Jesus, Stacey. Stop.”

“Why should I?” She stepped closer, teetering. “You think I don’t see what’s going on?”

In the distance, a few cohorts began walking back toward the fire, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“I see both of you. Iseeyou.” She reached Taylor, and he slid his arm around her waist to keep her upright.

“We should leave before you make this any more awkward. Can you drive us home?” He looked at the driver, but he shook his head and slid behind the wheel, speeding away from the beach.

“Awkward?” Stacey snapped. “We’re way past awkward, Taylor. We’re now at—” She heaved and bent over, vomiting into the fire.

Taylor sighed, running a hand down his face.

“I need to take her home first,” he said to me. “And you’ll need to be okay with letting her sleep at our place until she gets better.”

She vomited again, and I nodded.

“Can you grab her purse for me?” Taylor asked.

“Sure.”

I walked over and grabbed it, handing it to him.

Still keeping her close, he rummaged through her clutch, glaring at something I couldn’t see. He took out what appearedto be a wet wipe, but he shook his head and wrapped his arm around her waist.

He gently helped her to stand and looked at me.

“Do you mind driving?”

“No…” I followed them up the dunes and then slid behind the wheel as he settled with her in the back seat.

I turned the heat on low and slid my hand under the passenger seat out of old habit, wondering if he still kept bottled water there.

He did.

I pulled out two and handed them to him before typing the school’s address into the GPS and slowly pulling out of the lot.

His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, but I looked back at the road.

“Taylor…” she croaked.

“Shhh. You’re drunk. Try not to talk.”

“It’s not fair…” She whined. “You said you wouldn’t put this program before us.”

“I haven’t.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she murmured, slumping sideways. “Can I have some water?”