Page 16 of Whiskey and Regret

“You feel lonely?” Once again, the kid reminded me of myself when I was her age. I was always so far ahead of my peers academically that I felt isolated. My parents made sure I went to a private school with the best educational opportunities but I still managed to alienate myself by being me.

“I guess that’s a better word. I’m not sad or anything. Idohave friends. I don’t want you telling my dad I’m depressed and lonely or anything like that. I just have a tough time connecting to people sometimes. Even my friends.” She gave me a nonchalant shrug and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

“You clicked with me pretty fast. I mean I know I’m amazing and all but that goes to show that people like us aren’t unable to make or keep friends. We’re just picky about who we let in.” I tapped the tip of her nose then smiled.

“Yes! That’s exactly it. See, I knew you’d get me, Xari. Thank you.” She started to walk away then she stopped mid-step and turned to rush me with a hug before disappearing down the hall.

Did all kids make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? I was willing to bet money that it was just Frankie. She was an awesome kid. It had to just be her. I’d interacted with plenty of other kids and none of them were as chill as her.

When I got back to Senator Stick In The Mud, he was still leaning against the car but this time he was scrolling through his phone. I took a moment to watch the way the sun washed his caramel skin in light, making him glow. If I were playing a video game, this man was lit up like a special quest I had to take.

“Okay, all done and dropped off,” I smiled. He jerked his stare to mine.

“Was she okay? Did she get to class alright?”

“Mr. Freeman, your kid knows how to get to her classes. This isn’t her first day.”

“I know but I like to make sure, you know? You can never be too sure. All kinds of stuff can happen and…”

“She’s fine,” I assured him. We both got in the backseat even though there was a perfectly good passenger seat up front.

“I can’t believe she asked you to walk her inside,” he chuckled. “I haven’t gotten that invite since she was in elementary school.”

“Oh, it’s because I’m cool. You’re not.” I eyed his suit and perfectly shined wingtips. No, a school full of kids couldn’t appreciate the attention to detail Mr. Freeman had. They didn’t understand the fact that his cufflinks matched his pocket square, which purposefully didn’t match his socks so he wasn’t too over the top. I saw it though.

“Oh, so you’re cool and I’m not?”

“See, this is why you’re the senator and you get paid all the money.” I patted the back of his hand and he stiffened. “Oh my god, you act like I pulled out my titty or something. I touched your hand. Chill out.”

“You and this mouth of yours. We’ll talk about how you should behave around a child when we get back to the house.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Senator, sir.” I gave him a faux salute.

“Okay, I get it. You think I’m rigid. Wouldn’t be the first time that assumption has been made.”

“Is it a wrong assumption?” I folded my arms across my chest and looked at him for an answer.

“It is. You should never judge a book by its cover, Miss Lucas. You don’t know what stories are inside.” His eyes fixed on mine and I squirmed in my seat.

“I think covers tell what’s inside of a book pretty well. Unless the book is misrepresented.” Mr. Freeman looked at me for a few beats while the driver pulled into the driveway of his impressive house.

“Come on,” he said, getting out of the car. When he left, the air smelled different. He punctuated the entire space with his energy. His scent. My throat tightened when I stepped out of the opened door and into the warm spring air.

“Oh, and I’ll need you to push Frankie’s schedule to her mother, Alexis every other week.”

“Your ex-wife,” I said, remembering the big news story about him getting divorced two years ago.

“Yes.” He looked at me then back at his phone. I looked down at his phone too since he was so into it. He was texting Navy.

“So, you’re a single dad in the senate. That has to be a first.”

“I’m not a single dad. Alexis is very much involved in Frankie’s life. We co-parent. I happen to have full custody.”

“Right. So, you want me to be in contact with Frankie’s mom?” I pulled out my phone and opened the Notes app to keep track of everything Mr. Freeman told me. He paused in his rapid-fire talking and eyed me. Mr. Darling Dick sure did do a lot of silent watching. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. It made my skin prickle.

“Taking notes is a good idea. I thought you’d be highly irresponsible and wouldn’t impress me at all today but between the way you connect with Frankie and your willingness to learn new things, I think you’ll do fine here.”

“Irresponsible?” The word burned my ears. It made me think about the careless way I’d been with my finances and how it forced my parents to cut me off.