His father had given him the “talk,” but it was pretty tame.
“So you’re getting to that age, William,” his father began. “You know girls and
stuff.”
“I know,” William had told his father.
“Oh, good.” That was the extent of the conversation.
William did not want to have a more grown-up version of that talk. Even though he
was nineteen, he wasn’t sure how his father would react to him bringing a girl
home. He didn’t want to find out.
“Let’s go around back,” William decided.
He led Emily to the fence and opened the gate. She had hidden the bottle in her
purse. William wondered what kind of alcohol it was.
He had only drunk beer before. He didn’t know how liquor would affect him. Or wine.
But he knew that what Emily had in her purse wasn’t wine.
He unlocked the door, and the kitchen was dark. He sighed in relief. His father and
sister had already gone to bed.
He led her into the basement. It was exactly the same as when he and his friends
would save princesses or defeat robotic doctors. He doubted Emily would have wanted
to play any of the old video games he had.
Emily sauntered around the basement before settling on the couch.
“Do you have anything to chase this with?” she asked as she pulled a bottle of Jack
Daniel’s out of her purse.
“Um,” William hesitated. He didn’t know what went with Jack Daniel’s. He didn’t
even know what kind of liquor it was. “I can make some Kool- Aid? I think there’s a
two-liter of Coke.”
“Kool-Aid?” Emily asked, laughing. “Thinking about Jack mixed with Kool-Aid made me