I think Sabrina extra spiked the eggnog because Stassie is extra bouncy as she dances around the den in her elf outfit. She’s calling it an elf outfit but what she’s actually wearing is a tiny green dress with elf shoes she got from a costume store.
Robbie’s had me putting random shot glasses and cups on a Twister mat, and instead of helping, Henry has been chatting away to Stas and Brin. Earlier, I made what I’m now considering a mistake: I told the girls that Henry had hit on a girl while we were Christmas shopping; now they’re obsessed.
Anastasia immediately started asking about someone called Daisy, whom I apparently stopped Hen hooking up with. This was the second time this afternoon I was hearing the name Daisy.Did Henry have a thing with Briar’s sister?I didn’t remember meeting her if he had. Then it hit me that it happened months ago, when Henry threatened to take my girl off me.
JJ appears with the new girl in question, plus a friend, and I can see Stassie trying not to be too obvious with her staring. Rob maneuvers himself to the top of the mat and clears his throat in a very Robbie-esque way to capture everyone’s attention.
Taking a sip of my beer, I kind of love watching him in his element of being the center of attention. “Welcome to the first official drunk Twister game. The rules of the game are very simple: you touch it, you drink.”
Bobby digs me in the ribs and shouts, “Name of your sex tape,” earning a middle finger from Rob.
“The game ends when someone falls, takes their hand or foot off the mat, or they refuse to drink. Stassie, JJ, Joe are playing, we need two more,” Robbie continues.
Henry moves to put his cup on the windowsill beside me. “I’ll do it.”
Stassie points at me and mouths,You, but before I can volunteer myself, JJ shouts up. “Gen is playing!”
The poor girl looks mortified when everyone turns to look at her. I can hear Mattie and Kris whispering about her being hot, but her eyes are on one person, and he’s looking right back at her. I can’t decide if JJ is playing matchmaker or he’s hoping Gen ends up intertwined with him so he can piss off Henry.
Robbie claps his hands and fucking hell, it’s like being at practice with Brady. I’d never noticed until I’ve spent some time away from Faulkner, but Robbie is a mini version of him. He clearly has a little bit of Brady in him too. “Stas, Joe, you two stand at this end. Henry, go over there with JJ and Gen. Everyone take their shoes off and, uh, maybe stretch? I don’t know.”
Stassie bounces over to me with a big drunk grin. She kicks off her elf shoes and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her mouth to mine and giggling to herself. “Guard my shoes with your life.”
She doesn’t even let me respond before she’s bouncing back over and high-fiving Joe. If anyone didn’t know what was going on between us, they do after tonight. From the minute the party started we’ve been glued to each other one way or another. Our friends don’t care, although, I think some money has changed hands paying bets.
I turn my attention back to Robbie. “Do you know how to not be bossy?”
“Shut the fuck up, Hawkins,” he snaps back, rolling his eyes. Winding Robbie up has been my main source of entertainment for about fifteen years, and I have no plans to stop now.
He eventually stops arguing with me and starts the game. The girls only get feet moves, but Joe and JJ are very, very intertwined.
“Stas, right hand yellow,” Robbie shouts over JJ and Joe arguing with each other. The second she bends over I realize why all my friends started looking at me the second Robbie called out her move.
Henry huffs as soon as her hand lands on yellow. “Anastasia, please get your ass out of my face.”
“It isn’t even in your face!”
Her ass is definitely in his face. To make it worse, her dress is only just covering her ass; if it rises any more, the whole hockey team, plus anyone else watching, is going to see all the hickeys I’ve left on the inside of her thighs.
“Nathan,” he shouts, twisting his neck to search me out in the crowd of onlookers. “What’s your blood pressure like right now?”
Yeah, the kid knows me. “Pretty high, buddy.”
“See! Because your ass is in my face. You’re going to kill him.”
The game goes on until Henry lifts his hand off the mat to flirt with Gen, and Anastasia immediately bounces back over to me, reclaiming her shoes.
She creeps onto her tiptoes, brushing her lips against mine lightly and lowering her voice. “Between my legs is aching, but I want you so badly.”
Yeah, Henry’s right. She’s going to kill me.
* * *
I’ve lost my elf.
While I was in the bathroom, the guys snooped on Henry, who had mysteriously disappeared into our laundry room with Gen. Their indiscreet lurking scared the poor girl off and ruined Henry’s chances, and he has vowed to get revenge on them all. I’ve never been so relieved to not be involved.
I haven’t got what it takes to go head to head with Henry over Anastasia. If I had been there when they cockblocked him taking Gen upstairs and I now couldn’t find Stas, the first place I’d be checking is Henry’s room.