“Really?” Ozzie studied Tuesday curiously. “You don’t get drunk? Wait, does the weed do anything?”
“Yeah, weed totally does. So do some pills, uh, and certain fermented carbohydrates? That’s about it.”
“Huh.” Ozzie brought his glass to his lips and took a sip, grimacing at the taste.
Why did people think this was good?
Tuesday chuckled, tipping the champagne back and also making a face. “Huh. So, that’s champagne. I remember the taste not sucking.”
Ozzie barked out a laugh. “I bet there will be way tastier drinks at the party.”
“Fuck, we can only hope!”
By the time they reached the Madison Hotel where the party was being held, Ozzie’s nerves had returned. The champagne hadn’t done much to quell them knowing that there would be so many people inside and they’d all want to talk and ask questions and socialize.
Yup.
Anxiety was definitely back.
He downed the last of his champagne and took a steadying breath. “Let’s do this.”
“I’ll be right beside you,” Tuesday said, giving him a sweet kiss. “We got this.”
Ozzie melted into the kiss, flooded with warmth like a fluffy blanket was wrapped around him. He was still nervous, but he felt better knowing he didn’t have to do this alone.
Todd had parked and walked around to open the door for them. “Here we are, gentlemen! Have a great evening!”
“Thanks, Todd!” Tuesday hopped out, grabbing Ozzie’s hand to pull him along. “Come on, baby! Let’s go find some booze!”
“Let’s find sometastybooze,” Ozzie corrected, laughing as Tuesday dragged him to the front doors of the hotel.
The Madison was a large and luxurious hotel with a huge lobby and big chandeliers. There was a sign directing guests of the company party down a hallway to the hotel’s ballroom, a massive space that had been transformed into a Christmas wonderland. There were at least three fully decked-out Christmas trees, layers of fake snow all over the floor, hundreds of colorful lights, and a metric ton of holographic tinsel and glitter scattered on all horizontal surfaces.
It was alot.
“Holy shit.” Ozzie stared. “I knew my boss liked Christmas, but this is nuts.”
“Wow.” Tuesday whistled. “He has good taste.”
“Taste. Yeah, that’s a word for it.” Ozzie snorted and shook off the brief hypnosis caused by so many blinking lights. “It’s like the holiday aisle of every store ever exploded in here.”
“Right? It’s awesome.”
“Kinda weirds me out. There is a specific level of too much holiday cheer, and this is leagues beyond that.” Ozzie shook his head, and grinned when he spotted a large buffet with a bar set up right next to it. “Bingo! Target acquired.”
“Sweet! Let’s go!” Tuesday hooked his arm with Ozzie’s as they headed over to get in line. He glanced at the food on the buffet table, staring at a large assortment of desserts. “Whoa! What’s that stuff? The little loaves?”
“Huh?” Ozzie turned to see what Tuesday was looking at, and he gagged when he realized it was a large assortment of miniature fruitcakes. “That, my dear, is fruitcake. It’s terrible. I really don’t know why people still make it. My grandma does every year and we just… They’re gross.”
“Gross? Aw, it looks so good.” Tuesday inched toward the table. “Are you sure it’s gross? Like super sure?”
“Make your own mistakes, baby.” Ozzie grinned playfully and waved a hand towards the table. “Don’t just take my word for it. Go get a slice and find out for yourself.”
“Oh, I am going to get several slices!” Tuesday eagerly darted over and filled an entire plate of various flavors. He got a few odd looks, but he was smiling as he came back over to wait in line with Ozzie. “
“That’s… Wow.” Ozzie laughed quietly. “That is a shitload of fruitcake.”
“I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the green one.”
