“No way. Those are mine,” Beau proclaims.
“No fair! They’ve gotmyface on them!” Ryan complains.
Nate holds up his paper with the number four. “Actually, they’re mine now. I’m stealing.”
Ryan sticks his tongue out at Nate, and I shake my head in disbelief. When I ordered the socks, I felt a little bad that someone would get stuck with them. I can’t believe we live in a world where anyone actuallylikesthem.
The game devolves from there. Just about everyone makes a play for the Ryan socks, except for me. I manage to end the game with my litter box zen garden, and Cat gets the Ryan socks, which she promises will be shared custody of the group.
Once it’s all over, everyone’s a little loopy from laughter and a night full of booze. Beau holds up his gift, a candle shaped like a hand giving the middle finger.
“Fess up,” he says. “Who got this one?”
Brinley raises her hand, then flips Beau off. “I’m only here to hang with Pippa and Cat, so I figured it would be appropriate for any of you guys to take home. Who bought the air tags I got?”
“James,” the guys say in unison.
“He gives the most practical gifts,” Nate explains. “Last year it was new gym socks. The year before that, it was replacement phone chargers.”
“It’s not even as boring as your present, Nate. Seriously? An emergency winter driving kit?” Luke moans. “After I splurged on all your sex toys?”
“Hey, look, there’s a mini portable campfire in here,” Ryan points out. “You could always use it to make s’mores.”
Luke nods. “Well, I do like s’mores.”
“I’m the one who bought your toque, by the way, James,” Cat says. “The proceeds from it go to helping wildlife endangered by climate change in the Arctic. Plus, it’s cute!”
“It’s great,” James says, smiling.
“Pippa’s obviously behind the socks,” Ryan says. “Good one, Pips. You killed it.”
I do a double take. “Everyone saw that, right? Him complimenting me?”
“It feels weird,” Cat says. “I’m not sure I liked it.”
Ryan wraps the present he got more tightly around himself. It’s a blanket shaped like a tortilla, which we all know Beau bought because he used way too much tape. Nate had to get out a pocketknife to get the thing open.
“Wait, who bought my little zen sandbox?” I ask, looking around.
Ryan raises his hand. “I guess that process of elimination isn’t your strong suit, Pips. But what we allreallywant to know is how Nate’s going to use his kink box.”
“None of your business,” Nate says.
“If you need some ideas, you can always read Pippa’s newest article,” Cat tells him as she snuggles into his side.
Brinley perks up. “Oh, I read that! The article about Dom etiquette, right? It was hilarious.”
“And hot,” Luke drawls. He sounds a little drunker than he should be. “My offer still stands, you know. I’ll be one of the 12 dates, just as long as you promise to write nice things.”
“I’m not staging a date,” I say with a laugh. “It’s against my editorial integrity.”
Truthfully, if Luke weren’t Ryan’s friend, I might consider it. He’s definitely cute, and he’s got great manners when he’s not tipsy. But considering the current energy between Ryan and me, it’s just too weird.
“It doesn’t have to be staged,” Luke insists. “It can be as real as you want it to be.”
“Let it go, man,” Ryan says roughly. “She said no.”
Luke scoffs. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I want a date with the city’s most eligible disaster.”
