"Then yes, please."
Alice smirks, turning to retrieve a cup for me as Nick sidles up to my side.
"We've all missed you, you know." His breath tickles the back of my neck, making my skin feel like it's stretched a little too tight. It's warm in here, the heat blasting to keep the space from getting too cold.
The high ceilings make it a bitch to keep this place warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but once they turn the heat on, it tends to stay on until the snow thaws in spring.
I move away from him under the guise of stripping off my coat and laying it over the back of one of the pews, unwinding my scarf to place it with it. I still have a thin sweater overtop of my tee, but shedding a few layers at least helps.
"It's good to see you all." I manage, despite the last word being a lie.
I don't know what it is about Brant and Cole, but there's always been something about them that I didn't like. Maybe it's because once Nick befriended them, he began to pull away from Noah and I. And then, he began to change, too.
Suddenly the boy I grew up best friends with was darker, quicker to anger, harder to pin down for longer than a few minutes in passing. His distance during that time is what allowed Noah and I to get closer, but part of me still resents Brant and Cole for their part in taking away my best friend. He hasn't been the same since.
Alice smiles softly as she presses the cup of eggnog into my hands and lifts hers to me in a sort of cheers.
"Drink up." She tells me. "We're gonna need it."
Chapter 3
Nikki
Wedid,infact,need it.
I hadn't stopped to consider how emotionally exhausting this would be on top of being awkward.
Nick began things by talking about how he and Noah met, some of their best memories, saying how much he missed him. They were nice words from a 'nice guy', but they somehow sounded so hollow. Brant and Cole gave a tag team sort of tribute, saying that Noah was a 'cool guy'. Peanut recounted the time they stole his mom's car and how much trouble they got in for it; when he was done, I swear I could see tears in his eyes. Alice recited a poem that I think she wrote herself, about the fragility of life.
And then I talked. I don't even know what all I said. I sort of blacked out standing there; when I was done, one eggnog wasn't nearly enough.
We've been gathered together for long enough that the candles on the altar are melting down to wax pools that collect in the sconces, and there's a peaceful sort of warmth in the air now.
The tension of friendships that have begun to corrode with time has disappeared, and in its place, we're all friends again, united in our loss. It sucks that this is what brought us back together, but as my face grows warm and the peace inside of me deepens, I lean back on Nick's knee, grateful for the chance to be reconnected, even if it doesn't last. We used to lie like this in the snow after making snow angels, seeing how long we could stand it. He'd dare me to take off a glove and I'd dare him to take off his scarf, and both of us would pretend we weren't freezing until we gave in and ran inside the house, where our mothers would scold us as we ran our hands under hot water. I don't know why we did it, because it didn't help; it actually stung like putting your hands in a beehive.
I miss those days... the innocence and naivety that we'll never get back.
"I'm having sinful thoughts." Alice confesses, her voice sultry with desire before it turns to a giggle.
"Same." Brant chuckles. He doesn't elaborate, and I don't turn to look at him.
"Me, three." Nick rumbles. "But how could I not when I've got her lying so close to my cock?"
The innuendo isn't lost on me. I turn my head to face him, shocked that he'd say something so... blatant. It's not like I'm even lying on his lap; there's several inches of space between my head andthat.
I push myself to sitting, to alleviate the awkwardness, but he pushes my head back down, laughing.
"It was a joke, snow angel." Nick shakes his head. "Relax. Don't ruin the moment."
It's warm in here, but I don't know if it's the embarrassment or the eggnog that's got my blood heating and my cheeks flushing.
I turn my eyes to the rafters overhead, big beams arching in a circle to support the convex roof of the church. If I ignore it, I'msure that they'll move on soon enough. And it's been peaceful up until now, so I don't want to ruin it.
"Did I offend you?" Nick asks, his fingers brushing through my hair, dragging against my scalp and making everything inside of me tense. It's a weird movement— not tender, not exactly harsh. It's more like he's struggling between letting it be platonic or mean something more.
"No." I say quickly, swallowing the lie.
"It's a joke," Brant laughs. "Not a dick. You don't have to take it so hard."
