I’ve lost sight of why I used to enjoy these parties so much. It wasn’t about the drinking or the good-natured games. No, it was about this feeling of camaraderie.
“Yo!Look who finally showed up!” Beau waltzes over with a knowing smirk on his face as he throws his arm around Millie. I ignore how their proximity to each other makes my heart poundin a certain kind of way or how it picks up speed when Millie looks up and over to Beau with a beautiful smile on her face.
I try to shake the ugly feeling off as I throw an easy smile of my own on. “Looks to me like we are right on time.” I nod my head over to the beer pong table where they are gearing up for another round.
Beau laughs good-naturedly, “Millie you want to play?”
She laughs as her eyes cut to mine, “I don’t know how.”
Before I can respond Beau is pulling her towards the table, his arm still wrapped around her. I shove down the urge to rip his hand off her and punch him in the face. That kind of reaction isn’t going to help me prove to the prying eyes around us that we’re just friends. So instead I divert my gaze and start for the beer pong table. “It’s easy, we’ll show you.”
“It’s really a lot of fun and once you get the hang of it, not too hard,” Beau adds.
I see Beau reach into his pocket and pull out his phone, no doubt alerting the rest of the group that we’re here. And sure enough, one by one they all start showing up.
Lily heads straight for Millie, a shy but welcoming smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you again, Millie.” Lily awkwardly holds up her arms like she wants to hug Millie but isn’t sure if it’s okay, and instead of Millie rejecting her affection she leans forward and gracefully pulls Lily into a hug. It looks like the two of them have been friends for years, not just having met each other days ago.
The sight replaces that ugly feeling from earlier with something much warmer, and much more dangerous. A sense ofright,of longing for this to be our normal. My friends greeting her like she’s always been a part of the friend group.
“You are so fucked.” Luka all but chuckles at my side.
My eyes narrow as I turn away from the scene in front of me. Lily, Stella, Tessa and Lennon have surrounded Millie, followedby a chorus of giggles. Millie’s smile is wide and happy which eases some of the tension I feel in my chest. I know she was nervous about coming and fitting in, but I have no doubt that she will.
I give them a minute to talk, while ignoring Luka, before I go over and gently put my hand on her arm. “Mind if I steal her?” I ask to the group.
Lily’s answering smile is small but bright. “Of course. Need to make sure she’s ready for this.” She leans in towards Millie and loudly whispers, “These things get rather intense.” She winks before turning to make her way to Luka.
“What does she mean intense?” Millie asks as we make our way over to our side of the table which is already set up for the next round.
“We’re hockey players, Daredevil. We hate to lose.”
“But don’t you play each other?” she asks with the cutest little tilt of her eyebrow.
“Exactly. It’s all-out war over here.”
She giggles, “It’s beer pong. How serious can it get?”
“You’re about to find out. Now, there aren’t very many rules, but I need you to listen very carefully because this one is very important.” I make sure to find her eyes when I say the next part and I can see the laughter dancing in her pretty irises. “Do not. I repeat DO NOT let your elbows pass the edge of the table when you shoot the ball.”
“My elbows?” There that eyebrow goes again.
I nod my head, my face still set in a no-nonsense grimace. “Your elbows can’t go past the edge of the table, or your shot is disqualified.”
“Anything else?” Now her eyebrows are twitching in barely contained amusement.
“The rest we’ll teach you as we go.”
“That seems a little risky to me.”
Her response earns a smirk. “The risk is worth the reward.”
Now it’s her turn to smirk. “What kind of reward?”
“Bragging rights, of course.” I find myself leaning towards her, drawn to the pretty girl with big honey brown eyes and wild curls. Like a moth to a flame.
“That’s all?” she teases.
“What else would there be?” I whisper because I have leaned in so far we’re practically touching noses.
