I’m outside
I think?
Hayden
Hang on. I’ll be right there
Laughter erupted from inside, and I tapped my foot against the wooden deck.
This is dumb. I should just go.
I started to spin on my heel to turn around and go back to my car, but the door swung open before I could get to the steps.
“Hey,Skip.”
I had to bite my lip to hold back the giant smile that threatened to spread across my face. “Hi, Hayes.”
“Come on in.” He leaned against the frame of the entrance, propping the door open with his foot. “Welcome to Keenan’s humble abode. Er, well, his parents’ humble abode.”
If there weren’t so many people and the house was free of the stench of cheap booze and sweat, I was sure the place was pretty nice. It appeared to have an open-concept living room and kitchen, with a hallway leading to what I assumed were bedrooms. But right now there were so many people packed inside that I had no idea how GCSO hadn’t been called to respond to a noise complaint yet. Probably because it was far enough in the country that there weren’t many neighbors.
“Looks…cozy?” I quirked a brow as I tried to figure out what to say.
“Yeah, maybe when the entire town of Goldfinch isn’t packed in here like sardines in a can.” Hayden snorted as he took my hand. “Come on, the basement isn’t as bad.”
He led us to a closed wooden door across the house.
“You’re not going to murder me, right?” I teased. “Your dad’s a cop, you’d be the perfect person to do it if you were. You probably know a hundred different ways to dispose of a body.”
“I think if I was going to murder you, I would have done it by now, Skip,” he retorted, shaking his head with amusement. “Besides, there’s way too many witnesses right now for that.”
“Fair.” I laughed as he opened the door, revealing a set of carpeted stairs leading down to a basement. Colored lights illuminated the room below, and thechatter of more people drowned out the music filtering up the stairs.
“Over here.” Hayden waved me along as he headed over to a brown leather couch that looked like it had seen better days. He patted the cushion next to him, and I sat, sinking into it.
I gasped, wiggling my butt. “This is actually a really comfortable couch.” I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get up; the whole thing practically swallowed me whole.
Hayden chuckled. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s well loved. Do you want something to drink?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m good, thanks.”
“All right.” He rested his arm on the back of the couch behind my shoulder, tapping the fabric with his hand.
The TV in front of us hadMario Kartqueued up on the game console, and a few remote controllers were placed on the coffee table.
“Mario Kart?” I asked.
“Beerio Kart!” Keenan answered from behind. I flinched, jumping in my seat, and he leaned over the couch so his face was right next to mine. “Sorry, Skippy, didn’t mean to scare you. Hi, by the way. Glad you made it.”
“What’s Beerio Kart?” I asked.
Hayden rolled his eyes. “It’s a stupid game Keenan learned from these guys at SGU.”
“It’s drunkMario Kart.” Keenan nodded with a wild grin on his face. “It’s so fun. You’ll never play regularMario Kartever again after playing this. You in, Skip?”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Sure?”
“That’s the spirit! What do you want to drink? We’ve got beer, Twisted Tea, seltzer, and punch.”
