Xo Novel
Chapter 21
HARDY
“So…what do you think?” Maple says, coming up next to me at the party as people mill about, grabbing drinks and food and mingling with Polly and Ken.
I have to hand it to Everly, she really knows how to throw a party…and Haisley knows how to build a themed house. Boa garlands are strewn from patio pole to patio pole. Couches are strategically placed throughout the space with black and yellow plaid pillows. Along the back wall of the patio, there are picture frames of all different sizes hanging with pictures of Ken and Polly throughout their relationship. Black and yellow plaid table clothes drape over tables, displaying mini cupcakes, each decorated with a fondant medallion and the words “As If” written across in icing.
“I think everything looks pretty good. People are happy.”
“I meant, what do you think about Everly…seems like you can’t take your eyes off her.” Maple bumps my shoulder.
“Not true,” I say as my eyes fall on the girl in question. She’s over by the bar, talking to the catering manager.
Today, she came to the party with her hair down, which has quickly become my kryptonite. I feel weak when it’s loose around her shoulders, like I might do something stupid. I feel this need to touch it, run my fingers through it, wrap my fist around it.
And instead of wearing one of her pencil skirts or pantsuits, she’s in a pair of brown, high-waisted pants and a black, long-sleeved shirt that has cutouts along her torso, showing off her skin. The moment I saw her, I knew I needed to keep my distance. She came up to me at one point, and I awkwardly waved, but then said I needed to check on the dips—which was stupid, because it was the third time I’d checked on them to avoid her.
And why am I avoiding her?
Because Maple has gotten in my head.
Everly is no longer my cool friend.
No, she’s a girl who isn’t just cool but fucking perfect. She’s immensely attractive, so goddamn funny, and she seems to have a chokehold on me that I wasn’t expecting and because of that, I can’t seem to find an easy way to interact with her.
You like her, Hardy.
And…I do.
It’s a battle I’m fighting within myself.
And I don’t know why I’m fighting the battle. The smart man would be like, yup, you like her, you fucking idiot, go after her.
But what if she doesn’t like me back? Hell, she said she wanted to be pen pals.
Fucking pen pals.
What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
And have I been awkward around her?
One hundred percent.
I’ve avoided her. I’ve not answered her emails, her texts. I’ve tried to distance myself out of self-preservation, but all it’s done is make things worse.
Like last night. The look of defeat in her eyes when I was trying to be professional around her nearly split me in half. Sharing ice cream with her, chatting, showing her how to shoot a ping-pong ball, all highs.
Highs that I thought about before I went to bed and when I woke up this morning.
I thought about her all goddamn day. I’ve completely chickened out and have avoided her at all costs tonight. Because now I think she’s gotten the hint and has stayed away as the party has started to unfold.
“You are such a liar,” Maple says. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I don’t know,” I say with a defeated sigh. “Fuck, Maple. It’s like I’m nervous or something. I don’t get nervous around women. I don’t start to sweat and act all weird and fidgety, but with her I do.”
“Because you care what she thinks.”
“I care what you think,” I say. “And I wasn’t out of my mind approaching you.”
“Maybe because it wasn’t a high risk,” Maple says. “If I said no, if I turned you down, would you really be broken up about it? And before you answer that, I can answer it for you. It’s a no. But now you’ve gotten to know Everly, you’ve grown an attachment to her, and if she rejects you, well, that’s a rejection I’m not sure you can stomach.”
How fucking accurate is that?
Because she’s right. A rejection from Everly would send me spinning because I don’t want to be just friends. I sure as fuck don’t want to be pen pals. The stakes really are higher, and it’s the reason I find myself on one end of the backyard and Everly on the other.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” she asks.
I scrub my hand over my face. “Fuck, this is all your fault.”
“My fault?” She chuckles. “How is this my fault?”
“Because…your return got me thinking that I wanted a relationship, and I thought it would be easy with you—though we both know it wasn’t—and now you’re telling me I have feelings for someone else, which I do, and now I’m a sweaty, nervous, fidgety mess.”
“And that makes me so happy.”
“My pain is causing you happiness?” I ask her.
She smirks. “It is. I like seeing you like this. And I say this without jealousy or anger, but I don’t think you ever acted this way around me…ever. Which means the connection between you two is much stronger.”
I fully turn toward Maple. “Do you know what she said to me last night?”
“She loves you?” Maple clasps her hands together in hope.
“Uh, no. If she said that, do you think I’d be a nervous wreck, talking to my ex in the corner right now?”
“I guess not.” Maple chuckles. “What did she say?”
“She told me that she wants to be pen pals.”
Maple lets out a snort and covers up her nose. “No, she didn’t.”
“Yeah, she did. Fucking pen pals, Maple. What am I supposed to do with that?”
Maple shrugs. “Buy stationery?”
“Maple,” I groan. “I’m being serious. I think…fuck, I think I’m in the friend zone with her.”
Maple shakes her head. “There is no way you’re in the friend zone. I saw the way she looked at you the other night.”
“Like I was her best friend, possibly big brother?”
Another snort.
“No…like she liked you.”
I shake my head. “You’ve been in Peru for far too long. There is no way she was looking at me like that.”
“Only one way to find out,” Maple says and then to my horror, calls out, “Everly!” Everly glances in our direction. Maple waves her over. “Come here.”
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“Nothing embarrassing,” she replies, and from the glint in her eye, I can tell that her consumption of alcohol has already spurred her on to cause trouble.
“I don’t trust you,” I say.
“Whatever you do, try not to fall into her breasts as a greeting.”
“You’re not funny,” I say quickly before Everly steps in front of us.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Everything is great,” Maple says. “We actually wanted to thank you for all the hard work you put into the party. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Oh, of course, it’s my pleasure,” she says, glancing at me very quickly but then returning her gaze to Maple.
“And now that everything is running smoothly, maybe you can have some fun,” Maple says.
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m just here to put out fires.”
Maple dismissively waves her hand. “Please, there are no fires to be put out. At least have some dips and a drink. Hardy was just telling me how he’d love to show you his favorite dips.”
Dear God, does that sound lame.
“You were?” Everly asks, suspicion on her face.
“Oh, yeah. Really want to show you the dips,” I say. “You know, since they’re my pride and joy.”
“I thought the Ed Sheeran playlist was your pride and joy.” She cocks her head to the side, and it’s so fucking cute.
Jesus, what has happened to me?
“That too,” I say. “I have two pride and joys, sort of like children, you know? Equally proud of both.”
“Are you comparing your dips and playlist to children?”
“Yes,” I say as I rock on my heels. “Something wrong with that?”
“I guess not,” she says. “Anyway, don’t worry about me, you guys have fun.” She smiles and starts to turn around when Maple shouts.
“He was trying to be nice,” she calls.
Err, what?
Where the hell is she going with this?
And please don’t let it be embarrassing.
Everly’s brow creases, and she turns back around to us. “What?”
“Hardy,” Maple says. “He was trying to be nice. He actually really wants you to taste my dips—the ones he asked me, and not the caterers, to make special—because he thinks they’re off. He told me because I’m a vegetarian now and can’t taste-test the end product, I didn’t make them properly. I think they look fine, but anyway, he was trying to casually get another opinion without bringing attention to my possible shortcomings.”
What the hell is Maple doing?
Have the roles been reversed?
Is Maple the bridesmaid undercover now? Because if she is, she is not doing a good job.
How many drinks has she had?
“Oh…well, I think everyone seems to enjoy the dips,” Everly says. “I haven’t heard anything different.”
“Can you just go check with him?” Maple says, pushing me toward Everly, not making this obvious at all.
“Sure, if you would like me to, I can,” Everly says.
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” Maple clasps her hands together in front of her, creating prayer hands as a thank-you.
Together, Everly and I head over to the buffet of dips, some made by the caterer, and three made by Maple.
“Everything seems fine,” Everly says, taking the investigation seriously. If only she knew. “What makes you think they’re not good?” she asks as me as she picks up a plate.
“Uh, just seemed off,” I answer.
“Okay, well, let’s see. I’ve never had buffalo chicken dip before, but we can see what’s going on here.” She takes a Club cracker and dips it into the buffalo chicken, scooping out a chunk. She moves over to the dill chip dip, which is basically sour cream, dill, and some weird chipped beef Maple found. And then the last is a seven-layer taco dip that is my favorite. Once her plate is full, she glances at me. “Aren’t you trying these too?”
“Right.” I fill up my plate as well, and then together, we step off to the side, finding an open high-top.
“You had these dips in college?” she asks.
“Yeah, they were the three classic ones at every party,” I say.
“Seems fancy, especially this dill one.”
“Well, we were fancy back then,” I reply.
“Oh…so fancy. You guys were partying with your pinkies up,” she teases.
“We were. The fanciest college kids you probably ever met.”
She smirks and then takes a bite of the buffalo dip. I do as well and it’s fucking good. Brings back a wave of memories.
She chews for a moment and then swallows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says. “That’s good.”
“You know, I think you’re right. Maybe I got a weird bite at first.”
Her eyes narrow. “Hardy?”
“Hmm?” I ask.
“If I take a bite of the rest of these, are they going to taste just as good and you’re going to agree?”
“Probably,” I say, attempting not to wince.
“Uh-huh. Care to explain to me why Maple is lying about the dips?”
“You know, I can’t really be sure. I think living among the flamingos has made her a little kooky.”
Everly sets her plate down. “This has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve ignored me since you’ve arrived?”
“What? Ignored you?” I nervously laugh. “Who said I was ignoring you?”
“Hardy, you haven’t even muttered a word to me. And I get it, okay? You don’t want me to be your partner for beer pong.” She touches my arm, and fuck me I want her to move it up and to my chest so I can pull her in even closer. “It’s okay. I’m not offended. I know I didn’t do a good job last night, and if I were you, I’d be avoiding me as well. So let me put you out of your misery and tell you I won’t be participating today.”
Christ, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Everly, you—”
“There he is,” Polly says as she walks up to us. “Maple said you’re partnering up with Everly to try to take me and Ken down. Is that true?”
Uhhh…
“Oh, no,” Everly says with a shake of her head. I watch as her soft hair floats across her face. “He’s not partnering up with me.”
“He’s not?” Polly asks. “Then are you not playing?” she asks. “Everyone else is partnered up.”
“Maple is?” Everly asks.
“Yes, she’s with Jerry.” I glance over at Maple who is standing next to one of our old college friends, chatting it up. How long has she been planning this out?
“So, are you really going to chicken out and not play us?” Polly asks. She thumbs behind her to Ken who is stretching his wrist. “He’s been practicing, dusting off the rust. He’s ready to, in his words, ‘take you down, all the way downtown.’”
A snort pops out of Everly before she covers her mouth.
“Tell him, his trash talk is shit,” I say.
“I already did. Let’s just say I’m not marrying him for that reason. He’s lucky I didn’t break the engagement off after that comment.” Polly tugs on my hand. “Seriously, come play. You didn’t set this whole thing up not to play, did you?”
No.
I set this whole thing up because I’m a needy fucker, it seems. And now that I’ve woken up these intense feelings for one particular woman, I can’t seem to think straight.
“Well, if you need a partner, I can be that person for you,” Everly says. “I’m just going to apologize in advance.”
“She sounds like she’s not great, which makes her a great partner,” Polly says. “Come on, watch me and Ken beat you two.”
I let out a sigh. “Sure, but let me warm up with Everly for a bit first.”
“Not a problem—Ken will be doing the same.” With that, Polly walks away, leaving me alone with Everly.
I turn toward her, deciding to push down my emotions and focus on the task at hand: beer pong victory. “Time to practice. Let’s get you a drink, because you need to loosen up.”
“I need to loosen up?” she asks, pointing to herself. “You’re the one who didn’t say hi to me.”
“No time to argue,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “We have a tournament to win.”
“That’s it,”I say, feeling so much pride as Everly sinks another ball into a cup. “You’re doing amazing.”
She smiles brightly up at me. “Thank you. I really think the two fingers on the ball is better for me, rather than the three…even though I prefer three, if you know what I mean.” She waggles her brows and jabs me with her elbow.
Yeah, I know exactly what she means.
And talk about making me sweat from the thought of it.
She picks up her drink and downs the rest of it before setting it on the table. “So, I don’t have to drink beer, and we can set our cups up with our drink of choice?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Perfect, because I’m not much of a beer girl.”
“You’re not?” I ask as I finish off my beer.
“No, never been a huge fan.”
I set my empty glass down. “Back in my day, we didn’t have fancy seltzers or Moscow mules to drink for cheap. It was beer or inexpensive vodka that gave you the worst hangover ever.”
She smirks. “Back in your day.”
“I beat you to it before you could say it.”
“Who’s to say I would have mentioned your youthful years?” She leans against the table, looking so fucking good with her hair flowing over her shoulders. I’ve never been a hair man, but hell, Everly’s hair does something to me.
“Please, you take any opportunity to mention them,” I say.
“You’re right.” She winks. “I probably would have.” She glances over my shoulder where the tournament is happening, almost the entire party gathered around the beer pong table that is covered in another plaid tablecloth. Polly has a pink feather boa that she stole from one of the garlands draped over her shoulder and is casually tickling Ken with it every few seconds. “So when do we have our first game?”
“Polly told me they have us on the board, and when it’s our turn, we’ll be called up.”
“So what do we do until then? Practice more?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want to wear you out. There is a certain point when you practice too much and lose that newcomer magic.”
She chuckles. “Is that really a thing?”
“Oh, for sure it is,” I say just as Maple walks up to us.
“Hey, was just over at the bar and thought I’d bring you guys some more drinks.” She drops off two Moscow mules. Then she sets down four Jell-O shots in front of us as well.
“What are those for?” I ask, seeing right through her tactics.
“From Ken and Polly. They expect you to keep up.” Maple winks and then takes off.
Now, these could be from Ken and Polly.
Or…these could be from Maple, who is trying to play matchmaker, to loosen things up between me and Everly. And talk about loose: This is a side of Maple not many people get to see. Drunk Maple. Not so reserved, doesn’t hold back, just goes for it.
I glance down at the Jell-O shots and back up at Everly. “Ever do one of those?”
“A Jell-O shot?” she asks. “My God, Hardy, I’m young, but not that young.”
“I don’t know.” I chuckle. “Just asking. Are you going to do one?”
“Probably not. I should be working this event.”
And as if she’s listening in on the conversation somehow, Maple reappears as if by magic. “Polly said you are relieved from your duties and you are to now celebrate with us.”
Everly startles, clutching her chest. “Oh, Maple. I didn’t see you there.”
She chuckles. “Just forgot to mention that, so…” She wiggles her finger at the Jell-O shots. “Catch up.” Then she’s off again. Not that I’m surprised at all, but Maple walks right up to Polly, high-fiving her and indicating that Polly is now in on this as well. Maple probably told her what was going on, and now they’ve made it their mission to get me and Everly together.
God, they’re going to make this so obvious. I just hope that Everly remains naïve to the situation.
“Looks like you don’t have a choice,” I say.
“Seems like it.” She glances over at Maple and Polly. “This is weird for me because I really don’t take part in the party. I monitor. I don’t enjoy.”
“Well, you should know at this point that when it comes to Polly and Maple, if they want you to enjoy their drinks, they won’t accept anything less.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that feeling.” She sighs and picks up a Jell-O shot. “I hope this doesn’t get me fired.”
“Who would fire you?” I ask. “Maggie? Not going to happen. And like Maple said, you’ve been relieved of your duties.”
She studies me for a moment. “You know, Hardy, it almost seems like you want me to drink, to get drunk.”
“What? No,” I scoff. “Why would I do that? I need you primed and ready as my partner.”
“But maybe it would be easier to talk to me,” she says, calling me out.
“No, that would require me to drink more.”
She hands me a Jell-O shot. “Then drink, because I hate this uncomfortable, awkward aura about you.”
“I’m not awkward and uncomfortable.”
“Oh my God.” She laughs. “Hardy, please. You can barely look at me, and I have no idea why.”
Because if I look at you, I’ll stare, and I don’t want to be caught staring.
“I’m looking at you right now,” I say.
“Because I told you to.”
“Fine,” I say. “I won’t take my eyes off you.” I lift my Jell-O shot to my mouth, keeping my eyes on her the entire time.
“Oh my God, don’t do that,” she says, playfully pushing at my head. “That’s creepy.”
“You’re the one who ordered full eye contact.”
“No, I’m ordering you to be normal,” she says as she picks up our drinks and shots and carries them over to a couch. I follow her and we both take a seat. She sets the drinks on the coffee table in front of us and turns toward me. “Admit it, you ignored me when you got here.”
“Ehhh, ignored is a strong word,” I say before taking down my Jell-O shot in one smooth slurp.
“It’s the correct word whether it’s strong or not.” She runs her tongue along the edge of the Jell-O shot, making me sweat, and then she pops the gelatin into her mouth. After setting the empty cup down, she looks me in the eyes. “Can we just be normal? Can we go back to having matching shirts and mugs?”
“I didn’t know we went astray from matching hats and mugs,” I say, even though that’s a blatant lie. I know what I’ve done, and the fact that she’s asking to “go back to normal” lays a heaping pile of guilt right on my chest.
“We are. We’re very astray.”
“Well, that makes me sad,” I say as I lean back on the couch and bring my drink up to my lips.
“You’re sad, I’m sad. If Maple didn’t ask about the dips, I think I would have gone home tonight and tossed my mug in the garbage.”
I gasp. “You wouldn’t.”
She slowly nods and picks up the other shot. “Yup, that’s how bad it’s gotten. You’ve done this to us.”
“Well, fuck, we can’t have you throwing out our matching mugs. Because that would be really sad.”
“The saddest.” She tips back the Jell-O shot into her mouth.
“So what do we do to avoid the throwing away of the matching mug?” I ask, feeling lighter, most likely from the alcohol I’ve consumed prior to this moment.
To my surprise, she scoots in closer so her leg that she’s pulled under her is barely caressing my leg. She puts her elbow on the back of the couch and leans her head into her hand. “I think we get it out in the open. Just say what’s been bothering you.”NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.
Ha.
Not going to happen.
“Nothing’s bothering me.”
“You’re lying,” she says, leaning in even closer. I can smell her perfume. It reminds me of something woodsy, but clean and feminine—I can’t quite place it, but it’s doing all sorts of things to my head, making me feel fuzzy and delirious at the same time. “How about this, I guess why you’ve been avoiding me.”
Well, that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Then again, it’s better than the truth at this point, so I’d rather have her guessing than me telling the truth. I don’t think I can handle the repercussions of the truth.
“Sure,” I say. “Good luck because nothing is bothering me.”
“Liar.” She pokes my arm and then sips from her drink. “Okay, I have a theory. Are you ready for it?”
“You’re coming up next,” Polly shouts over to us with a point of her finger. “Get ready.”
I bring my attention back to Everly, who worries her lip. When her eyes meet mine, she says, “Sorry in advance if I tank your game.”
“You’re not going to tank it.”
“We shall see, but back to my theory. I think you’re awkward around me because you’re embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed about what?” I ask.
“That your plan to win Maple back didn’t work,” she says. “But there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sometimes life just works out like that. You gave it a try, I gave it a try, and I think we just move on from here, you know? You don’t need to tuck your tail between your legs.”
“You think that’s why I’m being awkward?”
“Ah-ha.” She points at me. “You admit that you’re acting awkward.”
Uhh…ooops.
“No, I was just repeating what you said.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Hardy. There’s been definite weirdness between us, and it happened after you went to talk to Maple. So, care to share with the group? Me being the group?”
“Nothing is—”
Her hand lands on my thigh and every muscle in my body seizes as she leans in even closer.
Jesus Christ.
How is this happening to me?
I went from being friendly with this woman, to friends, to now being mentally consumed by her. And overnight too.
I went to being able to kiss her on the cheek as a greeting, to freezing when she touches me.
I can smell her everywhere.
I can see her smile when I close my eyes.
I can hear her laugh when it’s dead quiet in my apartment.
From the moment Maple pointed it out, I’ve been consumed, and right now, with a few drinks in me and her leaning in so close, it’s making me think stupid things…like taking her hand in mine.
It’s making me want to do stupid things, like tug her onto my lap.
It’s making me want to say ridiculous things, like will you go on a date with me?
“See, like right now,” she says. “You’ve gone all stiff on me.”
Stiff in more places than one…
“What did I do?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I say, downing the rest of my drink and then setting the empty cup on the table.
“There has to be something that I did,” she says. “You’re going to drive me nuts if you don’t tell me.”
“I think you’re driving yourself nuts,” I say, just as Polly and Ken clap loudly, announcing their win. “Looks like we’re up. Are you ready for this?”
She glances over at the table, exhales, and then downs the rest of her drink. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
I stare downat the knot around my ankle and then back up at Maple. “Is this really necessary?” I ask her.
“New rules from Polly and Ken, and we do what the bride and groom want,” she says.
“This is…new,” Everly says as she shifts next to me, right up against my side with her ankle tied to mine, causing a wave of goosebumps to spread across my skin.
Maple has gotten herself into some next-level meddling. I thought Everly was intense with helping as my undercover bridesmaid, but Maple is giving her a serious run for her money. But what is even more impressive is her ability to clearly work with Polly on the fly and create a situation where I’m not only teamed up with Everly…but also tied to her.
“Yeah, I’ve never played beer pong like this before,” I say, staring at Maple.
“It’s the wedding way,” Maple says. “Since Polly and Ken are tying the knot, they thought it would be a fun nod to their wedding.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll take note of it for future events,” Everly says, once again, completely clueless.
And that’s what’s making this incredibly hard, because if she realized Maple’s clearly trying to push us together, then maybe I could talk to her about what’s going on in my head. But really, she has no idea, which makes me think she’s put me firmly in the friend zone.
Clearly, Maple misread Everly when she said she was interested. Friend-zoning is not interest.
“Okay, are you ready?” Polly asks as she holds up a ping-pong ball. “Because we’re ready to smoke you.”
I lean in close to Everly. “Heads-up, the trash talk is very embarrassing.”
“I gathered that already. Figured it was an elderly thing.” She smirks up at me.
“Funny,” I say just as Polly shoots off her first ball, missing the pyramid completely.
Oh boy, this might be easier than I thought.
“Whoa, damn,” Polly says, “that was not quite accurate.”
“Baby, that was the opposite of accurate,” Ken says as he lifts his hand and takes a shot for himself, sending the ping-pong ball right at my chest, hitting me directly on the nipple. The ball falls to the ground, but the damage has been done because immediately my nipple goes hard, pointing against the thin fabric of my T-shirt.
And my drunk friends, of course, don’t let it go unnoticed.
“The nipple,” Polly says, pointing. “You did it, Ken, you erected the nipple.”
Ken narrows his gaze, leaning forward to take a good look. And when he notices what he’s done, he claps loudly. “I got the nipple! I got the nipple.”
Jesus.
Christ.
Everly now leans forward to look at my chest.
“Oh wow, that’s a hard nipple,” she says.
“He has the best nipples,” Polly says, picking up her drink. “The most sensitive nipples you’ll ever see. Just from a light breeze, his nipples will be erect. We could predict when a storm was coming in by the way one nipple would get hard and the other wouldn’t.”
Ken leans on the table and looks Everly in the eyes. “His nipples predicted the weather more accurately than the weather app.”
“Is that right?” Everly says. “What a fantastic attribute to have.”
“When we graduated from college, I was lost,” Ken says. “A storm would roll in and I was completely caught off guard.”
“His nipples once predicted an ice storm that no one saw coming,” Polly says. “Saved our cars from sliding down the hill.” She slowly claps. “Love those nipples.”
“Okay,” I say, rubbing my nipple to calm it down. “That’s enough.”
Polly leans in. “Did I mention he’s sensitive about them?”
“Very sensitive,” Ken says. “Maple even once said that he likes—”
“I said that’s enough,” I say quickly before my drunk friends can spill any more information about my likes and dislikes.
Just makes me realize that I need to end this game quickly.
I pick up the ping-pong ball and without even having to focus, I shoot it forward, scoring it in the top spot.
“Damn it,” Polly says. “I forgot how good he is.”
“I didn’t.” Ken puffs his chest. “Why did you think I went for the nipple, to try to distract him.”
“It didn’t work,” Polly says.
“I’ll try again. I’ll go for the left next time.”
Everly chuckles next to me.
“Don’t humor them,” I say. “They’re drunk.”
“I think they’re pretty amusing,” she says as she picks up a ping-pong ball and raises her arm. My arm gets in the way since we’re tied together. “Why is your body so big?” she asks as she tries to get situated.
“I grew it that way,” I answer, which causes her to pause and look up at me.
“That was…a perfect response.”
I smirk. “Thank you.”
“Now, what are you going to do about this body that you’ve grown?” she asks. “Because I can’t get a good shot with you plastered to me.”
I think about it for a second.
Well, Polly and Maple planned it this way, for me to get closer, so I might as well take advantage—I’m just tipsy enough to be okay with this decision.
“Hold that thought,” Maple says as she comes around to the table. “More Jell-O shots, and you can’t say no because this is a request from the bride and groom.”
She hands out little syringes this time—ones you’d use to help babies take their medicine—but these are full of Jell-O. I haven’t seen these in a really long time. Maple collected them from her mom who was a nurse and made Jell-O shots inside, so all you’d have to do is shoot it directly into your mouth.
I give her a look, and she just shrugs.
“Partners have to shoot the shot into the other person’s mouth,” Polly calls out.
“You realize how suggestive that is?” I ask.
Polly chuckles but doesn’t say anything. Instead, she squeezes the Jell-O shot in Ken’s mouth and he does the same.
Knowing I’m in a vortex of my friends trying to push me closer and closer to Everly, I just go with it because there’s no escaping this. The only way this will end is if I leave the party, and I think we all know I can’t do that.
“Open up,” I say to Everly.
“What?” she asks.
“I have to squirt in your mouth.”
Her eyes widen before her lips turn up in a beautiful smile. “You want to squirt in my mouth?”
“The Jell-O,” I say. “I want to squirt the Jell-O.”
“That’s not what it sounded like to me,” Maple says, walking by.
Jesus Christ, is she just floating around, sticking her head in our business every chance she gets?
“Yeah, squirt in her mouth,” Polly yells.
“Squirt hard,” Ken yells with a fist pump.
“Christ,” I mutter, which causes Everly to laugh.
“Go ahead, Hardy. Squirt it hard in my mouth.” Then she parts her lips and stares up at me.
And motherfucker, the sight of her like that makes my skin crawl with need.
I bring the syringe to her nude-painted lips and squirt the Jell-O shot inside her mouth. She swallows it and then brings the syringe to my mouth. “Open wide.” Rolling my eyes, I open my mouth and she squirts the strawberry liquid inside. When she’s done, she pats my chest. “Good boy.”
“Yeah, Everly!” Polly shouts. “You tame that beast over there.”
“How the hell is she taming me?” I ask, realizing my mistake the minute the words leave my mouth.
“Oh, she controls you,” Ken says. “I can see it in your eyes. You…liiiiiike her.”
Jesus.
Fucking.
Christ.
I drag my hand over my face as Everly laughs next to me.
“Oh yeah, he sure does,” she says sarcastically as her elbow bumps into mine. “Now, move out of the way so I can get a clear shot.”
Is she serious right now?
Ken just let the cat out of the bag. And yet she doesn’t believe him. She blew right past the comment without blinking an eye.
Didn’t even consider it for a second.
It was practically laughable to her.
And I’m not the only one bowled over by it, because Polly and Maple are both giving me confused looks.
See…
Friend-zoned.
This is exactly what I’ve been talking about. It’s what I’ve been trying to say.
This is why I’ve been awkward around her.
Why I’ve been a nervous, sweaty wreck because she doesn’t see me like that.
“You know what?” Maple says, walking up to us, making me nervous with what might come out of her mouth now. “I think I have a solution for the large-bodied man next to you.”
She walks up behind us and nudges Everly’s body forward and mine backward, then she wraps my arm around Everly—not being obvious at all—and places my hand on her opposite hip.
“There,” she says. “Problem solved.”
Jumping in on the position, Polly says, “Ken, look, that’s genius, we need to copy them.” And then just like that, Ken has his arm wrapped around Polly as well.
“Oh, this is a good position,” Everly says, clueless—no pun intended. “Look at the range I have now.” And then to my surprise, she shoots the ball, it bounces on one cup but then lands in another. “Ahhhh!” she screams as she raises her hands in the air and turns toward me. “I did it.”
Laughing, I say, “You did.”
“Eeeeeep.” She squeals right before wrapping her arms around me and hugging me.
In that exact moment, I make eye contact with Maple who winks obnoxiously at me.
“Oh my God, I’m not failing you,” Everly says when she pulls away.
Awkwardly, I reply, “I knew you could do it.”
“Don’t we get to shoot again since we both made it?” Everly asks.
“Yup,” I reply.
“Fantastic. Toss those balls over here,” she calls out to Polly and Ken. They do, and we both grab one. “Now put your arm around me again, it was good luck. Really hold me tight. We’re taking the bride and groom down.”