Page 91 of Take My Hand

Crickets.

“His dad almost got us all arrested senior year on Halloween for ding dong ditching their house?”

A mix of ahhs and oh yeahs bounce across the table as recognition hits for each of them and the strain that hung in the air moments ago disappears as nostalgia sweeps into its place.

“I forgot about that,” Hayden says, eyes taking on a far-off look. A similar look is reflected on the rest of the guys.

“It was Nikolai who almost got us busted that night,” Walker accuses light-heartedly.

“Nu-uh,” Nikolai says, hands up in innocence. “Don’t put that shit on me! It was Reid’s big-ass head that got us caught. They could see him poking out over the bushes.”

Reid twirls his beer bottle around and shakes his head. “I wasn’t the one who left behind part of my costume on their doorstep.”

“It was an accident,” Nikolai protests.

“Doesn’t matter. It wasn’t my dick-in-a-box gift box that fell off.”

My eyes widen. What the hell are they talking about? I shoot a look over to Scar, who looks equally perplexed.

Jane notices us feeling very left out of the loop and interrupts the guys bickering to clarify. “The SNL skit. Dick in a Box.”

That does absolutely nothing to clear any of my confusion.

“You guys haven’t seen that one?”

“Nope,” we both say at the same time.

Nikolai slaps a hand on the table in horror. “How have you guys not seen that?”

“Kinda hard to watch a lot of TV growing up when the only one my house had was in the kitchen and it was only to be used for the news,” Scar says, looking bored.

“I usually just watched what my dad watched.” I shrug. Which was a lot of sports, Pawn Stars, and HGTV.

“We’re going to watch it as soon as dinner is done. Don’t let me forget!” He points a finger at me, waiting for me to agree before doing the same to Scar.

“I think partial blame also lies on Jane’s shoulders,” Walker says as he shovels in a mouthful of potatoes.

“Hey!” Jane calls out, neck whipping to the side to glare daggers into her twin’s face. “It wasn’t my fault we got caught.”

“Says the one who was dressed as Elle Woods from head to toe in bright pink and refused to take off her heels even when we were running through the yards in the neighborhood.”

Jane takes a sip of wine. “I run just as well in heels as I do barefoot.”

They bicker back and forth a bit and I watch them with envy. I always wished I had a sibling growing up.

“What were you dressed up as?” I ask Hayden and he turns to me with a grin.

“Walker and I were Mario and Luigi.”

A laugh climbs up my throat at the visual of a younger version of the two of them, running around a high school party with fake mustaches and matching red and green hats.

“I can’t picture you with a mustache,” Scar tells Walker with a contemplative expression on her face.

He lays an arm across the back of her chair as he says to her, “I think you’d like it. The ladies sure did that night.”

Scar’s face screws up in disgust as she bats him with a playful jab. Walker laughs at her reaction, a glint in his eye as he enjoys winding her up.

“What happened?” I ask the group, part out of curiosity, but also this flash of the past has brought a lighter mood to everyone. Recalling a memory not tainted by their issues of today.

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