Page 23 of The Best Friend Power Play

He tries to peek at my piece of paper, but I slide it away from him before he can see.

"Is it to declare your undying love for Culver?" Katie asks, grinning widely.

"We can leave the room to give you g-guys some space?"

"See what your lying is doing?" Culver joins in on the teasing. "It's giving them ammunition."

"Okay. Fine," I relent. "I wrote something down but I didn't want to share it because…"

It's irresponsible, and I don't want to set a bad example for the kids even though they're not kids anymore so I should probably stop calling them that, and what I want to do isn't even that bad, and everyone else has done it at least once in their lives so why can't I?

I huff out a breath. "I wrote down that I want to get drunk."

"You've never been drunk?" Katie asks, sounding surprised at the same time as an equally surprised-sounding Culver says, "But you're a total lightweight."

I am. One glass of…anything and I feel woozy and lightheaded immediately.

"I'm not the best drinker," I admit, and when Culver shoots me a look, I clarify, "Okay, so I'm possibly the biggest lightweight on the planet. And I already know it'll be horrible and messy and I'll regret it and will never want to repeat it ever again, but I want to know what it's like."

"That's fair," Culver says gently, then sharpens his tone as he says to Chester and Katie, "As long as you both realize that drinking excessively is terrible for your health and almost always leads to bad decisions. Sometimes ones with life-changing consequences."

"Uh, yeah, we know. Drinking is for old people."

"Yeah. Chill, b-b-boomer."

"Just make sure you're with her. Okay?" Katie says to Culver.

"Of course. What are best friends for if not for holding your hair back while you puke and making sure you don't choke while you sleep?"

"And there goes m-my appetite," Chester says, pushing his bowl away.

"Let's change the topic," I suggest. "This is a great start on my hot girl summer list. Thanks, you guys."

Chester asks Culver about his plans for the summer, and Culver tells them that after the season he had, he's looking forward to hanging out here with me and overseeing my compliance with the hot girl summer checklist, which draws a laugh out of everyone, me included. He also mentions spending time with his family as well as a few three-day training camps he and Fraser will have to drive back to LA for.

Once we're all done eating, Katie starts collecting the bowls. "That was a great meal. Thanks, Culver."

"Y-y-yeah. Thanks, man."

Katie wrangles Chester into helping her do the dishes so Culver and I head into the living room. Once they're finished in the kitchen, she scoops up the lists we made from the dining table and announces she's going to her room.

Chester hangs around, looking slightly awkward. "Hey, Culver. Can w-w-we talk?"

Culver looks up from his phone. "Sure, man. What's up?"

"Uh. P-p-privately?"

I glance between them. "I'll go check in on Katie. She's probably triple-checking that she's packed everything." I get up off the sofa, and as I pass Chester, I place my hand on his shoulder. "How is your packing going?"

"I'll s-s-start right after I talk to Culver."

I smile, shaking my head. "Boys are the worst," I say before leaving them to it.

The door to Katie's room is open, and yep, as suspected, she's meticulously cross-checking two open suitcases on the floor against a list she's holding. I lean against the doorframe and study her for a few moments. She's not a little girl anymore—she's on the verge of becoming a fully-fledged adult.

I tap on the door. "Can I come in?"

Katie looks up and smiles. "Of course. I'm going through my third round of final-final checking."

---