Page 120 of Naughty & Nice

“No,” they both cry at the same time.

“We can do Clue” Hendrix offers.

I roll my eyes. “It’s not the same.”

“No, it’s Clue and the only people who are getting hurt are make-believe.”

“You two are boring.”

“I think we’ve proved in the last couple of days that we’re anything but boring,” Hendrix mutters.

“Okay, I’ll give you that. So if it’s no to Monopoly, how about we fuck all day?”

Shaking their heads, they share a look before moving toward the table. Noelle grabs Clue and together they get it set up.

I once again get a flashback from our childhood.

Hendrix would always do the setup while Noelle would read any of the necessary instructions out loud so that he wouldn’t have to.

Even as young children, they were basically a couple.

They’ve always been endgame, and despite this vacation being a little… unconventional, I’m glad I was able to have a hand in pushing them even closer together.

We’re an hour into the game, all three of us keeping our cards—or our lead pipes—very close to our chest when the lights flicker.

“Oh my god,” Noelle gasps excitedly, but when nothing else happens after a few seconds, we return to the game, our hope diminished.

But the flickers keep coming over the next thirty minutes, and then finally, the cabin is illuminated and the clunks and grinds of everything kicking back to life fill the air.

All three of us let out a laugh of disbelief. But for as much as we’ve been desperate for the power back, none of us rush to do anything with it.

Instead, we just keep playing.

The TV stays off, the speaker remains quiet, and the only sound filling the small cabin is our laughter as we accuse each other of murdering Mrs. White.

Honestly, it’s one of the best days I’ve had in a while.

For the first time in a long time, I’m relaxed. I’ve dropped my mask; I’ve let a few of my insecurities in, and the world hasn’t ended. In fact, it’s actually gotten a little bit easier.

I look up at the couple opposite me.

It’s them.

They gave me this. I’ll be forever grateful.

30

NOELLE

“It’s so good to see your faces. I missed you yesterday. Christmas wasn’t right without you,” Lorelei gushes through the screen.

Hendrix had reached out to explain the power outage, and we tried to video call her and Kian last night, but our signal wasn’t strong enough and they kept freezing, so we had to keep the communication to messages.

Lorelei is right though, it felt weird not having her a part of our Christmas. Although, considering how we spent most of the afternoon, it was probably for the best she wasn’t here.

My cheeks blaze as I vividly remember what the guys sitting on either side of me did to my body. Or more so, what I did to them.

Fucking hell, I’m such a whore. And no longer just a book whore…

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