Page 54 of Snowflakes and Sparks

I wasn’t fond of getting drunk, but Dean had been right all along. His family brought crazy to a whole new level. As in, they were crazy good at judging people. They also tried to impress each other with terminology no one understood and boasted about achievements I was sure no one cared about. Dean and I had turned it into a game. We decided we would down a cocktail every time someone came up to us to tell another incredibly boring and arrogant story.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Dean asked now with a slur in his voice.

“Where would we go? We’re both a bit unstable at the moment,” I answered.

He shoved his chair back. Then he pulled me from mine, making the world swirl in front of me. He pointed to a narrow path at the back of the garden.

“Let’s go skinny-dipping. No one will even notice we’re gone.”

“We should bring towels and food,” I said, not even thinking about how ridiculous it was to swim in the ocean naked on Christmas Eve.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move,” Dean said, and zigzagged his way inside.

I took my phone out to kill the time and saw that I had five missed calls from Addy. I quickly sent her a text. I told her I was going skinny-dipping in Florida, that she didn’t have to worry about me and that I’d call her later. At least, that’s what I hoped I had written. Autocorrect and cocktails didn’t go together that well.

“Ready?” Dean stood in front of me with a bag full of towels and a big box.

“What are you hiding in that box?”

“It’s chocolate cake,” he said. “I snatched it out of the fridge.”

“Marry me.”

We walked toward the beach, laughing and stumbling. Then we stripped down to our underwear and jumped into the ocean.

As the cool water hit my skin, I forgot all about my troubles. The alcohol and the nearness of my best friend had thrown me into a different reality, one where there was no Alex and no heartbreak, and I was just Suzie again.

***

I didn’t even know how I had gotten into a bed, although I had a vague recollection of Dean and me sneaking into the guest house. I forced myself to open my eyes and surveyed the damage. There were smears of chocolate marking the crumpled sheets on the bed. Dean was sprawled on the floor with nothing but his underwear on, the cake box was open beside him.

I stepped over him and stumbled into the shower, drinking from the water that ran over my body. I’d probably have to drink three bathtubs of water before I’d find myself hydrated again.

I toweled myself dry and got dressed, then kneeled beside Dean. He looked even worse than me.

“Merry Christmas, buddy,” I said.

“What time is it?”

“It’s almost eleven.”

He groaned. “Dammit. We have to be back at the house at eleven for the Christmas brunch. It’s tradition.”

I looked at the wall clock that was mounted above the bed. “Well, we’ve still got seven minutes left. No harm, no foul.”

Dean dragged himself into the bathroom. I lay down on the bed, my thoughts circling back to Alex. I didn’t know how to feel about him. Should I hate him for what he’d done to me? I wanted to, so badly, but when I thought about him smiling at me, I couldn’t help but feel my heart melt.

“You know you don’t have to join me for brunch, right?” Dean said, coming back in with a towel around his waist.

“I know, I don’t mind,” I said. “But no drinking this time.”

Dean made a gagging sound. “Hell, no. I’m never drinking again.”

“Me neither.”

With one minute left to spare, we rushed out of the beach house and to the main house. Jane was waiting for us at the back door, wringing her hands. “There you two are,” she said with an anxious smile.

I threw her a sheepish look as if we were two naughty teenagers who’d run off to some party the night before.

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