Page 151 of Between the Blue
“Oh,” I say. “Okay.”
“Neither is anyone else, for the record.”
“Oh,” I repeat, my voice quieter this time. He just continues to stare at me for several seconds, so I add, “Well, it’s not like it makes any difference to me.”
Ben’s brows raise.
“Since I’m just your friend.”
“Right,” he says, his forehead smoothing out.
I remain still, not breaking his eye contact.
His lips part, and then takes a slight step forward. “Cherry–”
“James!”
We both spin around, finding Luke, Ragnar, and Rhett all in the other kitchen doorway.
“What?” Ben asks.
“White elephant time!” Luke says.
“Yeah, c’mon. Can we start?” Ronan asks.
“Pretty please?” Rhett adds, grinning.
Ben scoffs a laugh, rolling his eyes. “Yes, let’s do it.”
All three of them let out different noises of approval and variations of fist pumps before disappearing out of the doorway.
“Children, all of them,” Ben mutters as we follow after them.
When we enter the living room, everyone is already sat in some form of a large circle around the pile of various shapes and sizes of gifts on the rug.
Right as Ben and I join the circle on opposite sides from each other, Rhett takes over, clearly with no objection from Ben, explaining the rules of the game. He talks through how each person will draw a number that will determine the order they get to pick a gift. As each number is up, the person can choose to either take a new gift from the pile or steal a previously opened gift, making that person pick a new one. And so on, until every number goes.
After we all draw numbers, the game moves quickly. As is the nature of a white elephant gift exchange, most of the presents are silly and give everyone a good laugh. Halfway through, I pick a gift that ends up being a pack of Texas Storm boxers. As far as the options go, I can’t say I’m that disappointed. I’d be able to get at least some use out of them wearing them to bed. It’s definitely a better option than a toilet hockey set or a pack of whoopie cushions.
As the gift pile dwindles down and we get further into the numbers, my tiny blue gift box I brought still remains.
After Wiz finishes his turn, stealing a frilly pink bath set that Ronan brought and handing it straight to Kelly, Rhett is up. He rises from his spot on the couch, surveying the circle for a few moments before ultimately deciding to go for a new gift. He picks through the handful that are left before eventually zeroing in on my box.
“Ooo, this is the one Little Dixon brought,” he says, looking my way as he picks it up. “Think I gotta go for it.”
“Um, I feel like that’s kinda cheating?” I chuckle. “Isn’t half the point that the gifts are a surprise?”
“Well, I can’t wait to see what you chose to surprise us all with,” Rhett says, throwing me a wink as he plops back down in his seat with the box.
I shake my head, but allow it, motioning my hand and telling him to go ahead and open it.
He pops the lid off and pushes the tissue paper aside, lifting out the green scrapbook inside.
I can see the little glittery lightning bolts and Texas shaped cutouts I glued onto the outside and have to fight the sudden urge to cover my face.
It’s not my best work, but I didn’t have much time and am not the greatest when it comes to impersonal gifts.
Rhett’s brows pull together as he starts flipping through the pages of the scrapbook, and the further he goes, the quieter the room gets. After a few seconds, Luke and Ragnar slowly start to creep behind him to get a look over his shoulder.
