Page 20 of Merrily Yours
Luci flinches slightly, answering, “Oh, you know I can’t commit to anything.” A jab at me. “Made the decision last minute to head back here. Rosie is at Hawthorne now, so I figured we could spend the holidays together.”
“You’re welcome to spend them with us!” Bex says, giving me “get over it” eyes.
“No, no that’s okay! I’ll stop by and say hi to Elaine and Hugo tomorrow, but Rosie and I have Christmas day plans.”
Louie brings our drinks, notices Luci, and comes around the bar to give her a big bear hug. “When you’re done catching up with Louie, you should come sit with us.”
Everyone stares at me, as though I just suggested nuclear warfare. Luci recovers the quickest, because of course she does, and says, “Yeah, I’ll meet you guys over there.”
Bex takes two of the drinks and hurries back over to the booth. “Scooch together and don’t be weird, Luci is here. Act normal, dammit!”
“Luci is here? I love her!” Ben yells loud enough that Luci hears him and turns around to blow him a kiss.
My insides heat, a fierce jealousy exploding throughout my body. “Don’t fucking think about it,” I warn, low and ominous.
Ben puts his hands up in surrender. “Damn, dude. You know I wouldn’t. I’ll be on my best behavior.” He crosses his heart.
“Quit acting like a caveman asshole that has any claim over her, Gabriel. You had your chance,” Bex seethes.
Anders rubs Bex’s shoulders and she relaxes back into him. “Alright, everyone, let’s calm down. We are excited to see Luci, Bex’s best friend and a genuinely good human. Everyone will be normal, no one will flirt—except maybe Gabe—and we will all enjoy watching Ben continue to get smashed on Santa’s Snowballs. Got it?”
“Got it,” we all say, with Bex chiming in, “Yes, sir.”
Ben, Jules, and I grimace at that. Anders plants a kiss on Bex’s cheek.
I can’t help but watch as Luci saunters over from the bar. She’s gorgeous—she always has been. Her toned legs move under her jeans, strong and powerful. I’ve imagined those thighs wrapped around my face more than I’d like to admit. It’s been fodder for the spank bank for years.
As she approaches, everyone starts to scoot around the booth, leaving a space right next to me. I slide over, accepting the inevitable. Luci plops down next to me, the thigh I was just admiring pressed firmly against mine.
“Hello, brothers Bardot!” Luci exclaims, tipping her cocktail toward Ben and Jules. “And the honorary Bardot.” She winks at Anders.
“I see Louie talked you into one of tonight’s specialty cocktails.” Ben grins.
Luci takes a demure sip of her drink. “Yes, the Christmas punch. Not bad, actually, but very strong.”
“And you’re a lightweight,” Bex adds. “Remember that night sophomore year?—”
Luci’s groan cuts through any reminiscing. “Oh my God! Don’t remind me! I had three drinks, but I swear Riz’s ratio of vodka to cranberry juice was ninety-nine percent vodka and one percent juice.”
“We woke up the next morning on a bench in the quad,” Bex giggles.
“Seems safe,” Jules admonishes.
“We’re here, aren’t we?” Luci asks, her tone teasing. “Anyway, lesson learned! Don’t let me have more than two of these bad boys tonight, got it?” She points to her Christmas punch which is already halfway gone.
Bex shrugs, eyeing me. “I don’t think I’ll be out too late tonight, so you’re someone else’s problem.”
We spend the next bit of time laughing and drinking, getting progressively louder as the night goes on. Around ten o’clock, Louie announces holiday karaoke will be starting soon, and I get half-hard at the excited wiggle Luci does next to me. She’s mostly through her second glass of Christmas punch, demanding that she and Bex perform “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” but not the “old patriarchal one, the new one where the woman has a choice”—their exact words.
I watch their performance and try not to take in the way Luci’s body moves on stage. Her voice is not half bad and acts as a siren song. I’m mesmerized by her delicate hand holding the mic, her golden waves swishing side to side, and the way her nose scrunches up when she misses a word.
“You’re staring,” Ben murmurs next to me, but I’m too drunk, or maybe just too distracted by her, to care.
They finish and Anders gets up on stage next to sing “Santa Baby” at Bex’s request.
I’m sick of their cuteness and need a minute away from the berry scent of Luci’s perfume. “I’m getting another,” I say, not looking back to see if anyone else wants something. I know I’m being an asshole, but I feel so antsy, like I need to unzip myself and crawl out of my own skin.
It only takes a moment before I feel her presence behind me. “Hey,” she whispers. She sits on the barstool next to me, turningso her knees brush my leg. It could be accidental, but when I look into her eyes, I realize it’s not. “Sorry if I’m making things awkward.” She dips her head, that confident girl disappearing before my eyes.
