Page 58 of Fall to Me
“Your mommy thinks she’s funny. I’ll just play with you. Yes, I will.” I coo at Ivy, pressing my forehead against hers, then turn to Aspen and ask, “Why does it smell like popcorn in here?”
She lifts a brow.
“What?” I ask, rocking Ivy in my arms, swaying side to side.
“You know those accidental calls you made to me over the past few weeks? Well, after you went to your room, you called Hannah.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry, she and Aiden went for a walk, and she left her phone here on the counter. You really need to fix whatever is wrong with that damn thing.”
Ivy shifts on my hip and begins fussing, so I hand her back to Evie and ask Aspen, “How much did you hear?”
“Carter’s popcorn is on the counter. I’m about to start on the good fucking gravy.”
“You smartass, eavesdropping, little hussy.”
She tilts her head back and laughs. “Fix your phone! Or better yet, buy a new one.”
Fine. Whatever.
Dinner wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. But as we all sit in the living room with the guys on one side, the women on the other, and a white board on an easel in front of us to play Pictionary, things begin to get a little tense, especially when it’s time for Aiden to draw and he turns to Sean.
“Mac, you should be able to get this one.”
I laugh, but Carter shoots me a look, shaking his head, and the laughter dies on my lips.
Aiden draws several stick figures on the whiteboard: some standing, some bent over. Then, of course because it’s fucking Aiden, he adds boobs. I look around the room as voices carry from all directions, yelling out things like: “orgy” and “doggie style.”
What the hell kind of Pictionary have we started playing here?
Aiden continues by drawing another stick figure, this one standing up-right, with a large and erect penis. He points to the man and then draws arrows to each of the women. Thankfully, the boys are upstairs playing pool.
“Come on Hannah,” Aiden says. “You should know this one too.”
“Ooh. Ooh. Ooh,” Hannah yells out. “Player.”
“Hell yes!” Aiden says, then strides over to Hannah, giving her a high five.
Oh. My. God. Well, this is awkward as fuck. “Hey, now. Let’s play a clean game,” Carter says, erasing the white board.
Aiden holds up his hands in surrender. “It was all in good fun.”
Needing an excuse to leave the room, I stand and make my way to the fridge. “Anyone else want a drink?”
Sean follows me into the kitchen and gives me a friendly hug. “Thank you for having me over. Dinner was delicious. I would stay and help clean up, but I think I need to go before I make a bigger mess.”
“Sean, you don’t have to leave.”
“No. I really do,” he says.
I’ll always have Hannah’s back, and it kills me that she feels jerked around by Sean. But from what Carter’s told me, and the defeated look on Sean’s face, I can’t help but think there’s a lot more to this situation than we all know. Before I cansay anything else, he turns on his heels—without so much as a goodbye to anyone else—and walks out the door.
Twenty minutes later, cards are scattered on the coffee table, and the game has been forgotten. One by one, all of our friends begin to leave.
Boy, Aiden sure knows how to clear out a room.
After tidying up the kitchen and putting the game away, Carter and I curl up on the couch together. I tuck my legs under a blanket and turn on The Notebook, leaning into his side.
