Page 78 of Knotty, Nice, & Holiday Lights
Matthew has some great music pumping through the entire B&B, which we now have to ourselves after a few days of family and friends.
As nice as having them all here had been, being alone with my Alphas again brings me a certain kind of peace.
The bass bumps, some of us dance, others sing, but we all take down decorations, carefully put them back into boxes and containers, then bring them up the stairs to stack them by the attic door.
A few hours later, all the remnants of Christmas are gone, tucked away in the attic once more for next year.
At which point we’ll likely be living somewhere else.
I curl up beside Will on the couch, feel his lips press to the top of my head before he rests his cheek there. Asher sits on my other side, and I wrap my arm around him so he can use me as a pillow. And Matthew sits on the floor in front of me, where I run my nails lightly along his scalp. One of our collective favorite action movies is playing, and we revel in the peace and quiet—below the semi-automatic gunplay on TV, that is.
When the movie’s credits roll, none of us moves.
“What do we all want to do for our New Year’s Eve celebration?” Matthew asks, voice sleepy.
“I think we should just stay in,” I say. “Get some champagne, tasty snacks, play some games…”
“That sounds delightful,” Asher chimes.
“I like that idea,” Will says. “And we’ll need to sit down and talk out our plans for next year.”
“Not until after the first,” I chastise. “We have time to brainstorm later.”
Will’s chuckle vibrates in his chest, sounding in my ear that leans on it, and he kisses my head again.
“Are you frigging kidding me?” I shout, having been taken out of first place at the finish line for the fourth race in a row. “Why doesn’t this game let you disable blue shells?”
Matthew laughs maniacally. “Don’t be a sore loser, Iz.”
“I’ll give you a sore loser,”I grumble, narrowing my eyes and changing my tactics for the next race, sticking close to but not passing first place until the very last second, blowing a raspberry at Matthew as I cross the finish line in front of him.
“Well played, love,” Asher sings from beside me, giving me a congratulatory kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you, darling.” I lay the dramatics on thick as Matthew mumbles something under his breath while the next race sets up.
After I win the tournament by one race, we swap toDeath of an Archonfor a co-op campaign. Our new game within a game for New Year’s is to take a shot whenever Asher’s voice appears in the game.
“We’re all going to be sloshed by the end of the night,” Asher warns. And he isn’t wrong. He not only voiced one of the main party characters, but also several NPCs.
“Good thing we’re staying home.” I pop a pizza roll in my mouth and moan.
Is it healthy? No. But it’s still technically the holidays, so I’ll keep on praying to the Patron Saint of Junk Food for a while longer.
“Show me how you do that move with the glaive,” Will leans into me to ask, and I show him on the controller what he needs to do before he tests it out a couple of times with a smile. “Thanks, Izzy.”
“Any time.”
A few hours of magic and mayhem later, Matthew throws himself backward to lie on the floor with a groan. “No. More. Shots.”
I giggle then hiccup as the room starts to tilt. “Ugh. We need a break and a new game.”
“I did warn you,” Asher says, sounding a bit green around the gills as I look over at him.
Will doesn’t seem to be affected, which I’ve learned is normal for him. He has the tolerance of a sponge. “I’ll get some water and activated charcoal for everyone,” he says before he goes into the kitchen.
After I force down two huge glasses of water and swallow a bunch of charcoal pills, I huff a laugh. “I’m done with the alcohol until our toast tonight. Movie, anyone?”
“Definitely.” Matthew sounds a bit more energetic and less ready to hug the porcelain throne.
