Page 61 of Winter Break Up

EMILY

My basement is full of people playing beer pong, which is not something I thought I’d say after high school.

“Sink this cup and we’re into the next round.” Charlie says to Mercer, giving him a bro slap on the back.

“You’ve been playing for an hour.” I whine, but I’m warranted.

It’s nearly midnight, I just got back together with my boyfriend, and my brother has stolen all of his time tonight. I mean, it hasn’t just been me sitting around. Gen made me play a round of quarters with her, we put together a nacho table for our friends who consumed it like the world was ending, and the rest of the party has had fun commenting on the celebrity interviews on the various New Year’s Eve broadcasts.

But still, I want my boyfriend back so we can make out before the ball drops.

“Does someone want attention?” Mercer saunters up to me, grabbing me around the waist with one arm as he shoots the ping-pong ball while simultaneously leaning down to capture my lips.

The groans from the other side of the table let me know he sunk the shot as his tongue invades my mouth, and a few cheers go up.

“How the hell did he do that?” Someone asks in astonishment.

“Dude, that’s my sister.” Charlie pretends to fake barf.

I pull back. “It shouldn’t be as hot as it is that you just made that, but damn … I’m turned on.”

Mercer’s eyes flash with lust. “Give me five more minutes and we’ll go upstairs.”

“Again, dude, that’s my sister.” My brother pretends to bend over with nausea.

Mercer keeps me anchored to his side as they finish their game with the twenty or so guests looking on. The tournament started in the early hours of the night, and pairs of friends have been defeated by Charlie and Mercer over and over again.

Our parents always took a weekend trip for New Year’s since their busy season was over and they deserved a vacation. This year, dad took mom to this fancy upstate New York resort with a spa and five-star restaurant. I’m sure she was three martinis in by this point and giggling at everything my father said.

Their departure also meant that our house was the prime party spot for the last night of the year, as it always had been. We’d been hosting this little shindig for years, but it had slowly gotten more and more exclusive as time went on.

In high school, this basement had been mobbed with nearly anyone who caught wind of the Palmer kids having a party. Charlie and I would spend hours de-lousing the place after it ended so that our parents wouldn’t kick our asses.

Then came college, and we spent a lot of our breaks with new college friends or just the few high school ones we’d kept in touch with. The New Year’s party even got paused for a year when Charlie and I opted for parties in other towns with our college friends.

Tonight? There are only about twenty five of us here. A select few from Queenwood or our college circles. No one is going to get so shitfaced that I have to clean up puke, everyone respects our parents and their home, and we won’t be having the cops called for insanely loud music. We’re just having a good time with people we care about without excess chaos and drama.

It’s exactly how I want to spend the last night of the year … well that and having Mercer by my side.

My foot had been jiggling all of Christmas day, jumping up and down like it just couldn’t rest until both Charlie and Mom yelled at me to drive over to Mercer’s house. They both knew that I couldn’t stand being apart from him for another moment, that the words in my brain needed to be blurted out.

Since mom had given me her opinion, I couldn’t stop obsessing over how dumb I was being. That she was absolutely correct, and that I loved Mercer so much it was an addiction. So many people in life never got this kind of love, and there I’d been, wasting it.

It only took me two minutes after they’d yelled at me to jump in the car with my heart beating loudly in my ears. On the five minute drive over, I’d psyched myself up to win my man back.

And I’d succeeded, even if he was obstinate at first. When he’d uttered those three little words back to me, it was like the whole world came to life around us. Everything suddenly seemed brighter, my skin felt less tight, my heart was beating to the tune of every love song ever written.

Now, we’re trying to make up for lost time with the winter break we still have left.

In the last week, Mercer has spent most of the time trying to get me alone and naked. We only have two more weeks until he’s due back in Miami, and we’ve wasted so much time in past years and during this break not getting creatively dirty. Lord, the things that man can do with his mouth.

It’s why I don’t push him away when he starts making out with me after they win their pong game. It’s why I flick off the people booing and catcalling us while that expert tongue wraps around my own.

Well, that and the three glasses of champagne I’ve had tonight.

He presses his hips against me, even in a room full of people, and I can feel how hard he is. Normally, I wouldn’t be this forward and raunchy with PDA, but it’s New Years, everyone is drunk, and I am head over heels in love with my boyfriend. If I want to get handsy, I will.

“We’re just going to get more … uh … chips.” Mercer’s eyes are hooded as he grabs my hand and begins pulling me up the stairs.

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