As expected, Jack fails to guess what type of alcohol is in his gift, and Lennox hands him a shot glass so he can get acquainted with his gift, a cheap looking bottle of gin. We're on gift number three (after another failed guess for gift number two) when Kalli says quietly, “Merry Mustache.”
The room pauses, and our heads all swivel to the television, and sure enough the mustache has lined up perfectly with a woman's lip.
“Merry Mustache!” Lennox cries. “Everybody drinks but Kalli.”
Kalli grins at me, and I hold her eyes as I tip back my beer and swallow. “Guess that means I'm up first. Anything in particular you want to know?”
She considers for a second, and then draws a finger over my forearm. The contact lasts for one, two, three seconds, and it makes my jeans feel impossibly tight.
“How many tattoos do you have?”
“In all?” I think for a moment. “Maybe fourteen? Fifteen? My friend Rook is a tattoo artist, and I let him practice on me when he was first starting out.”
Her eyes linger on my forearm, and I'm about to lift it up to give her a better look when Avery guesses her alcohol correctly. A few people cheer and a few others groan when she reveals a bottle of vodka.
There's a group of shot glasses in the center of the coffee table, and each of us reaches out to take one. Avery twists open her bottle, and we pass it around the circle, each pouring a little out. I pour mine first, then Kalli's when she holds her glass out to me.
Lennox laughs and drums her hands against her thighs in anticipation.
“I don't know how she's coherent right now,” Kalli whispers. “She's been drinking since I came over earlier this afternoon to help her cook.”
I look at my own glass, not exactly eager to start mixing beer and liquor. But at least I'll get a little information out of Kalli for it.
“You like to cook?”
“I guess so. It’s relaxing, I think.” Maybe that’s why she was in the kitchen when I came here. A sanctuary of sorts.
Once everyone has his or her vodka poured, Lennox holds hers up in a toast. “Merry freaking Christmas, friends!”
A few people clink their glasses together, and I touch mine to Kalli's. I keep eye contact for a long as I can, and then both of us throw it back. It's definitely not smooth, and I squint while the burn settles in my chest. Kalli doesn't even bat an eye.
“Damn. Somebody is a pro.”
She shrugs. “I've had some practice.”
“That doesn't count for your thing. I want to know something I can't figure out by watching you.” Because God knows I’m going to be doing that all night.
She catches her bottom lip between her teeth and holds it there while she thinks. When she lets it go, it's a dark red. It reminds me of the inside of a plum, and shit … I should just not compare her mouth to fruit. The thought of kissing her is already on repeat in my head, and that's doing nothing to make it slow down. It’s this steady thrum in my ears, a not-so-gentle urging to touch her, and I’ve never felt this dangerously close to losing control of my own impulses.
“I … I don't know what to tell you.”
“What do you like to do for fun?”
She shrugs. “Come on. Give me something. You into reading? Movies? Dancing?”
“I told you I like cooking.”
“Doesn’t count. That was before I actually took the drink. Give me something else.”
“I used to like poetry.” Used to? How is it that I can never get a straight answer out of this girl? Over anything. Hell, I could probably ask her favorite color, and she wouldn’t give me a real answer. “Your turn,” she prompts before I have a chance to dig deeper. “That night in your bathroom …”
“I like where this is going. Does this mean you’re officially jumping ship for the winning side?”
She doesn’t even acknowledge my flirty tone. “You said … you said that everything changed. That you couldn’t do what you wanted anymore. I want to know what changed.”
Damn. Right for the kill shot. I’m saved from trying to figure out how to talk about my dad without ruining the whole night when Lennox asks, “Who’s got number four? Number four?”
I look down at my slip at the same time that she says, “Wilder? Are you fourth?”
“Yeah. That’s me.”
I stand and shoot a quick look to Kalli. Her brows are pinched as she watches me, and I buy myself some time with a smile. I look over the remaining presents. They’re all wrapped in paper, so there’s no chance of peeking inside a gift bag. I pick one of the bigger ones, and return to my seat. Kalli shifts beside me, turning on her hip, and this time it’s her arm across the couch behind us. I run my hands over the outside of the gift, feeling for the shape of the bottle beneath it. It’s heavy, definitely glass not plastic. It’s shaped like an old-fashioned decanter with rectangular cork style top. I smile. “What if I can guess the brand too? Will everyone else have to drink twice?”
Everyone looks wary but Lennox. “Oh come on, people. Have you ever been in a liquor store? Do you know how many different brands there are? He’s not going to get it. And even if he does, it’s two shots. You’ll live.”
“Not all of us can consume alcohol like it’s water,” Avery says.
“I’d like to keep my liver for a few more years at least,” Jack quips. Avery laughs, and I’m way too pleased to not hear Kalli do the same.