Shine - Part Twenty
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
Nightfall. The last of the sultry golden sunset light hangs in the air like smoke before giving way and letting a cool blue evening settle in. The twilight sky is ripening to a deep, dusky indigo above us.
The atmosphere at the wedding in the miniature rainforest is soft and rich, melting. The moon and stars overhead, the candlelight and the warm, gentle breeze through the leaves below. A golden, velvet ambiance that I feel like a warm embrace. The lights and the dancing, the air suffused with bright and joyful laughter, everything blooming. Everything close, intimate. Music rises up to the tree branches, which open up to the glittering constellations in the sky.
Everything looks richly colorful, but also soft around the edges, veiled in this dreamy light.
The party is in full swing, chatter and laughter all around me.
The potluck food was phenomenal, with so many good cooks in the mix. I’ve eaten a completely random assortment of stuff, from a pork bun to lumpia to a few of those marzipan sweets Aunt Sarah made, and it was all delicious.
The wedding cake is glinting, sparkling in the soft glow of the light inside. Spun sugar glittering like crystals, rising and dancing in elaborate swirls over the thick layer of frosting. Mel burst into instant, elated tears when she saw it, and Raj and Noah bumped fists behind her back.
It’s nice in the house - warm and intimate, cozy within the flower walls - but I keep gravitating outside. The sky is thick with blazing stars, even now, without night fully fallen. Everyone out here seems to be swimming in a warm trance, floating on the soft light and the music and the laughter.
Father Leo surprised all of us by accepting Raj’s invitation to stay for the reception. He’s at the bar that Mel had set up outside, leaning against it as he regales a cluster of the soccer team guys with some story that has them all completely absorbed, listening with fascination. Jabrill and Damien exchange a wondering, wide-eyed look as I watch, then eagerly lean forward to ask Father Leo some follow-up questions.
Kasey and Will are on the dance floor that’s been laid out on the grass, swaying together near Des and Rasheem. I catch Kasey’s eye and shoot her a giant grin. She rolls her eyes at me, but then smiles and presses her face into Will’s chest. He beams down at her, leaf-green eyes glowing.
My eyes drift to Noah again as I wait at the bar for another drink. I can’t stop looking at him, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this before.
It’s a quiet, dazed, deep kind of happiness, emanating from Noah right now. A rare flavor of happy. This stunned, disbelieving look keeps flashing through his eyes. Every now and then he suddenly stops and looks around at everything like he dreamt it.
I can tell that today left a comet trail across his soul in some kind of permanent way. His inky hand keeps going back to his wedding ring, or to the carved wooden pendant on its length of leather around his neck.
It also makes me happy in some obscure way to see him sitting at a table at his wedding with Ralph and Aiden on either side of him.
That old easiness and brotherly love is moving in such a strong current between the three of them right now that I can almost see it. It’s the same kind of easy familiarity they had in high school, but things look very different now.
Aiden with his stubbled jaw, his relaxed body language, the corners of his eyes crinkled up with his smile. His huffing laughter, no glacial coldness on his face. Ralph without any sign of mockery or hostility around him, fighting down a smile, helplessly dropping his forehead onto Noah’s shoulder when Noah says something that makes him laugh.
And Noah, looking perfectly at peace, his baby cuddled up against his chest.
I watch the three of them until Aiden’s eyes flit to me, find me through the people dancing. He arches a questioning eyebrow. I blink hard, then hastily pick up my drink and thread my way back over to the table. Raj and Ripley were coming from the other direction, but they get there around the same time and drop to sit beside Ralph.
“-should’ve kicked his ass,” Ralph is saying, a regretful look on his face. “Would have, if we’d had more time. Guy was begging to hit the ground hard.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Aiden growls, folding his arms around me as I drop to sit on his lap.
“There’s still time.” Noah looks hopefully at Aiden and Ralph, gently rubbing Nik’s back. “Should we go back and do it tomorrow?”
“Sorry, what?” I cut in, trying not to sound too alarmed. “Whose ass are you guys talking about kicking?”
“The security guard at the mall,” Noah explains. “The one who busted Ripley.”
I draw back sharply, blinking very fast at Noah. “Um - what? Why, exactly?”
Ralph widens his eyes at me like I’m very stupidly missing something obvious. “Because he was a dick to you, man.”
“And to Raj,” Noah adds, glaring darkly off into space. “And to Ripples, too. You know what? I’m getting mad all over again just thinking about it. Should we just go fuck him up right now? Someone hold my baby.”
Noah hands Nik to Ripley, who suppresses a laugh as Noah instantly starts to get up, rolling out his tattooed neck.
“Whoops, okay!” I catch Noah’s sleeve and wrench him back into his chair. “Nope, we’re not doing that! Raj, a little help? Get your husband under control?”
Raj shrugs, breaks into a warm grin as he looks over at Noah. “I kinda like it when he gets like this, if I’m being honest.”
“What - Raj!” I let out a startled laugh, then turn to Aiden, Noah, and Ralph with pleading eyes. “Oh, come on, just leave that security guard alone! We don’t know his deal, he might have just been having a really bad day, or-”
“Ugh!” Ralph lifts his hands like he wants to grab me by my shirt and shake me. “This type of shit is exactly why - for fuck’s sake, dude! You goddamned cupcake, can’t you just-?”
“Honestly,” Aiden growls, his arms tightening around me. “Makes me fucking rage when people are mean to you.”
“How can anyone act like that to Jamie?” Noah grumbles.
I stare at Aiden, Noah, and Ralph in silent disbelief for a second. Waiting to see if they realize on their own, which they apparently don’t.
“Are you guys serious, right now?” I finally ask, my eyes very wide. “For like, all of high school, the three of you-”
I break off as all three of them groan loudly. At the same time, Ralph drops his forehead onto the table, Noah sinks down in his chair and presses his palms over his eyes, and Aiden gathers me up closer to him, buries his face in my shoulder with a pained whimper. I stare around at the three of them, startled and bewildered.
“What-?”
“Jamie, don’t talk-” Ralph lifts his head, runs a hand over his face, and cringes deeply. “Please, man.”
“Shit, dude, we already feel bad enough about all that,” Noah groans, an agonized look in his grey eyes. “Don’t make us think about it! You know we’re sorry! We’re sorry!”
And he throws his arms around me and Aiden.
I stare at Noah, stunned, then nearly fall off of Aiden’s lap in pure shock as Ralph hesitates, then puts a hand on my shoulder. Aiden starts feathering very fast little kisses onto my face.
“We’re sorry,” he rumbles, to a chorus of agreement from Ralph and Noah, everyone squeezing me at once.
“Oh - it’s okay!” I rush to answer, trying to pull myself together. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad, I shouldn’t have brought it up-”
Once again, all three of them cut me off by groaning loudly.
Ralph puts his elbows on the table and drops his face into his hands. “Oh my god, Keane.”
Noah sits back and tosses his hands up in frustration. “He’s apologizing to us!”
“Honestly.” Aiden lets out a pained, affectionate laugh. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”
All three of them are looking at me with a mixture of guilt and affection in their eyes. Even Ralph, I think, even though he’s hiding it better than the others.
I look at Aiden, then at Noah and Ralph, then stare blankly out at the people dancing. I let out a dazed, happy laugh.
“Wow. This is a moment I wouldn’t have called in high school.”
Ralph clears his throat and turns away, takes a hasty sip of his beer. “Who would have called any of this in high school, dude?”
“Can’t argue with that,” I murmur, filled with warm disbelief as I settle myself more comfortably into Aiden’s arms.
Ralph glances down at his phone. He taps a fingertip on the table, then twists his fingers around his wristbands, staring out at the crowd.
Subtle little movements, but Aiden doesn’t miss them, and neither do I.
“Is Calla still coming?” Aiden rumbles.
“What? Yeah, of course.” Ralph bites down on his thumbnail, his eyes searching through the wedding guests. “She must just be running late. But she’s coming, definitely. She bought a new dress just for this, so. That means she is, right?”
Aiden and I exchange a startled glance, then turn back to Ralph.
“Calla wanted a dress?” I repeat, and Ralph glances over at me.
“She likes to wear them sometimes. She doesn’t do it because she’s worried that everyone’s gonna make a big deal about it.” He pauses, then leans forward slightly, narrows his eyes at me in a threatening way. “So if anyone does make a big deal about it, if anyone says a fucking thing about it, I will personally feed that someone to the sharks, piece by-”
I hastily hold my hands up, and Aiden does the same. “We won’t!”
“Why’s it some big deal if she wears a dress?” Ripley asks, holding out a finger for Nik to grab onto.
“She doesn’t do it that often.” Ralph glances down at his phone again, nervously twisting his fingers through his wristbands. “All of her friends are guys, always have been, and she mostly works with guys, too, so she’s, um - well, you’ll see what I mean.”
Noah stares at Ralph in surprise. “You’re telling me you don’t care that all of her friends are guys? You?”
“I’m done with that jealous type of shit, man.” Ralph takes a deep, determined breath, his eyes roaming over the crowd. “I trust her. You’ll see, she - she’ll be here.”
Noah stares at Ralph, then nods slowly, absorbing that.
“Good, because I’m dying to meet her,” he says, drawing Ralph’s surprised eyes to him. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to picture. What kind of girl dates the fucking Warlord?”
Ralph lets out a soft snicker of laughter, opens his mouth to answer. But his eyes catch on something through the dancing wedding guests, and he stops. He sits up more, his dark green eyes lighting up.
Calla sweeps through the crowd in a silky, midnight blue dress with slender straps, tiny gems scattered throughout the flowing skirt like stars. Her buzzed hair looks dramatic with her smoky eyeshadow, the dark gloss on her lips, the two sparkling little earrings in her ears.
She pauses, looking around, then catches a glimpse of Ralph. Her eyes light up radiantly, exactly like his did when he spotted her.
All eyes at the table have followed Ralph’s gaze. Some of them have gotten very wide.
“That’s your girl?” Noah whispers, but that’s all anyone has time to say before Calla stops in front of the table.
“Hey!” She bends to brush a kiss onto Ralph’s mouth, and he smiles against her lips.
“Hey!” Ralph starts to get up, then stops instantly when Calla drops to sit on his lap. “God, you look gorgeous.”
A pleased blush rises in Calla’s cheeks. She gives the collar of his dress shirt a little tug. “You look nice, too.”
“I was just starting to worry-”
“I know, I’m sorry that I’m so late.” Calla affectionately twists her fingers into his blonde hair. “Work ran long.”
Ralph gazes up at her with obvious concern, lowers his volume significantly. “No brushes with the cops, right?”
Noah, Raj, and Ripley’s eyebrows all lift. They stare at Calla, who shakes her head happily at Ralph.
“No, all clear. Everything’s good. And check out this! Wasn’t what I went there for, but I had to get it once I saw it.”
She takes something from the folds of her dress and covertly shows it to Ralph. It’s a small knife - or a dagger, maybe? - with a very ornate handle.
“Whoa,” Ralph says, staring at it with huge eyes. “That’s sick.”
“I know. One for the collection.” Calla gives the knife a little flourishing flip into the air, then catches it neatly by the handle again, walks it along her knuckles the same way you would a quarter. “Well-balanced, too. Thought you might want to bring it to your next sit down. It would look badass.”
Ralph lets out a warm, affectionate laugh. “Cute of you to think of that.”
“Jesus Christ!” Aiden blurts out, staring at Calla in disbelief. “Where were you even keeping that in the dress?”
She gives Aiden a casual, yet somehow deeply threatening look, leaning back against Ralph. “If you have to find out, Aiden, you’re in trouble.”
“Oh, yep,” Noah snickers softly. “This must be Ralph’s girl.”
Calla smiles at him, then looks down at Ralph. “You gonna introduce me to the rest of the goon brigade? Aiden, Jamie, hi, know you already.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry-” Ralph manages to break his dreamy gaze away from Calla. He straightens up a bit, then nods at Ripley. “That’s Ripley, the artist I told you about.”
Calla nods at Ripley across the table. He shifts Nik into one arm and spreads his paint-stained hand in a wave, his eyes still very wide.
“Ralph said you’re a - software engineer?” he asks uncertainly, his eyes on the knife.
Calla nods, whipping the knife in a graceful twirl over one finger before disappearing it back into the folds of her dress.
“Part time,” she and Ralph answer in tandem, then share a private, intimate smile.
“This is Noah, and that’s Raj,” Ralph goes on, nodding at them. “The two grooms.”
Noah holds out a hand to shake Calla’s, then blinks in surprise when she gives it a hearty slap.
“Congrats, man!” She pops Noah one on the shoulder, then nods at Raj. “Heard a lot all about you guys. Sorry that I was late. Nice wedding, by the way. Looks fuckin’ great out here!”
Calla has some serious, lithe muscle, and Noah wasn’t braced properly for the impact of her fist against his shoulder. It knocked him to the side a little in his seat. I put a hand over my mouth to suppress a laugh, and Aiden presses his nose against my shoulder, doing the same thing.
“Thank you!” Raj says brightly. “And no worries! You’re right on time, actually. Mel’s about to do the bouquet toss.”
Ralph casts a startled glance at Raj, then swiftly looks at Calla.
“You don’t have to,” he tells her, his cheeks coloring up. “If you don’t want-”
“Oh, yes.” Calla springs lightly to her feet, then rolls out her shoulders like she’s about to do some kickboxing. “Where all those girls are getting together on the dance floor, I’m guessing?”
Ralph stares up at her, caught completely by surprise, more than a little flustered. “You - you really want to-?”
He cuts himself off as Calla bends to brush a kiss onto the tiny, crooked bump in the bridge of his nose. “Be right back.”
“Don’t use the knife!” I call after her, and she turns around as she walks, a diabolical look on her face.
“We’ll see!”
Ralph laughs softly, watching her go, then blinks like something just dawned on him. He slowly turns to Ripley with a very smug smile on his face.
Ripley laughs, holds up his hands in surrender. “I know when I’m beat.”
“Told you that she’s gorgeous,” Ralph says, grinning from ear to ear.
Noah stares after Calla in disbelief. “And she packs a punch, too. Jesus.”
“I’m terrified of her,” Raj admits.
“Right?” Ralph asks dreamily, watching Calla kick off her heels beside Angie. “She’s so scary.”
“Alright, boys.” Aiden sits forward, nods to the girls excitedly gathering around Mel on the dance floor. “Place your bets. Who do we have our money on for the bouquet toss?”
Raj sits back in his seat, looking at the girls thoughtfully. “Alix looks seriously determined, but she’s the clumsiest. By far.”
Ripley’s eyes dart sharply over to the girls. “What - Alix is doing it, too?”
“My money’s on Calla,” Raj continues. “Don’t ask me why, but I feel like she could do a backflip and get it.”
I cast my mind back to some of the acrobatics I’ve seen Calla perform on the fly. “Yeah, you know what? My money’s on Calla, too.”
“Des looks ready to fight someone for it,” Ripley observes. “More than all the rest, I think.”
“Are you sure, dude? Look at Gabby.” Aiden huffs out a laugh. “I’ve seen people look less focused than that before their turn at the Olympics. Gold medal shit, my money’s on her.”
“Looks like we’re running out of time to lock in our bets.” Raj watches as Mel turns her back to the cluster of girls, the bouquet grasped in her hands. “Let’s hope this doesn’t come down to a rumble - oh, shit. Where’s Noah?”
We all look around at the table, then sit up in alarm when we realize that Noah’s chair is empty. There’s a silence as we all twist around in our seats, and then Aiden nudges my arm, points at something.
“Oh, no,” I sputter, catching sight of Noah covertly sneaking closer to Mel through the crowd, staying low.
“Oh, god,” Ripley laughs, hugging Nikita to his chest. “What is he doing?”
None of us know, but Ralph quickly uncaps his camera.
“Ready to find out who’s next?” Mel calls out, to an excited cheer from the assembled girls behind her. “Three, two-”
Before she can get to one, Noah darts forward and pokes her stomach. Mel lets out a gasp of startled, ticklish laughter. She had already started to throw the bouquet, but now she flings her arms up - and the bouquet sails way over the heads of all the girls. Calla gets some serious air trying to catch it, but nobody could have. It was less of a toss, more of a hard, high throw.
But the girls all did try to get it, and Alix took a few of them down in her attempt. There’s a lot of laughing and shouting as the girls try to untangle themselves and get up off of the ground, dresses and jewelry snagged on each other.
All of us sitting at the table dissolve into laughter over our drinks. Aiden drops his face into his hands, and Ripley’s shoulders shake with his laughter, making Nik giggle, too. Ralph is fighting down his laughter so that he can hold the camera still, but he falls apart when Angie stares around in total bewilderment as Calla, trying to be helpful, easily picks her up and sets her back on her feet.
“Noah!” Melanie gasps, struggling to catch her breath through her laughter. She swats at Noah’s chest, and he laughs, catches her hand, starts pressing kisses all over it. “Look what you did, you giant dummy! Where did it even go?”
Kasey points past our table. “Right there!”
I turn to follow her finger, and find the bouquet snagged on a branch of one of the rainforest trees. It’s hanging upside down, the ribbon hooked around a slender green offshoot of the branch.
“Oh, shit!” Melanie laughs helplessly, as soon as I point to it. “Boys! One of you caused this, so one of you needs to get it down so we can try again!”
Aiden is the tallest, but for some reason - maybe because I made the bouquet - I feel like I should go get it. I set my drink aside and get up from Aiden’s lap, cross to the tree. I can just reach the bouquet, but I don’t want to break the new, budding branch. I stand on my tiptoes and reach for the caught ribbon, then give it a gentle tug, trying to carefully dislodge it.
I gasp as instead it comes undone, releasing all of the flowers in the bouquet. I land back on my feet just in time for a shower of red and gold and silver flowers to come spilling down onto my head, tangling in my hair, catching on my shoulders.
“Ooooh!” Melanie lets out a gasp, pointing at me. “It’s Jamie! Only he didn’t catch the bouquet, it caught him!”
I look up, startled and out of breath, as all the girls start laughingly repeating it, too. It’s Jamie!
Before I can stop myself, my eyes go right to Aiden.
He’s leaning on his elbows at the table, like he was when I got up, but now he’s sitting perfectly still. Staring at me like he doesn’t hear the shouting and laughing going on all around him.
His eyes are wide and dreamy, but at the same time, burning like two wildfires. I can almost see the sparks swirling in them, molten white heat in the cosmic blue glow.
For a few breathless seconds, those eyes stare right into mine, set on fire.
Then Aiden hastily blinks his eyes away. He drops his head, lets his gaze fall to his lap. A lock of glossy chestnut hair falls over his face, hiding his expression from me.
I blink nervously, start to lift my hand to the heist ring on my finger, then quickly drop it when I realize what I’m doing.
The present comes back to me all in a rush. Suddenly I can hear everyone yelling again, pointing at me and the scattered bouquet. I blush deeply and let out a groaning laugh, brushing stray flowers and petals from the sleeves of my dress shirt as I set off to rejoin the guys at the table. I roll my eyes when they all imitate the girls and ooooh it’s Jamie at me.
I drop to sit down next to Aiden, biting my lip nervously. Strange, bright butterflies are frantically fluttering around in my chest.
I’m not sure how Aiden is feeling, because we’re both carefully not looking at each other.
I hesitate for a moment. Then I turn to look at him, opening my mouth to play it off as a joke. But I shut all the way up when I see how Aiden is looking at me.
He’s got a deeply shy look in his blue eyes, but a tentative smile turning up his lips.
I feel myself break into a slow smile of my own, staring back at him.
Aiden lets out a soft laugh, and I do, too. Aiden hesitates, then draws me closer to him, gently puts his temple against mine for a moment.
I sit back in my chair, biting down hard on my smile.
As Aiden gently works the flowers out of my hair and lays them out on the tablecloth, I feel a pair of eyes on us.
I glance over and spot Aunt Sarah sitting alone at one of the tables across from us. Watching me and Aiden with a serene, contented smile on her face.
I brush a kiss onto Aiden’s cheek, then go over to join her. I sit down silently in the chair next to her, and she casts me a small, radiant smile. We look out together for a moment at the soft lights, the glowing gold of the candles. Soaking in the enchanted atmosphere, the gentle breeze, the people dancing. Everything is shimmering, rich, peaceful.
Without a word, Aunt Sarah sits back in her chair in a satisfied kind of way, lifts a cigarette to her mouth, and lights it.
I watch with startled eyes as she takes a long drag, exhales it slowly, then turns her head to grin at me.
I let out a laugh, matching her smile. “Celebration cigarette?”
“There’s much to celebrate, Jamie.” Aunt Sarah reaches over to pat my shoulder, her silver hair spilling over hers. “Like the Father said. What blessings.”
My eyes flit back to Aiden. He’s laughing at a picture that Ralph is showing him on his camera, his eyes crinkled up with his smile again.
Aunt Sarah follows my gaze to him. She takes another slow, thoughtful drag on her cigarette.
“You know how rare it used to be?” she says abruptly. “To see him smile?”
I look over at her, caught by surprise.
“Even when he was so young,” she says softly, rolling the cigarette between her fingertips. “Even when he was so young…”
She falls silent for a second, her eyes drifting away from me.
“Even when he was gone, I couldn’t take the thought of him like that,” she murmurs. “I’d picture him out there somewhere, looking so sad, and I’d get up out of my chair like I had to go find him. But I had no idea where to go. I’d just have to sit back down again. The whole time he was gone, I kept doing that. I’d just - get up, stand there for a moment, then sit back down.”
I stare at Aunt Sarah, at a loss for words. She looks down at the glowing tip of the cigarette for a long moment.
“I’ve been waiting a long time,” she says quietly, her voice warm with happiness. “To see him like this. To have nights like this. I’m going to sleep soundly, tonight.”
I break into a smile, then hold out my drink to her. “To nights like this.”
Aunt Sarah laughs, lifts her drink, and clinks it against mine. “May there be many more of them.”
The music switches to a slow song, 25/8 by Cautious Clay.
I close my eyes and breathe out a happy sigh. “Oh, I love this song.”
I open my eyes again, then freeze when I find myself looking up into Aiden’s staggeringly beautiful blue gaze.
“Need to borrow him, Auntie,” Aiden rumbles, and Aunt Sarah smiles up at him.
“He’s all yours, sweetheart.”
I get to my feet, casting Aiden a curious look. He takes my hand and leads me through the crowded backyard, the golden containers with the floating candles, the people dancing.
“Where are we going, Sugar Maple?”
He stops where he is, turns around, and bends to murmur into my ear. “Right here.”
He kisses my cheek, then straightens up and wraps his warm arms around me. I stare at him, then look around at all of the slow-dancing couples around us.
I turn my eyes back to Aiden, blushing hard, a surprised smile spreading over my face. I reach up happily to fold my arms around his neck, and he lowers his head, puts his forehead to mine.
We sway slowly together to the music, the lights glowing softly around us, the breeze sighing gently through the trees.
After a moment I lower my head to press the side of my face against Aiden’s chest. I catch sight of Aunt Sarah watching us with a happy smile turning up her lips.
She blinks in surprise and looks up as Father Leo stops in front of her table. He says something to her, then gives her a little bow, offers her a tattooed hand.
Aunt Sarah lets out a surprised laugh, looks at him for a moment, then bites her lip. She puts her cigarette out in the ashtray, accepts Father Leo’s hand, and lets him lead her out to where we’re dancing.
She and Father Leo float past us, the moonlight sliding over his silver hair and hers. Kent and Gabby slowly swirl by on our other side, and a moment later, Ripley and Alix. I think I hear the swish of Calla’s dress in slow movement behind us, too.
But soon enough Aiden’s heartbeat against my ear is the only thing I can hear besides the music. His fingers slide down my back, then come to rest in the dimples on either side of my spine. They like to stay there, I’ve noticed.
I close my eyes and snuggle up closer to him, savoring the perfect way it feels to be in his hands.
Aiden curls his knuckles beneath my chin, tilts my face up to his. I have just enough time to catch a flash of oceanic blue before he kisses me, softly and gently.
Then he puts his stubbled cheek to mine, turning us in a slow circle.
The word infinite hums in my heart and mind. It has nothing to do with the far-flung stars above us, and everything to do with the shining piece of sunlight right here in my arms.
~~~~
As the night grows late, the miniature rainforest and the house both grow less heavily populated.
The oldest and the youngest among us have gone home. The parents in the crowd headed out first, taking their sleepy kids with them. Aunt Sarah, Melanie’s mom, and Father Leo followed shortly after. There’s still a good-sized group at the house, only now the crowd resembles the kind that might be at Angie’s house for a party, or gathered for the Fling Thing. And it is heading more and more towards party territory. Puffs of smoke are rising on the air in the backyard. The music has gone up in volume and tempo, as has the talk and laughter.
I find Aiden in the warmth of the flower cavern that I turned the living room into. He’s talking to Ripley, laughing at something he’s saying.
“Hi!” I tug hard on Aiden’s sleeve, and he turns around quickly, startled. “I’m tipsy! Just wanted to let you know!”
“Um.” Aiden huffs out a laugh, breaking into a big grin. “Wow, yeah. I can see that.”
“I’m just letting you know ‘cause I’m stopping now.”
“Stopping what?”
I hold up my empty glass, confused. “Drinking, obviously.”
Aiden blinks at me, taken aback. “Oh, okay. Why?”
“Because-” I stare at him, baffled, then draw him a step away from Ripley and lower my volume considerably. “What if someone needs us for a rescue? I can pull myself together in an emergency when I’m stoned, but I can’t when I’m drunk. And, I mean - you can’t drink, I don’t want you to feel-”
Aiden suddenly lifts a hand and drags his thumb over my lips, gazing down at me with serious affection in his eyes.
“That’s real cute, Keane,” he murmurs, his deep voice rich with warmth. “But I don’t want you to miss out on things because of that, okay?”
“It’s not missing out, don’t put it like that, I really don’t mind-”
“Remember what you said to me when we went out of town, to the beach house?” Aiden interrupts gently. “It’s okay to have fun. To give yourself a break.”
I stare up at Aiden, caught by surprise.
“Go ahead.” He kisses my forehead, then gives my hair a ruffle. “Honestly.”
“Mmm…” My nose crinkles up as I turn it over in my slightly intoxicated mind. “No, I really think I should - I don’t need to drink to have fun. And I want to be there for you if-”
“Jamie, it’s fine,” Aiden laughs. He hesitates, then pins on, all casual - “Between you and me, we’ve all been curious, anyways.”
I draw my head back, blinking in confusion. “Curious - what?”
Aiden shrugs his shoulders at me. “Me and the guys, we all realized that we’ve never seen you drunk before. Stoned, yeah, but not drunk.”
“What…?” I let out a laugh, staring at Aiden in disbelief. “You guys have all been talking about - how you want to know what I’m like when I’m drunk?”
“It’s - come up.” Aiden breaks back into a grin, folding his arms over his chest. “What happens?”
“Nothing happens, I just get - embarrassing.”
“Oh, yes,” Aiden sighs happily. “I’m the most curious out of everyone, but Noah is a close second. He’s actually been super hype to get drunk with you. He’s brought it up more than once, so I think he was planning on-”
“Jamie!” Noah says breathlessly, coming to a stop by my side. He presses a beer into my hand, then holds up one of his own. “C’mon. You have to tornado chug this whole thing with me. Right now.”
“What-?” I let out a burst of indignant laughter. “You can’t be serious, dude.”
Noah cracks a big grin at me. “Oh, can’t I? I want to meet drunk Jamie!”
Aiden matches Noah’s grin, catches his eye. “He says it’s embarrassing, Noosh.”
Noah makes a sound like something incredibly tempting just appeared before his eyes. “Oh, yes!”
“Noah,” I groan, shaking my head at him. “I’m not-”
“Why not, Keane? There’s no more kids left at the party. Mel’s mom just took off with Nik. And Mel says she has some surprise specialty cocktail planned.” Noah takes a joint out of his cigarette pack, bites off the paper rolled at the end, then sticks it into his mouth. “We’re switching gears here, you feel me?”
“Oh, my god,” I laugh, then turn to Ripley, who just came over with Ralph to join us. “Are you partaking in all this, Ripples? Your mom told you not to.”
“Actually, she said to be responsible with it,” Ripley clarifies, his tone suggesting to me that I’m not the only one already tipsy. “What’s not responsible about this?”
He points at Noah, who has the beer in one hand, the lighter in the other, and the joint in his mouth. Noah turns to me like - yeah, see?
“Very responsible.” Noah takes the joint from between his lips and points to it. “This is a great strain, Jamie. High-quality shit. Bought from the finest dealer in this town, in this state.”
“Oh.” Ralph smiles brightly, casts Noah a warm look. “Thanks, dude. S’really nice of you to say. You guys realize he’s talking about me?”
Ralph is already a little drunk, too, I’m realizing. I couldn’t tell before, because he doesn’t have that usual sneering, cold gleam in his eyes that I’m used to seeing when he’s drunk.
“You said bought, right?” Aiden asks, catching Noah’s eye. “Paid for?”
Noah nods, and Ralph tosses his hands up in frustration.
“He wouldn’t let me give it to him for free, even though it’s his fucking wedding.”
I poke Ralph’s arm nervously. “So, um - you’re drinking, too?”
“Yeah, but not to my usual party-ruining level. Fuck that. I’m keeping an eye on myself.”
“Wow, man.” I stare at Ralph in surprise. “That’s actually kind of considerate of y-”
“Not because I care about you guys, or the party. I’m just not about to make a fool of myself in front of my girl.”
“Oh. That’s less considerate.”
“Yeah, ‘course he doesn’t care about us, Jamie. Or the party.” Noah takes Ralph’s face by the jaw and shows it to me. “See? He’s hating every second of this.”
Ralph tries and fails to fight down the bright smile on his face. He laughs, shoves Noah away.
“The point is, yes, we’re getting fucked up tonight, but we’re not doing our old thing,” Noah assures me, reading the obvious concern in my eyes. “Won’t be getting all, um - fuck. What’s the word I’m looking for?”
“Belligerent?” Ralph offers.
Noah looks blankly at Ralph, the gears working hard behind his grey eyes for a definition.
“No, not belligerent,” he answers uncertainly, after a moment. “Just like, um - hostile. And aggressive.”
“Yeah, man, that’s…” Ralph trails off, staring at Noah. His sage green eyes suddenly fill up with affection. He drops his face into his hand, lets out a helpless sort of groan. “Noosh.”
Noah stares at him, confused. “What?”
“Nothing, man. Nothing. Go on.”
Noah shrugs, then turns back to me. “What I’m saying is, it won’t be like that time I was tripping so hard that I turned into water.”
Aiden presses his fingers over his mouth. “Oh, man, I forgot about that.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Ripley laughs.
“Okay,” I cut in, looking around at the guys. “So - we’re all doing this?”
“It’s our wedding, Jamie!” Raj comes to a staggering stop beside Noah, his drink sloshing in his hand. “So yeah, we are! As long as - Aiden, you sure you’re chill with being the only one sober?”
“Honestly, I can tell I’m gonna have fun watching this.” Aiden’s eyes go to Raj, who leans heavily and unsteadily onto Noah’s shoulder. “And I think it’s for the best to have someone sober around. You know. So that none of you dumbasses hurt yourselves. Raj, group lightweight, I see you’ve already kicked us off.”
“I’m still mostly sober, dude,” Raj says solemnly. “And I’ve only smoked one-”
He cuts himself off sharply as the song changes.
“What the fuck?” Raj stares around the room with wide eyes. “For some reason I keep thinking the music is coming from me.”
“Do you even have your phone on you, Raj?” Ripley asks.
“No, like, from me,” Raj explains, gesturing to his own chest.
“You see my point,” Aiden says firmly.
“Jesus, Raj,” Noah laughs. “You’re real embarrassing, you know that? Can’t believe I married you.”
“Holy shit! That’s right, you did!” Raj breaks into a radiant smile. “Well, whatever! I’m happy. If I’m making music, I’m making music. And we’re finally gonna get to see drunk Jamie! Right?”
I realize that everyone is looking at me hopefully, imploringly. I bite my lip, considering, then let out another laugh, half a groan. Everyone breaks into gigantic smiles at once.
“Yes!” Noah shouts, as Raj punches a victory fist into the air.
“I can’t wait to see what this looks like,” Ralph snickers.
“We’re on!” Noah slaps Raj’s shoulder. “Let’s have someone tap the keg, yeah?”
“I’ll do it!” Ripley turns to rush for the kitchen. “I’m all over it!”
“Why do you even know how to do that, kid?” Noah shouts after him, but he’s already gone. “Oh - fucking whatever! Jamie, c’mon.”
“You really want to tornado chug these, man?” I ask, but Noah has already started swirling his bottle to form a whirlpool, so I start doing mine, too. “Oh, god. I already did a shot with you, Noah!”
“First of many to come, dude.”
“I’m excited for this,” Aiden laughs, leaning back against the driftwood mantelpiece.
I hesitate, one last concern occurring to me. “Does Mel have any opinions about th-?”
“Oh, there you guys are!” Mel stops beside Noah, plucks the joint out of his hand, and tucks it into her mouth. He sparks it for her, and she takes a long hit. “Everybody got a drink?”
We all hold them up to show Mel. She breaks into a big grin, then blows out a long furl of smoke.
“Well, well,” she says. “Looks like it’s time to party.”
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