“I just got home,” I said defensively.
“These ornaments are from the dollar store, aren’t they?” he mused, flicking one.
“You know, you’ve got a lot to say for someone that doesn’t even have a tree,” I pointed out. I turned back to Draco. “You want something to drink? Beer or soda or water? I think we have milk? Or I have some frozen juice I can make—it’ll only take me a second.”
“Since when do you wait on me?” he asked, reaching out to ruffle my hair the way he used to when we were kids. “I can grab something.”
He walked toward the kitchen, nodding when Curtis called out for a beer.
“He didn’t ask, but I told him she wouldn’t be here,” Curtis said quietly as I sat down on the couch.
“She’s staying with Mack and Rose tonight,” I replied, equally as quiet.
Curtis huffed.
“They’ll figure it out,” I said, turning as Draco came back. “I would’ve guessed beer.”
“I haven’t had orange soda in a long ass time,” he replied with a half grin as he tossed Curtis his beer. “Sounded good.”
“Probably a good choice,” I said as he sat down beside me. “There’s gonna be so many kids there tomorrow—you don’t want to show up with a hangover.”
“You need more seating,” Curtis grumbled as he pulled a bean bag chair from against the wall.
“You don’t have enough beer in there to give a mouse a hangover,” Draco replied.
“I don’t drink much,” I said with a shrug. “Those are the kind Curt likes.”
“Kara doesn’t, either?” Draco asked.
And just like that, I was in the middle of a minefield, unable to move.
“Kara doesn’t do anything,” Curtis replied for me, his voice devoid of emotion.
“What does that mean?” Draco asked.
“She’s boring,” I said, shooting Curtis a look.
Draco looked back and forth between the two of us.
“Why are the two of you actin’ so weird?”
“I’m just so glad you’re home,” I replied. I wasn’t lying. I’d been waiting so long to have him in our apartment. I wanted to show him everything. The plates we’d found at a garage sale that had the ugliest ducks I’d ever seen on them, the rug in the bathroom that was in the shape of a guy in a speedo, the only anatomically correct thing about it the darker colored nipples that Kara and I had laughed about for weeks, the car I’d gotten for graduation that had smelled like feet even after an entire year of being detailed once a month.
On the other hand, it felt weird, having him there. Showing him the things I’d been doing, the crap I’d been accumulating while he was gone.
“What were you going to watch?” Draco said after a moment, jerking his head toward the TV.
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“You’d built your nest,” he said, gesturing to my spot on the couch. “That hasn’t changed. So, what were you going to watch?”
“It’s a show about gangsters in the thirties,” I said slowly.
“Turn it on.”
“You want to watch TV?” I asked dubiously.
“I wanna zone out,” he said tiredly, scooting down so he could rest his head on the back of the couch. “It’s been a long fuckin’ day.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing at Curt as I grabbed the remote.
“We got time to catch up,” Draco said, reaching out to pat my knee. “If I woulda stayed at my parents’ house, Ma woulda been up my ass the entire night. Here, we can just hang, yeah? I just need a minute.”
“Sure,” I said, understanding making my voice softer than normal. I cleared my throat as I turned on the TV. “I’ll start it over from the beginning.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Draco said.
“It’s okay.” I shook my head. “I don’t mind watching it again.”
Curtis got up from the floor and walked toward the bedrooms then came back out carrying the pillows from our beds. He tossed one to Draco and laid down on the floor with the other, propping up his head with it.
As the show started, I got comfortable, leaning against my side of the couch. It was the happiest I’d been in years, sitting there with my best friends, zoning out in front of the TV. There was something comforting about being around the people you could be yourself with. You didn’t need to fill the silence or try to keep them entertained. I’d known that Draco would come see me as soon as he could, but I should’ve known that he and Curtis would plant themselves in our apartment with no intention of leaving.
The five of us were the calm in the middle of our family’s storm. Whenever something was happening, Draco, Curtis, Kara, Rebel and I had always been corralled into the same space. Someone was hurt and all the adults were headed to the hospital? We were sent as a group to whoever’s parents agreed to keep us. The club had a run? The five of us stayed as a group at someone’s house while our parents were gone.
“Can’t wait to see Reb tomorrow,” Draco said with a sigh, his eyes on the television. His thoughts must have been running parallel to mine—that didn’t surprise me, either. “Can’t believe it’s been four years.”
“I think she would’ve been okay visiting you,” I said for the thousandth time since Rebel’s parents had decided it wasn’t a good idea.
“Nah,” Draco shook his head a little. “It would’ve scared her.”
“She can deal with more than people think,” I replied stubbornly.
“I had plenty of people comin’ to see me,” Draco said. “It was nice havin’ a pen pal.”
“She read me every single one of your letters,” I told him, smiling.
“Got one every week like clockwork,” he replied, shooting me a grin. “I couldn’t leave her hangin’.”
“I should’ve had her over tonight,” I said, curling my legs up on the couch. “She would’ve been stoked.”
“She’s doin’ good?”
“She’s doing fucking great,” I replied. “She has a job at an old folks home that she loves.”
“She mentioned that.”
“It’s perfect for her,” I said as Curtis began to snore. “She helps out in the kitchen and plays like a million card games a day with all the oldies. They love her.”
“I’m glad,” he said.
After that, we were both quiet. Eventually, Draco fell asleep and I got off the couch so he could spread out. Reaching out, I gently shook his shoulder.
I barely stopped a startled scream as his hand instantly shot up and wrapped around my wrist.
“Sorry,” I said, trying not to show him how badly he’d freaked me out. “Just letting you know I was going to bed.”
“Alright,” he replied groggily, letting me go.
I moved toward the tree, stepping over Curtis as Draco stretched out on the couch.
“Hey,” he called, making me pause to look at him. “Leave it on, yeah?”
“Sure,” I said, keeping to myself how dangerous it was to leave the Christmas tree lit all night while we slept.
“Lock the door,” Draco reminded me. Within seconds, he was asleep again.
I rolled my eyes, but double-checked the door was locked as I made my way to my room. As I passed Kara’s open doorway, I couldn’t stop the smile that played around my lips as I looked at her bed, perfectly made but missing her pillow. I wondered how she’d like coming home to a pillow that smelled like Draco.
My smile vanished as I remembered that Curt had stolen my pillow.
* * *
“Hey,” Curtis called, knocking on my doorframe as he peeked his head in. “I’m gonna run home and grab a quick shower.”
“D still asleep?” I asked quietly.
“Snorin’,” Curt replied with a little smile. “I’ll bring him some clothes back and he can just shower here, if it’s cool?”
“Works for me,” I replied from under the towel I was using to dry my hair. “I’m almost done in there.”
Curtis lingere
d in the doorway.
“What?” I asked, pulling the towel off my head.
“Nothin’,” he replied. He made no move to leave.
“Spit it out,” I said with a laugh.
“I don’t know,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as he dropped his voice. “Just—he hasn’t even wanted to see my place.”
“He hasn’t?” I replied, surprised as hell.
“He wanted to come straight here,” Curtis said. “And I figured it was because of Kara, but—” He shrugged.
“You’re overthinkin’ it,” I told him gently. I knew all of his worries about his twin. The anxiety and guilt he’d carried with him since that fateful day in high school when our lives had changed. “He’s got forever to check out your shithole bachelor pad. He’s going to live with you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then,” I said in satisfaction. “Give him a minute, yeah? Things’ll settle down and you won’t be able to get him out of your space.”
“You’re probably right,” he replied.
“Now go home and shower,” I said, pulling the towel back to my hair. “You smell like a gerbil.”
“Asshole,” Curt replied with a huff.
“We have like forty-five minutes before we have to leave,” I reminded him. “Get a move on.”
“I’m goin’,” he said. With a tap against the doorframe, he spun and walked away.
As soon as he was gone, I hurried to finish getting ready. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and got to work on my hair. It was the longest I’d ever worn it, and while I liked it that way, it was a pain in the ass to style. I was sweating by the time I was finished blow drying it, and I almost jumped out of my skin when I turned off the hair dryer and heard someone knocking on the bathroom door.
“Morning, lazy ass,” I greeted, opening the door to Draco’s sleep-creased face. “How’d you like that couch? Nice, huh?”
“You look like you put your finger in a light socket,” he replied groggily.
“I still have to curl it,” I said with a huff. “You need in here?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Where’s Curt?”
“He ran home to shower.”
“He could’ve woke me up,” he said as I grabbed my makeup bag and the curling iron from under the sink.
“He’s gonna bring you some clothes if you wanna shower here,” I replied.
“Works for me,” he said. His eyes were on the floor. “Are those nipples?” he said, his lips twitching.
I jerked in surprise then realized he’d seen our bathmat. “Nice, right?” I asked, leaning to the side so he’d get the full effect. “Nothing but the best for this apartment.”
“Only you would find somethin’ like that,” he said as I scooted around him in the doorway.
“It’s a gift,” I sang. “Give me a sec and I’ll grab you a towel. We don’t have enough space to keep ’em in here.”
I hurried into my room and plugged in my curling iron before grabbing him a towel. When I got back to the bathroom, Draco was staring at himself in the mirror, rubbing his hand over his chin.
“I’ve got a new razor somewhere if you want to shave,” I said, coming to a stop in the doorway.
He shook his head. “Nah, think I’ll let it grow.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked easily.
“The hair, too,” he said, running a hand over the top of his head.
“Going for the mountain man look?” I asked. “I approve. It’s very in right now.”
Draco laughed. “Give me that,” he ordered, taking the towel from me.
“Curt will be back soon with clothes,” I replied. “His apartment is just one building over.”
“Yeah, he pointed it out on the way in last night,” he replied.
I opened my mouth to ask him about not wanting to see Curt’s place, but shut it again without saying anything. That was between the two of them—they could figure it out without me interfering.
“Hey, Charlie,” Draco said, leaning out of the bathroom as I walked away. “I’m gonna lock this. Tell Curt to leave the clothes outside the door, alright?”
“No problem,” I said, my stomach twisting in something that felt a little like sympathy and a little like anger.
He’d spent the last four years showering in a group, having zero privacy, watching his back every second of every day. I imagined it probably felt like a sweet luxury to be able to shower in privacy behind a locked door.
Deliberately thinking of something else, the only way I’d been able to get through Draco’s imprisonment without losing my goddamn mind, I sat down at my desk and pulled out the little makeup mirror I kept for the days when Kara and I had to get ready at the same time. It wasn’t ideal for doing my hair, but I’d make it work.
I was pretty much done with my hair and makeup by the time Curt came back.
“You didn’t lock the door behind me,” he accused, stomping down the hallway.
“I figured you did when you left,” I argued, rolling my eyes. “You have a key. Use it.”
“Draco showering?” he asked.
I cocked my head, listening. “Sounds like he’s done. He said to leave the clothes outside the door.”
Curtis raised one eyebrow. “Got it.” He turned and took a couple steps to the bathroom door. “Brought you clothes, bro,” he called through the door. “Brought you some deodorant, too.”
“Don’t use it,” I yelled. “He’s got a fungus in his pits!”
“I don’t have a fuckin’ fungus,” Curtis shot back. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“He’s just embarrassed,” I shouted so Draco could hear me. “It’s nasty! Oozing!”
“There’s something seriously wrong with you,” Curtis replied, staring at me in horror. “I don’t have a fuckin’ fungus. Where the hell do you even come up with this shit?”
“Sorry,” I yelled. “My bad. It’s on his balls, not his armpits. The deodorant is probably safe!”
The bathroom door opened less than a foot.
“Bad deal, man,” Draco said, reaching for the stack of clothes in Curtis’ arms. “You should probably get that checked out.”
“I don’t have fungus on my balls, either,” Curtis said stubbornly as the door closed in his face. “You’re both assholes.”
“First step in solving a problem is admitting you have one,” I told him, shaking my head sadly. I screamed as he took a single menacing step toward me.
“I’ll be out wiping my fungus balls all over your couch,” he said, flipping me off.
“You touch my couch with your nasty parts and I’ll cut them off,” I yelled as he strode away.
Fifteen minutes later, I was in the backseat of Curtis’ car Roxanne as we headed toward the clubhouse. It was surreal. I’d been riding shotgun for so long while Draco was gone. Grinning, I got comfortable and stared at the back of his dark head, enjoying the moment.
“Stop starin’ at me, freak,” Draco said, fidgeting.
“I’m not staring.”
“I can’ feel your eyes on the back of my head,” he said, not even bothering to turn and verify it.
“I’m just happy,” I replied. “The old crew, riding in Roxanne, headed to the club.”
“Missin’ a couple,” Curtis said, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Give it ten minutes and we won’t be.” If I knew Reb, she was already at the club waiting for us. Kara—well, she’d be there eventually. Christmas Eve at the clubhouse wasn’t something she could bail on.
“Can’t get over that cut,” Draco said, backhanding Curtis on his chest, the sound of skin hitting leather loud in the car.
“Give it a minute,” Curtis said, glancing at his brother. “You’ll be wearin’ one, too.”
“That’s always been the plan, huh?” Draco said.
“Always been?” Curtis asked suspiciously. “Still the plan, yeah?”
“’Course,” Draco said, looking straight ahead.
Curtis looked at Draco and my stomach twisted with uncertainty. I’d heard the weirdness in Draco’s tone, too, but I was really hoping Curtis wasn’t going to try and get into it with him. We were headed to the club to see a huge group of people that D hadn’t seen in a long ass time—years, in some cases—he didn’t need to be more stressed out than he already was.
I breathed a sigh of relief as Curtis let it go.
“Let me in,” Curtis ordered as we pulled up to the gates. “I’ve got a VIP.”
“Jesus,” Draco complained as the prospects opened the gate for us.
“Just be glad they didn’t stop us to check the trunk,” I said, reaching up to pat Draco’s shoulder. He jerked in surprise, but we both ignored it. I faltered. “Uh, yeah, they’ve done that plenty of times.”
“Swear they do it just to fuck with me when I’m not on my bike,” Curtis grumbled as we made our way up the driveway.
“Well, thank you for taking one for the team,” I said. “I’m not sure how the three of us would’ve fit on your bike.”
“I’m not ridin’ on the back of anyone’s bike,” Draco said.
“She’s not ridin’ on the back of mine, either,” Curtis said, scoffing.
“Ew,” I replied, flicking the back of his head. “Like I’d ride with your dumbass anyway.”
Draco’s body was thrumming with tension by the time Curtis parked the car. While me and Curt climbed out of the driver’s side, he stayed in his seat, staring out the front windshield.
Curtis made a helpless gesture and widened his eyes at me a little. Yeah, I wasn’t sure what to do, either. So, I just did what I’d always done—plowed straight ahead.
I rounded the hood and threw open Draco’s door.
“Let’s go,” I announced. “Your adoring crowd awaits.”
“Just enjoying the silence for a second,” he replied with a smile as he got out of the car.
The forecourt was so crowded with bikes and cars that we had to weave our way around to get to the front door. The outside of the door was decorated with a single strand of twinkle lights and a fake pine garland, and I stopped for a second to appreciate it.
“Come on, I’m freezin’ my balls off,” Curtis said, giving me a little shove.
“Fine.” I opened the door and a wave of sound hit us instantly.
An Aces Christmas Page 8