Oliver and Theo snicker quietly to themselves. Must be an inside joke.
“So, this is everyone?” Nikki asks.
“Yep! Feel free to have a seat on the couch. I’ll sit on the floor this week.”
“Nah, dude, you can have the armchair!” Theo insists. “I don’t mind the floor this time.”
Max grins. “What a gentleman! Caleb’s a lucky boy.”
Nikki steps into the living room. “Oh, I brought cookies. Where should I?—”
“Ooh, thank you, hon’!” Max exclaims. “You can set them right there on the coffee table so we can eat them during the movie.”
I follow Nikki to the couch, claiming my usual spot on the right and patting the spot in the middle for her. Nikki opens the plastic cookie container and goes to throw the grocery bag away.
Oliver plucks a cookie from the table, grabs his floor pillow, and plops it down by my feet. Just as he sits, Nikki returns, her expression shifting from confusion to irritation as she watches Oliver settle in. When her eyes meet mine, she forces a smile. “Can we switch?” she asks. “I would hate to separate you and Celeste.”
I blink. “Um, yeah, sure.” I scoot to the middle, and Nikki slots right into my spot.
“Thanks, babe,” Nikki whispers, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
Oliver stiffens but says nothing. He quietly enjoys his cookie, eyes fixed on the screen as Max queues the movie.
“What are we watching again?” Celeste asks as she settles into my left side, completely oblivious to the weird vibes.
“The Thursday Murder Club,” Max replies.
“But, Max, it’s Sunday,” Oliver quips.
“Yes, Oliver, I am aware,” Max retorts. “We’ll just have to make do.”
“Want a cookie, baby?” Nikki asks, caressing my thigh.
I shiver at the contact. “Um, yeah, yes please.”
Nikki leans forward dramatically to reach the cookies, her long hair brushing against Oliver. “Oops, sorry,” she mutters. Oliver leans away from her, subtly scooting to the right. As Nikkileans back into the couch, she repositions to face me. “Open up,” she purrs.
Unsure what else to do, I comply, opening my mouth for the cookie. Nikki chuckles, low and sultry, then feeds it to me. Normally, I’d find this completely hot and irresistible, but with all my friends around, it’s really uncomfortable.
Max clears his throat loudly. “Okay, so, should we go over the rules really quick for Nikki?”
Preoccupied by licking melted chocolate off her fingers, Nikki barely responds. “Rules?”
Max shoots me a bewildered look, then continues. “No excessive talking, no phones, and if anyone has to go to the bathroom, we can pause, but please keep the pee breaks to a minimum. Any questions?”
“Nope, sounds good to me,” Nikki says, shifting her body forward again.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Without any further delay, Max starts the movie. Nikki snuggles into me, and I relax.
A few minutes into the film, Nikki taps on my knee. “Can you ask him to turn off the captions?” she whispers.
Hesitating, I shake my head. “Actually, Oliver has an auditory processing disorder, so the captions really help him.”
Nikki huffs. “Okay, I guess that’s fine.”
“Do we need to pause it?” Max asks loudly, annoyance clear in his voice.
