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“Yes, Alice?” I adjust my body to sit up, unscrew the lid on my water bottle, and take a long drink to wake me up. It’s rude of me to fall asleep at the mid-afternoon slumber party.
“Can I please send you the photos I took today?”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” I can’t deny her anything. I give her my number, knowing I am going into Alice’s contacts. “And thank you for spending time with me today. I enjoyed your company.”
She busies herself on her phone, head down, fingers tapping. “That’s okay. My brother likes you. I can’t wait to see your Mini-M goats and Pearl in the morning.”I guess I am staying the night.
Ping, ping, ping.The sounds of incoming pictures echo around the room.
Alice hugs me. “I’ll come to get you for dinner. Tucker and Teagan make yummy dinners, and I make yummy chocolate brownies.”
“I look forward toallthe yummy.” I haven’t eaten so much food in a sit-down meal in a long time.
“Okay. I will go to my room now and tell my friends about my day and my new friend, Ophelia.”
“Maybe don’t tell them I drank a little too much sangria.”
“Okay.” Then Alice leaves.
I break out a smile at the use of ‘okay.’ I can see where Tucker gets it from or vice versa. It’s too early to tell.
I flop down on my belly on top of the comforter, my ponytail flipping over my head. I’m feeling closer to sober now I have water in my system and a good hour of chatting with Alice.
I wriggle about on the large bed, pulling my phone from my back pocket because that is what alcohol-relaxed girls do; we make calls. Today has been a treat, and I need to thank Chance and Aubrey for the time off.
I locate my cousin’s name, noting the time is a little after half three, which is later than I thought, and put the phone on speaker. “G’day, good cousin of mine, how goes the day for you?”
“Ophelia… have you been drinking?”
Am I slurring my words? I can’t be. I’m practically sober again. “Not now, maybe earlier.” I pinch my pointer finger and thumb close together, not that he can see me. “Just a little sangria. I’m almost sober.”Liar.But a good hour since I stopped drinking has made a difference.
I hear Aubrey shout to Chance to put his phone on speaker while my cousin laughs at me.
“Oh, now you have done it. Aubrey will hog this conversation and want to know all the girly details. But to set the record straight, Tucker has already called us to let us know you were a little tipsy and will be staying for a pajama party. Are you okay with that?”
“I can’t let Alice down,” I reply.
“Yay for Ophelia. Who is Alice?” Aubrey sounds delighted I am staying over and mildly confused at this news.
“Hang on; I’m sending a picture or three.” I punch buttons on my phone until I hear the ‘ping, ping, ping’ over the speaker at Chance’s end. “My new friends: Alice and Teagan, Tucker’s other sister and twin, and Santiago, and Tucker,” I announce.
“Oh, Alice and Teagan look like they are a lot of fun.” Aubrey’s smile is warming my phone. “You look and sound like you are having a wonderful time letting your hair down, missy.”
I twirl my ponytail around my finger. “It’s been a good day, but I will be back early in the morning. So sorry to put you guys out another day.”
“We are happy to see you enjoying an adventure with the opposite sex.” Chance laughs, highly amused.
“Dude, 365 days!” I remind him.
“You don’t need permission from yourself or us to take a day off from your busy life. Go live a little. I like Tucker.” Aubrey is my champion.
“The only reason I am sleeping over is I had too much sangria and no other reason.” I want to make that clear.
“Yeah, we got that from Tucker.” Chance chuckles.
“You are enjoying my predicamentwaaaytoo much, cousin.”
“What else are cousins for? You know we love you and want you to find happiness with a dude, and Tucker seems a great starting point.”
