AllFreeNovel
Share Us
2 – YESENIA
Two weeks to escapethe loneliness, the tears, and the constant silence in my home. Reminders of how my life has changed and will never be the same. Life has evolved into constant self-reliance, and I know I need something more than work and a lonely home at the end of the day.
I smile as I push those memories to the back of my mind as Stacey asks, “Why don’t we play a game of charades?”
We’ve agreed to play a Christmas-themed version of charades. I’ve been paired up with Denise, Tyler, and Kincaid. Shepherd, Stacey, Kylie, Andrew, and Lauren are on the same team. We spend almost half an hour creating clues and writing them down.
No sooner than I had settled into the room that Kincaid took me to, Stacey came to check on me to ensure I was okay. We chatted briefly about nothing for maybe ten minutes before her boyfriend, Shepherd, came looking for her.
He rounded us up and then went to find the others so that we could eat and “get the party started.”
Everyone has finished eating and we’re now in the den sprawled on the floor, wrapped in blankets, and cuddled in couches. Empty beer bottles, semi-empty beer bottles, and glasses of wine litter the floors and the tables.
I was surprised to see Lauren’s husband, Andrew, return downstairs. I recalled him mentioning how tired he was before and that he was going back to sleep, but he’s not budged from her side since we came back downstairs.
There’s a funny energy between the three of them: Andrew, Lauren, and Kincaid. Not sure what it is, but when we first came downstairs, Tyler was the first to find them, and I was right behind him.
When I walked up, it seemed as if they were in the midst of something, but when they spotted us, their attitudes changed. Kincaid looked as cool as a cucumber, but Lauren looked like a deer caught in headlights. Not to mention, her eyes looked a bit weepy, slightly red. That could have been because she’s tired, but they no longer look that way.
“Kiss me beneath the mistletoe!” Denise shouts, clapping her hands.
Kincaid shakes his head and grins. Stacey and Shepherd boo loudly when Denise announces that our team has scored a point.
Kincaid comes back to sit beside me as Andrew gets up to take his turn. He reaches into the container that holds the clues my team has come up with. We’ve worked hard to make it difficult and challenging for them to figure out. They’ve done the same to their credit, though. At this point, the game is tied.
Andrew frowns at the paper and then stares at Kincaid. “Dude!”
“What?”
“You had to be the one to come up with this shit!” Andrew complains.
“Just act it out and quit whining,” Denise says good-naturedly.
Laughing, Kincaid looks at me and then back at Andrew. “Actually, she’s the one that came up with the hardest clues. Thank the brilliant genius on our team,” he says, looking at me with an assessing gaze.
“Sorry?” I say, shrugging.
“Don’t worry about them. They have one extra person than us. They should be kicking our asses,” Kincaid says dryly.
“Whatever. Sounds like someone’s jealous,” Shepherd says, nuzzling Kylie’s neck as she giggles. Stacey is perched on his lap and his hand is between her thighs.
Kincaid leans into me and says, “You did well. I’ll have you on my team any day of the week.”
For the first time since I arrived at the airport earlier today, I feel welcomed into the group. Not that the girls haven’t tried, but Kincaid, the one who has planned and paid for this trip, according to Stacey, has seemed anything but welcoming.
I turn to him and smile, preparing to say, “Thank you,” but the words get stuck in my throat. His piercing gaze, how his eyes scour my face as though memorizing every detail, the parting of his lips, and the warmth of his breath leave me breathless.
Something long dormant stirs inside my belly when his eyes drop to my lips.
I think he’s just as flustered as I am because he blinks a few times, clears his throat, and sits back on the loveseat beside me.
