AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod and then indicate the second word. Before I can begin to act it out, Denise guesses correctly.
“Elf on the shelf!” Denise shouts from her position on the recliner, where Tyler rests languidly on the floor between her legs.
“Yes!” I say, pumping a fist in the air. Tyler squeezes and kisses her tight, and Kincaid high-fives me when I sit.
“You’re pretty damn good at this,” he says in a low tone for only me to hear.
“It was my favorite game as a kid,” I say modestly.
The other team gets up and takes their turn again. We play for another twenty minutes before calling the game. We’ve crushed them, and the looks on their faces are miserable.
“I’m going to bed,” Andrew announces, standing up. He looks at his wife and holds out his hand. Lauren looks as if she isn’t ready to go.
“Me, too,” Shepherd says, and Stacey and Kylie hop up, each grabbing one of his hands.
Reluctantly Lauren gets up and follows, although Andrew has already left the room. I’m left with Denise, Tyler, and Kincaid.
“I’ll get some more beers,” Kincaid says and hops up, going to the kitchen.
“I cannot think of anything better to do than stay up late, sleep late, and eat and get fat for the next two weeks,” Denise moans, smiling as she bounces her foot over the arm of the recliner.
Tyler turns his face into her leg and presses a kiss there. “And make love.”
She smiles down at him sheepishly. “And that,” she agrees, kissing his lips before glancing at me, blushing.
I’ve heard them say a lot about how Tyler needs to grow up, and maybe he does. But from everything I’ve seen from him in the little time I’ve been around, he’s a sweet, affectionate guy who adores Denise.
Kincaid pops back into the room and hands everyone a beer. Before he gives me one, he says, “Are you sure you’re of age to have this?”
Although Tyler and Denise laugh and Kincaid smirks, I can see the question in his eyes. He’s still wondering about me, and I’m sure Stacey hasn’t revealed a thing.
“Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be on this trip.”
“Not necessarily,” he says, plopping into another chair and no longer sitting beside me.
“Yes, necessarily,” I dispute. “If I were underage, do you think I’d be wasting two weeks of my life around a bunch of old folks?”
“Old?” he says, clutching at his shirt. “Oh, my aching heart,” he teases with a playful glint in his eyes.
“Either that or your bruised ego. He’s always been old for his age,” Denise teases, turning her beer bottle to her lips and taking a long swig.
“Not old. Just more mature than the rest of you, especially your boyfriend here,” Kincaid says, pointing his beer bottle at Tyler, who rests on the floor with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“They say that life is for the young at heart. I want to live, my friend,” Tyler says, holding his beer bottle up.
Denise leans forward and clinks hers against his. “To living,” she says.
“To living,” Tyler repeats, holding his beer bottle up.
Challenging Kincaid with a smirk and unsure where the bravado stems from, I hold my beer bottle up. “To living!” I proclaim loudly.
Everyone starts laughing and drinking their beers.
Kincaid has a questioning glint in his eyes, but his lips are smiling and playful. God, he’s a beautiful man.
