The Suite Adult Life

Christmas (3.2)

The Upper East Side apartment was too crowded for the brunette's liking. Music was blasting, champagne was flowing, and laughter twinkled like the Christmas lights surrounding the public areas. There was a buffet to one side, a DJ in the corner, and, thankfully, an open bar. Cody slid through the throng of people to make his way to the guest bedroom where he could hang his jacket and center himself before putting on his yearly performance.

He got a lot of double takes from those he had not met. How many times was he going to have to say "Yes, Zack and I are identical twins"? Or answer inane questions like "Do you have ESP?" or "How does Jackson tell you two apart?" He was so close to saying "well my dick isn't in Jackson." But he had promised Jackson that he wouldn't make any sardonic comments and be the absolute embodiment of Christmas Cheer.

His first stop was the bar and then the buffet of finger foods. One year Jackson actually hired a chef to cut a roast. That year he was in Bolivia. He actually wanted to attend the party but no one was willing to risk such an assignment. Instead, he watched the party through the security cameras. Call it ESP or Twin Superpowers but throughout the night he would catch Zack waving to him making sure he knew he was still included even if he wasn't there.

The guest list was a bevy of athletes and reality show stars. He really needed to find out what Jackson did for work. This year was different, however. People knew his name and his work. That feeling was creepy. He hid behind a camera for a reason. But everyone was incredibly complimentary of his work. It made him stop and make small talk until their eyes would start to glaze over when he got too into the weeds with the subject matter.

He spotted her across the room. Seeing her easy smile allowed his shoulders to relax and raise his glass in a greeting. No one was on her arm that evening and his mind wandered to the position, well, positions, plural from the night before.

She was curled against him in his bed, recuperating from another very enthusiastic clandestine session. His long fingers dragged their way up and down her arm, causing the skin to prickle under his very sensitive touch. The streets were quiet and a blue glow filled the bedroom. She was so tiny in his arms. Was she always that small? He remembered how she was always in very stylish heels, rivaling his and Zack's height for most of high school until there was just a day when her head had to lift and his bend to look at each other in the eyes. He hated to admit it, but this felt really nice. He could stay in this moment. He closed his eyes, picturing how the two of them looked from above.

"She knows," London confessed softly. She, being Bailey. Cody just nodded. He thought it would feel different. Instead there was just apathy. Not malicious of course. It was ironic, when he thought of his high school girlfriend he never pictured who she would be at this stage of their life. She was frozen at seventeen in perpetuity.

He looked down at his bedmate, a smirk threatening to form. "It was bound to happen. I hope that everything with her fiancé got sorted."

London nodded, thankful at his reaction. The shopping trip with Bailey went great. She didn't ask any questions and London didn't offer any anecdotes. "So why don't you want to go to the party tomorrow?" She asked, changing the subject.

Cody chuckled, "we don't have that much time before you turn into a pumpkin."

"So the cliff notes?" She really wanted to know. The boy she knew was always welcoming, even if he was a little self-centered. "When did you start to hate... parties?"

"I don't hate parties," he countered.

"Okay, so when did you become an introvert?" She wasn't going to give this up. She didn't know why she even wanted to know. When they were together his entire attention was on her and their activities.