Lizzie tried to ignore the panic that she was about to be pulled away from the first decent conversation that she’d had in weeks. She moved around the group so she was slightly obscured by Tom’s frame. Tom introduced everyone in a blur of names, none of which Lizzie took in. They were a friendly group, a mix of students and people out in the real world. They all knew each other from uni and not surprisingly they didn’t know anyone else at the party either. One of them had heard about it from a friend of a friend. Lizzie was relieved when she saw Chloe wrap her arms around Gaz, a tall red head and give him a kiss.
“Let’s play a game.” Chloe squealed, when she’d come up for air. The others hooted approval and they started calling out options. Before she knew it they were going around the circle playing Never Have I Ever.
A tall blond guy called out, “Never have I ever re-gifted something.” He looked pointedly at Gaz who guiltily took a sip. A girl with curly brown hair took a sip.
The tall guy rolled his hands for them to expand.
Gaz huffed, “Alright, yes I re-gifted the shirt you gave me last Christmas.”
The tall guy shouted, “Ha! I knew it man. You cheapskate!”
The girl with curly hair shrugged when it was her turn to explain, “I’m always getting given soap. How much soap do I need? I mean come on! What's a girl to do?”
They laughed and the next person called out, “Never have I ever got a tattoo.”
Lizzie’s attention was drawn to Tom when she saw him raise his bottle. That was unexpected, she thought. He seemed so straightlaced.
One by one they showed off their tattoos. When they got to Tom he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his wrist with a black bird flying with open wings. It was quite a nice tattoo. Subtle and not over the top. And quite sexy.
Next someone called out “Never have I ever gone skinny dipping”
Lizzie snorted and then took a sip. No one seemed to need an exclamation as almost everyone in the group drank too.
“Look at us, bohemian lot, “ Chloe called out, “Alright well, never have I ever walked in on someone having sex.”
Lizzie’s cheeks flushed and she looked away as she took a drink. Chloe giggled, “Well, spill who was it? Not your parents I hope?”
Lizzie shook her head and scrunched her nose. “My boyfriend, three weeks ago.”
The group went quiet. “Shit, sorry.” Chloe hugged her, “What an asshole.”
Lizzie smiled sadly and Tom watched her closely. Lizzie shrugged and looked away. She couldn’t handle their sympathy right now. In survival mode she stepped forward and called out, “Never have I ever broken a bone.”
A few of them laughed and drank. Lizzie stepped back, relieved to have their attention off of her. They started showing scars and horror stories but Lizzie didn’t take any of it in. Her mind had slid back to that fateful night three weeks ago. She had come home early, hoping to surprise Adam with a romantic dinner. She hadn’t expected to find her friend Charlotte in bed with him. The thought of them, naked on the expensive egyption cotton sheets that Adam’s parents had given them last Christmas, made her blood boil. Tom brushed her elbow and she broke out of her thoughts and looked at him.
“You alright?” Her heart flipped. Gosh he was a nice guy.
She nodded, “What was that last one? I spaced out.”
He cringed, “Whether you’ve used someone else’s toothbrush.”
Lizzie laughed, “Gross.”
Chloe was berating Gaz on basic hygiene while he argued with everyone that what was the difference if it was someone you were intimate with.
YOU ARE READING
Dressing Up
ChickLitAfter walking in on her boyfriend with another woman, Lizzie finds herself jobless, homeless and at rock bottom. While trying to figure out what to do with her life, she is thrown an unexpceted turn when she meets Tom. He is perfect and they have on...
