Always

Chapter 57

Lydia cheered at Harry’s assessment, looking pleased that he’d liked it.  She beamed at both of us, nodding expectantly at the drink in my hand.  I rolled my eyes teasingly at her before bringing the cup to my lips.  Whatever it was, I couldn’t deny that it was delicious; if there was one thing Lydia knew how to do, it wax mix a good drink.

So much for me not drinking. 

“Games?” she asked, clapping her hands together in front of her and raising her eyebrows at us.

I looked to Harry, not wanting him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.  He wore a careful smile on his face as he shrugged in my direction.

“Sure,” he said, his deep voice difficult to hear over the music. 

“Yay!” Lydia exclaimed before leading us out of the kitchen and back toward the living room she had come from.  I followed after her, grabbing Harry’s hand to pull him behind me.  When we arrived, I discovered Will, where he had been, as well as Haley, Jack, and a few other people I recognized from Lydia’s other parties but didn’t really know.  They all looked at us with friendly, inviting, slightly drunk faces when we stood near them.

“Everyone, you know Joey, and this is her…” she paused, looking at us and frowning, eyebrows pinching together.  “He’s your boyfriend, right?” she asked me, genuinely unsure of our official title.

I giggled.  “Yes, my boyfriend.”

“This is her boyfriend, Harry!” she announced, sweeping her arms in our direction as people nodded and muttered, ‘I know.’  This wasn’t news to most people from our school, but I suppose that was a detail that didn’t really occur to Lydia.  She grinned happily at us before sitting down on Will’s lap, just as Haley and Jack were doing, each of them perched on the couch.

A variety of seating options had been pulled around a coffee table, some most occupied by other people participating in the game.  There was one chair left, not quite large enough for two people to sit on comfortably. 

I nodded at letting Harry sit down on it before I settled myself on the floor in front of him, leaning back against it between his legs.  I knew he probably wouldn’t be comfortable with me sitting on his lap in front of everyone, despite my two best friends doing the very same thing two feet away. 

His fingers of his free hand brushed along the back of my neck, snaking their way through my hair to run gently across my skin.  I hummed in appreciation.  He was leaning forward so he could see the table, his elbows resting on his knees and I could easily feel his proximity.   I was surprised when he ducked his head and pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head, and a smile pulled across my lips.

“What are we playing?” I asked the group. 

“Presidents and Assholes,” Haley informed me, smiling at me from across the table.  “You guys in?”

“Sure,” I returned.  I was a little rusty but still remembered how to play.  Harry ducked his head again and I felt his lips at my ear.

“I don’t know how,” he whispered.  His fingers tickled across my neck again.  I tilted my head back, letting it rest against his knee as I looked at him.  His face was very close to mine as he looked at me with a nervous expression. 

“It’s okay, I’ll help you,” I told him, smiling at him reassuringly.  “It’s not too hard.” 

He nodded at me and picked up the cards Haley had started to slide in front of him.

“Ah! Drink, Harry,” she scolded, smirking at him.

“What? Why?” he asked, confused.

“You can’t touch the cards until I’m done passing them out,” she explained, as if it were obvious.  He looked at me for confirmation, to which I nodded.