“
Oh,
”
I say, unaware.
“
Is she an alcoholic?
”
He simply nods.
“
I
’
d call her that. She wouldn
’
t. But that
’
s part of the disease. You can
’
t address it until you admit there
’
s a problem, and she
’
s not ready to admit that yet.
”
“
I didn
’
t know.
”
“
It
’
s not something I brag about,
”
he says.
“
And it
’
s something I
’
ve tried to hide from my brothers as much as possible. I think Will
’
s figured it out. Not Max, though. And I don
’
t want him to have to know that. In a way, I dread moving out for school next year. And on the other hand, I can
’
t wait. It
’
s selfish, I know.
”
“
It
’
s understandable.
”
“
Who
’
s going to take care of them, though?
”
he asks, wearing genuine worry across his forehead. With this revelation, I can see his dilemma.
“
That shouldn
’
t be your burden,
”
I tell him.
“
No, it shouldn
’
t be. But it is. That
’
s why I have to stay close by. Will
’
s going to be fourteen soon. It breaks my heart to have to prepare him to take my place. But he
’
s got to stay on the right path, and he
’
s got to be there to look out for Max.
”
“
You don
’
t have any other family members nearby?
”
“
Just my dad
’
s brother, but he
’
s never had anything to do with
my
brothers. My parents were transplants here. And I
’
m pretty sure Max and Will
’
s dad is completely estranged from his family.
”
“
I can
’
t even imagine that,
”
I tell him, realizing how lucky I am to have so many aunts and uncles nearby.
“
I
’
m sorry.
”
“
Don
’
t apologize,
”
he says as he throws the magazine back on the coffee table.
“
How
’
d we get on that subject anyway? There are so many better topics to talk about.
”
He pushes my hair behind my ear.
“
Like?
”
“
Like how pretty you look tonight.
”
“
That topic bores me.
”
“
Nice girls would simply say thank you,
”
he says just before he presses his lips to mine.
“
I
’
m ... not ... nice ...
”
I tell him between kisses. He laughs, but doesn
’
t break away, pulling my legs from the coffee table and into his lap. I arrange myself closer to him and put my arm around him. A strange taste on my tongue, I back away abruptly.
“
What are you drinking?
”
“
Just a splash,
”
he repeats Finn
’
s earlier explanation.
“
See? They can
’
t trust us!
”
I whisper, careful to keep Lexi from hearing.
“
Your cousin isn
’
t the prude you make her out to be,
”
he says.
“
She knows.
”
“
Lexi?!
”
“
Yes, Lexi. She poured.
”
“
No way.
”
“
Yes, way,
”
he explains.
“
I told her I wasn
’
t driving anywhere.
”
He shrugs his shoulders. I hop off the couch, ready to take my glass to the bar to add
something
, but Jon grabs me from behind and pulls me into his lap.
“
You don
’
t need it.
”
“
Don
’
t tell me what I need.
”
I don
’
t try very hard to get away, liking the feel of his arms around me.
“
I want it.
”
“
Why? You
’
re already intoxicating,
”
he says as he lays me back on the couch.
“
Intoxicati
ng
,
”
I say.
“
Not intoxicat
ed
.
”
“
We aren
’
t getting drunk tonight. We don
’
t need that.
”
“
Why do you get to have some?
”
“
I know I can hold my liquor,
”
he says.
“
The first step is admitting you have a problem,
”
I sass. He shifts on the couch and hovers over me.
“
I don
’
t know if I
’
m okay with someone walking in on us like this,
”
I tell him with a smile.
“
No?
”
he asks, teasing me.
“
One drink, then,
”
he says as he gets up and grabs my glass from the coffee table, taking it with him as he disappears into the kitchen. I sit back up on the couch, realizing my skirt was showing off a lot of my legs. He talks to me seriously when he brings it back.
“
If you get drunk, that goes against our goal, right?
”
“
Right,
”
I nod as I hold my hand out for the drink. He hands it to me and picks his up, gesturing for a toast.
“
To our first New Year
’
s Eve together,
”
I toast.
“
To–hopefully–our last
supervised
New Year
’
s Eve together.
”
He clinks his glass to mine and we both take a drink. I squint my eyes a little at the taste. The bubbles burn my throat, but it still tastes good.
“
You okay there?
”
He laughs at my reaction.
“
Yeah,
”
I say with a light choke before taking another gulp.
“
Slow down, there, baby.
”
“
Yeah, Liv,
”
Lexi says as she comes into the room holding a cocktail of her own,
“
I swear if you get drunk, I will ban you from my wedding–which likely won
’
t be necessary, because Jacks will kill me and there will
be
no wedding.
”
“
I
’
ll protect you from Jacks,
”
Kyle says to her.
“
But don
’
t you dare get drunk anyway, Little Liv.
”
I roll my eyes at his nickname, something both of my dad
’
s brothers used to call me all the time.
“
I
’
m not dressed to clean up vomit tonight.
”
Lexi glares at him.
“
What?
”
he says.
“
In case it runs in the family.
”
He teases her, and by her expression, he
’
s struck a nerve.
“
It was one time!
”
she says.
“
The first time you drank,
”
he tells her.
“
The
last
time I got drunk, thank you very much.
”
I look at her, wondering what the story is.
“
We were in Ireland. I felt compelled to blend in with the locals at a pub.
”
“
We were staying in a hostel,
”
Kyle adds,
“
in bunk beds. And she insisted on taking the top bunk, so guess who got to deal with the consequences?
”
“
Gross!
”
I tell him.
“
Tell me about it!
”
Lexi laughs.
“
I
’
m pretty sure you were buying the drinks that night.
”
She shrugs as if it wasn
’
t her fault.
“
Anyone want to play pool? Or darts?
”
“
Yeah,
”
Jon says without asking.
“
Oh, is that alright with you?
”
I shrug my shoulders.
“
I
’
m pretty good,
”
I warn him.
“
Whatever.
”
He takes my statement as a challenge and picks up our drinks, carrying them down to the basement where Finn and Camille are definitely
not
watching a movie, and in fact are nowhere to be found in the media room or game room. The guest bedroom door is closed. I veer off into my room quickly, putting Nate
’
s book safely in my nightstand drawer.
Lexi knocks loudly on the door across from mine as I lead Jon into the game room.
“
You
’
ve got two and a half minutes to get out here, Finn,
”
she says through the door.
“
Pool or darts?
”
Kyle says to us.
“
I
’
d like to first challenge my girl here to a game of darts, if that
’
s okay.
”
“
Suit yourself.
”
“
Alright,
”
Jon says as he takes the darts from the board.
“
Let
’
s see what you
’
ve got.
”
I grab the first dart and try to stand steadily on my heels. I take a stance and launch the dart toward the board, hitting the wall next to the board. Fortunately, my dad had planned for people with poor aim, and had cork installed about two feet around the board. He apparently learned this the hard way when my cousins were much younger.
“
I thought you said you were good.
”
“
I am. It
’
s these shoes,
”
I say, blaming them on my inability to stay balanced. I take the next dart and focus hard on the
bull
’
s
-eye
.
“
We
’
re gonna leave,
”
Finn says, interrupting our game. I turn around to see him and my best friend completely out of sorts.
“
Finn,
”
Lexi says.
“
Come on. Can
’
t you two take one evening off and enjoy the company of friends?
”