Chapter 32 Valentine’s Day
Valentines Day
It’s Valentine’s Day.
Probably the most overrated holiday in existence.
Unless you’re in a relationship. And I wasn’t.
The backyard is getting set up for the party Tyler is throwing. He is putting up a string of cheap red paper hearts he found at the dollar store, and he even put heart-shaped ice cubes in the esky as a joke.
Renae, one of the chippies who works on site with them, is out there helping him. She’s tall and lean, with a sharp blonde bob that always looks freshly cut and bright blue eyes that miss nothing.
Tyler mentioned it was her idea to round up the single ones from work for drinks tonight—a casual fuck Valentine’s Day thing.
I’m inside, sitting at the kitchen table in my red dress and matching lipstick. I’m also wearing the necklace Lucas got me, my fingers drifting to touch it constantly.
I am drawing something soft and leafy in my sketchbook. A few heart-shaped petals peeking throughout, but I’d never admit those were on purpose.
The front door opens. I don’t even need to look up. My body just knows, it’s him.
Lucas.
He walks in like he always does—casual, confident, smelling like sawdust and something else that is just—him. I keep my eyes on the page, but I feel him approach.
“Hey,” he says from behind me. There is something in his voice. Soft. Hesitant?
“Hey,” I murmur back, still pretending my sketch needs more attention.
Then, a present appears in front of me. Wrapped in purple tissue paper and tied with twine.
I blinked. “What’s this?”
“Happy Valentine’s,” Lucas said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not a big deal. Just open it.”
I stare at it. No one has ever given me a Valentine’s Day gift before. Besides my dad.
With my birthday being so close, it always stole the spotlight, and it felt greedy to expect two gestures that close together. But this… this makes my throat feel tight.
“Lucas…” I say quietly. “You gave me something the other weekend. You didn’t have to—”
“I wanted to,” he interrupts. “You’ve been drawing and painting a lot. I noticed.”
My heart kicks. I open the box slowly, and there they are—a new set of pencils, watercolours, brushes, and thick textured paper. Not the cheap stuff either. The kind you run your fingers over and feel like you’re touching something expensive.
“You noticed my paint was running low,” I whisper.
“Your sketchbook’s almost full too,” he says, softer now.
I look up at him, wondering how he knows.
“Sorry, I may have looked at it when it was sitting on the bench the other day… Your work, it’s beautiful Camille.
” I blush. He also probably saw the many pictures I’ve drawn of him.
“Sorry, if that’s an invasion of your privacy. ”
“No, it’s okay. I left it out there. I don’t mind. I really appreciate this gift. You’re just so—thank you.” I stand and wrap my arms around him. Not just a thank-you hug. A real one. Tight. Full-body.
He doesn’t pull away.
His hand brushes my lower back. We lean back just slightly, faces close. My fingers still resting on his chest. His green eyes are clear, studying mine like he is memorizing them. My pulse picks up.
I could kiss him.
I want to kiss him.
I think he wants to kiss me too.
Is he feeling this chemistry too?
But then—
“Oi, lovers!” Tyler barges through the back door with a slab of beer under his arm. “Save some sexual tension for the party.”
Lucas clears his throat and steps back. He looks like he wants to throw something at Tyler’s head.
“Alright, mate. Need a hand with anything else?”
“Nar, just help me start getting through these,” Tyler pats the drinks in his arms.
The sun dips low as we move out to the patio. The air is warm from the afternoon summer heat. But the breeze from the beach ripples through the gumtrees behind the house, keeping the temperature perfect.
Danielle arrives in a pink heart-covered crop top, she gives me a big hug and walks over to say hey to Tyler and Renae. Renae immediately starts to shamelessly flirt with her. I can’t figure out if Tyler finds it funny or if he’s annoyed about it.
Theo—the boys’ apprentice—shows up with his infamous “vodka punch that tastes like cordial.” He’s got brown eyes and golden brown skin, he wears a lopsided grin, proudly clutching the plastic jug like it is a family heirloom.
He has this boyish charm about him, with a mop of brown curls on his head.
“Alright, losers,” Tyler calls, slamming a deck of cards down next to a big plastic cup in the center of the table. “Time for Kings Cup.”
“I don’t know this game,” Danielle says, sipping her punch.
“What?” Renae laughs looking at Danielle. “How do you not know this game?”
She shrugs.
Tyler picks up the cup on the table, “this cup goes here.” He sets it back down, “then we all sit around the table.” He raises a brow to make sure she’s following.
He opens the pack of cards and starts putting them face down around the cup. “Each of us takes a turn drawing one of these cards and we follow the instruction for each card.”
“Mhmm, okay. What are the rules for each card?” Danielle nods. I’m glad he’s explaining this, I’ve played before but it’s been ages.
Lucas ducks inside while Tyler starts explaining.
“Ace means Waterfall. If you draw an ace, then all of us start drinking at the same time as the person to their left. You can’t stop drinking until the person before you stops.” He looks around to us.
We all nod, except Lucas who’s walking back outside with a piece of paper in his hand.
I stop listening and read the rules that Lucas has printed.
Ace-Waterfall. Each player starts drinking at the same time as the person to their left. NO player can stop drinking until the person before them stops.
Two-You. Whoever draws this can choose anyone to take a drink.
Three-Me. The person who draws this takes a drink.
Four-Floor. The last person to touch the floor takes a drink.
Five-Guys. All the guys at the table drink.
Six-Chicks. All the girls at the table drink.
Seven-Heaven. If you draw this card, raise your hand above you head. Every other player must do so as well. The last person takes a drink.
Eight-Mate. Choose someone to be your mate. For the rest of the game, they drink when you drink.
Nine-Rhyme. You say a word, then the person to your right has to say a word that rhymes. This continues until someone can’t think of a word. That person takes a drink. You can’t reuse words.
Ten-Categories. Come up with a category of things. The person to your right must name something that falls within the category. This continues until someone can’t think of something. That person takes a drink.
Jack-Never Have I Ever. Everyone plays never have I ever.
Queen-Questions. Ask someone a question. That person then asks someone else a question. This continues until someone messes up or fails to ask a question. That person drinks. No question can be repeated.
King-King’s Cup. Set a rule to be followed, e.g. stand on one foot when you drink, only speak in an accent, etc.
When each of the first 3 Kings is drawn, the person who drew it puts some of their drink into the King’s Cup in the center of the table.
When the 4th King is drawn, the person who drew it must drink the entire King’s Cup.
Tyler wraps it up, takes a breath and smiles. “You get it?” He looks to Danielle.
She nods and picks up the piece of paper with the rules on it. “Yes, I get it. This sounds fun! Can I please go first?”
We all take a seat around the table. I’m sitting between Lucas and Danielle.
Danielle pulls a card. Jack.
“Never have I ever…” she looks to me. “Had sex on a pool table.” She laughs.
Bitch. I give her a death glare and laugh.
I lift my drink, my arm brushing Lucas’s when I lift it to my mouth.
Tyler and Lucas take a drink too.
“Never have I ever sucked a dick,” Renae laughs.
Me and Danielle drink.
“Never have I ever… fuck I don’t know what I haven’t done.” Tyler scratches his chin. “Fucked a guy.”
All of us girls drink.
“Never have I ever gone skinny dipping,” Theo says, all of us but him have a drink.
“Never have I ever…” Lucas taps his fingers on his armrest. “Cheated on someone.”
Tyler shyly picks up his drink. He shrugs, “to be fair, it was in primary school and it was just a kiss.”
Everyone laughs.
It’s my turn, “never have I ever… had a threesome.”
Tyler and Renae both drink. Danielle’s eyes bulge a little as she looks at Tyler.
Its Renae’s turn to pick up a card.
“Ten.” She rubs the card on her chin. “Sex positions… Sixty-niner.”
“Doggy,” Tyler chimes quickly.
Theo thinks a bit hard about it, “Reverse cowgirl.”
Lucas coughs awkwardly, “when she’s on top.”
“When he’s on top,” I counter.
“Okay, boring married couple.” Danielle laughs, “the pretzel.” She smiles proudly.
Cards are drawn, drinks are flowing, and we all grow louder. The pizza delivery guy came and went, the pizza all devoured.
The kings cup is almost full, only a small handful of cards are left.
Lucas’s knee is against mine under the table. I don’t want to move away. Neither does he, obviously.
He’d drawn an eight earlier and picked me as his drinking mate. So now, every time he drinks, I drink.
He does it, a lot.
“You’re gonna get me drunk,” I murmur as I lean closer to him.
He smirks.
Our friends shout and laugh around us, but I only half-hear them. I am hyper-aware of Lucas—his thigh warm against mine, his shoulder brushing mine when he laughs.
“Four!” Renae yells. Everyone scrambles to touch the floor. Lucas and I fumble off our chairs and land in a heap on the ground, tangled limbs and breathless laughter.
“Shit,” I laugh, blinking up at him.
“You alright Angel?” he asks, his hand wrapping around mine to help me up.
The skin-on-skin contact makes my pulse skip.
I am not alright.
He pulls me up gently, his other hand steadying me at the waist. My cheeks flush.
Definitely the alcohol. Or the butterflies. Or both.
“King!” Theo shouts, holding up the cursed card. “That’s the last one, yeah?”
Tyler whoops. “Yep! Drink the whole damn cup, mate!”
“Fuck!” Theo groans, picking it up.
He lifts it to his lips as we chant, “Skull! Skull! Skull!”
He downs it like a champ—then immediately runs to the bushes to puke.
We all crack up laughing.