II
Ménage
I dropped down on the stool at the kitchen bench, snatching a grape from the fruit platter my aunt was preparing.
"Callie," Mom reprimanded as she cut food beside Aunt Olivia.
Aunt Olivia smiled softly, saying nothing, simply popping a grape in her mouth. The two women hummed softly as they prepared for the feast the night would bring. My leg bobbed up and down as I looked from one to the other. It had been years, and yet they fell back into a comfortable rhythm.
"So, what's with Viktor?" I asked, reaching for another grape. I almost sputtered when I realized I said it out loud. I casually closed my mouth around the grape, as if I wasn't inwardly hitting myself.
Aunt Olivia paused her prepping, looking up at me. She watched me for a moment, the silence palpable. I wanted to sink into the ground beneath my stool.
"Viktor is a quiet one. But he's been Lucas's best friend for as long as I can remember. He spends Christmas here with Lucas every other year, and Lucas joins him and his family alternating years." Her smile returned, and she resumed preparing food. "He's part of the furniture now. Why do you ask, sweetie?"
The grapes I had eaten felt like lead in my stomach. "Oh, no reason, he just didn't speak." That wasn't why I asked, but I refused to even think about the tightness he caused in my stomach or the fact that I had to change my underwear because of the dampness that hadn't stopped gathering since I saw him.
"Pay no mind to that. It took time for him to open up to us, too," Aunt Olivia said.
"You talking about me?" Lucas walked into the kitchen, and dropped onto the stool beside me, reaching for the grapes.
Aunt Olivia swiped his hand away. "Wait until we're done," she reprimanded. "Dinner will be ready in no time."
Lucas cradled his hand, feigning injury.
I leaned past him, grabbed a grape, and popped it in my mouth.
"Hey!" Lucas whined, his mouth open as he looked from his mom to me.
"Shush," she smiled. "Callie is a guest."
I poked my tongue out at him, and he leaned over and playfully nudged me with his shoulder.
"Callie isn't a guest, she's a pest."
"Hey!" I echoed his earlier cry of disdain.
He laughed, bumping into me again. I furrowed my brow, letting out a quiet faux growl as I shoved into him. His stool tilted and he almost tipped off it. He shoved back, and soon we were trying to knock one another from our stools, uncontrollable laughter bubbling from us both. Mom and Aunt Olivia protested at first, worried we'd hurt ourselves, but then stood back and laughed as they watched on. With a final shove, Lucas's stool teetered and then he crashed to the ground, landing flat on his back.
"Yes, victory—" my taunt was cut short as Lucas kicked the leg of my stool out from under me, and I found myself on the floor beside him. The sudden pain of hitting the floor was forgotten thanks to the laughter that had us both doubled over. My stomach hurt and I couldn't breathe, but I had not laughed this hard in such a long time that the feeling was good.
"Oh, God." I sucked in air, trying to catch my breath.
"You are both children." Mom shook her head, but laughter filled her eyes.
Lucas groaned as he stood. He gripped my hand and pulled me to my feet, both of us still giggling as we straightened up. A harsh clearing of the throat caught my attention. Lucas's hand had only just left mine when I turned to find Viktor's imposing form filling the doorway. He looked from Lucas to me, a single brow raised. Had he seen me fall to the floor?
"Don't let me interrupt." He leaned against the arch of the door, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
The laughter died in my throat, all amusement falling from my face as my eyes connected with his. Why did my body react like this? Warmth pooled in my core at the smirk that transformed his face. Fuck me, I’m in over my head, and I haven't even spoken to him. I gulped, crossing an ankle over the other, trying to stop the pulsing at the apex of my thighs. I dragged my eyes from him, transfixing them on the food Mom and Aunt Olivia had prepared, anything to distract me from the man whose presence demanded my attention
"You still interested in meeting the boys at the bar tonight?" His gruff voice shot through my body turning everything into liquid.
"What do you mean, the bar ?" Aunt Olivia stopped preparing food to put her hands on her hips. "We're spending the Christmas Holidays doing Christmas stuff, like stuffing our faces; that doesn't include going to the bar with the boys."
"Come on, Ma." Lucas walked around the counter to stand behind his mother. He placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them. "We have days to eat and drink and spend time together! Some of the boys are in town for the first time in years, so it's Viktor's and my chance to see them for Christmas too."
Aunt Olivia dropped her arms, relaxing slightly. "Fine, you can spend Christmas with your friends and not your loving parents—or your visiting uncle, aunt, and cousin, who you also haven't seen in years."
"Don't be so dramatic, dear," Uncle Andy said as he appeared inside the kitchen, my father in tow. "Just a few hours with their friends, and we get to enjoy some quality time with Nick and Meridith."
My eyes flicked between them as they debated, plucking up grapes as I watched. Where did that leave me?
"But you're taking Callie with you," Uncle Andy grinned.
"What?" I squeaked, looking from my uncle to Lucas, refusing to look at Viktor.
"Come on, Callie," Mom smiled, "It'll be good for you to get out."
Even Mom knew I was a loser who did nothing but work, and spend my nights alone eating ice-cream from the tub.
"Yeah, come on, Callie!" Lucas rushed toward me from his mom's side, throwing his arms around me like we were kids again. "It'll be fun."
I stared into his bright eyes, his grin transforming him into the child I remembered climbing trees with. "Fine."
"Yes!" Lucas dropped his arms, then turned to Viktor. "It'll be a good night."
I couldn't resist looking up at him, but I wish I hadn't. There was a darkness on his face that I could not place, but it made me think that he did not want me there with them.
Well, that makes two of us.