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“Love your costume, by the way,” I tell her as she pulls me through the house and into the kitchen where the sink is overflowing with ice and cans of Palm Bay coolers. She gives her shoulders a shimmy. “Kevin’s big sister bought the goods. Said as long as no one drives, she doesn’t mind.”

“Really?” I feel my eyes do a sweep of the room. “Where are his parents?”

Andy shrugs, grabbing a can from the ice. “I don’t know, but they gave the yes to the party. They’re probably in the city for some big thing for Kev’s dad’s company.”

She cracks the top and hands it to me. Cautiously, I take it. “I don’t know if I should drink.”

“Tate’s picking you guys up, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, but…”

“Just don’t get loaded.” She cracks another for herself, throwing her head back on a long drink. Then she frowns. “Have you drunk before?”

“No.”

Her eyes snap wide. “Really?”

I don’t know why she’s surprised. I’m fifteen. “Really.”

“I’ll watch out for you. So will Holt,” she assures. “We do lots of these parties. It’s a small town.” She shrugs. “Not a whole lot else to do in the winter, ya know?”

“Sure.” I take a cautious sniff. It smells sugary sweet, so I take a sip. “Not bad.”

“Right?” Andy throws back another big gulp before she loops her arm around mine again. And then we’re walking from the kitchen, up a wide set of stairs to a bonus room where a hockey game is projected on a big screen that’s been pulled from the ceiling. “Kevin’s house is super cool, eh?”

Glancing around, I nod. “What do his parent’s do?”

“His mom is stay at home, but his dad owns a law office in the city. He commutes every day, but he makes bank, so everyone is happy.”

Holt catches sight of me and calls, “Faye.” He taps his lap. “Come here.”

Andy tsks and releases me so I can go to him, which is really where I want to be, anyway. I lower into Holt’s lap just as the Vikings score a goal, and the room erupts. I take another sip of my drink as the cheers settle, but the happy buzz doesn’t.

Micha sits back on the couch beside us, pushing a sharp whistle between his teeth as he gives his knee a pat. “Andy.”

Her face flushes, but she hides it with another swallow of her drink as she moves across the room to confidently plant her booty in Micha’s lap. It doesn’t take long for Micha to set his hand on her hip, holding her in place like Holt holds me.

I wonder when the two of them will start being, well, the two of them. I cast my gaze to the screen as I settle into Holt’s lap. And then I realize I have no idea what I’m watching. Mom and Dad aren’t hockey fans, and as such, I’ve never watched.

Twisting in Holt’s lap, I feel his eyes slide from the screen to me. My heart gives a familiar flutter. It’s the flutter I feel every time he looks at me. “What position do you play?”

“Forward.” His eyes move from me to the screen and back again. “I like the action.”

“Oh.”

His lips quirk, and for the first time, he asks me, “Do you watch hockey at all?”

With a nervous laugh, I shake my head. “Nope. Not unless you’re on the ice. Even then, I only watch you.”

His eyes shine, like he likes that. But he says, “How did I end up with a girlfriend who doesn’t watch hockey?”

I lift a shoulder. “You got lucky.”

“Guess I’m just going to have to teach you.”

I think the alcohol makes me brave, because I breathe, “I think there’s a few things you’re going to have to teach me.”

His eyes heat, dropping from mine to my lips, and back up again. He’s not watching the screen anymore. His attention is fixed wholly on me. “Yeah?”