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Ever smiles and then takes a sip, her eyes lighting up, “Damn, that’s good. I think I may have the same problem as Jynx does; I’d happily drink one after another of these.”
“Good,” I smile and lean forward so I can kiss her because any opportunity to kiss her, and I’m going to take it.
“Alright, everyone, put in your orders, and we’ll get them made,” Ezra announces with a little bounce, which reminds me of myself and my inability to stay still.
“Fair warning though, you only get one fancy one with all the garnishes we’ve made. We’ve made big jugs of the cocktail to top everybody’s drinks up.” Ace adds with a smile.
Trick grins, “That makes sense; otherwise, you guys would spend more time making fancy drinks than spending any time with the rest of us.”
“Exactly,” I reply, standing up.
“Well, I want one of each,” D grins, “to start with. Although, I’ll take Lyric’s one without the pickled onion, please.”
Lyric grins, “You’re missing out.”
“For some reason, I doubt that,” D chuckles.
“You know that the Mom-mocktail doesn’t count as drinking water to combat a hangover, right?” Jynx asks her uncle with a chuckle.
Instead of D answering her, Ryan does, “It’s got water in it, kind of, and no alcohol, so of course it does.”
I can’t help but agree with his logic. I mean, he’s right; it hasn't got any alcohol in it, so technically, it can be used in the place of water, maybe. I’m sure we’ll hear about it tomorrow if it hasn’t worked.
I get up to help the guys make them, or at least to help with the pretty decorations since we have several jugs of each of the cocktails made up and ready to go. We’re prepared this time; last time, we got drunker as we continued to make cocktails, and they got more potent, and no one wanted to move the next day, or the day after, for that matter. I’m not keen to relive that experience anytime soon.
As soon as we get back with the glasses and the first batch of jugs for everyone to make their drinks, I hear Ever say firmly, “Cash and Trick, you need to be careful about how much you drink.”
“We know, don’t worry.” Trick replies, smiling at her and easing the tension. She’s so incredibly worried about all of us all of the time, and I get it, trust me, I get it, but we really are okay. I guess it doesn’t really help that we’re all stubborn asses, and we’re not taking it as easy as we should.
However, we know from experience that she is just as bad as we are when she's injured, so she must understand to a certain extent, or at least if, god forbid, she gets injured and needs to rest again, she’s going to be less stabby about it. That might be a long shot though, and I can’t help but smile to myself with that thought. I love her stubbornness.
When I take a seat next to Ever again, I proudly show her the mom-mocktail and take a big sip, making her grin as I say, “I’m being good.”
“Thank you,” she replies, and then adds, “I’ve got so much to do tomorrow, so I’m not going to be drinking too much, but I do want to try each one.”
“I had a sip of each one, and they’re honestly delicious. I don’t know which one I prefer.” I say honestly.
“Can we eat yet?” Elijah asks and then shrugs when we all look at him because he’s not usually the one who is impatient for food. He adds, “I’m starving, and I know what Rafe’s pizzas taste like. They’re staring at me and begging to be eaten.”
“I could eat,” Alaric agrees, “Rafe’s pizzas are one of my favourites, and it’s been way too long since I’ve had them.”
Sounds of agreement echo around the table, and I smile in amusement as Rafe’s cheeks tint slightly pink. He’s not very good at accepting compliments; he has never been, but he is getting better because he has no choice. None of us are exactly stingy with our compliments, and certain people, Dominic, are almost constantly requesting his favourite meal from Rafe. In fact, Creed does too, much to the amusement of Lyric.
Looking around at everyone at the table, D says, “Okay, now I’m incredibly intrigued.”
Rafe chuckles, “We can eat now. I’ve got more on the way anyway, so help yourself.”
Those words are like magic, and suddenly, the room is filled with happy chatter, laughter, and reaching hands as everyone starts to pass food around. I can honestly say that it’s one of my favourite sounds, and it makes me feel so grateful for our not so little family. The only people we’re missing are Marty, Noel, and Callan.
My thoughts prompt me to ask Elijah, “Is the rest of your team coming up?”
Elijah nods his mouth full of food before he swallows and then answers with a nod, “Yeah, Noel, just text me. They’re all on the phone with their families and managed to arrange it somehow, so it all happened at the same time; they’ll be up in an hour or so.”
“Remind them to be careful of the road up; it’s still snowing, and they’ve lost light now.” Ever replies, and Elijah nods.
I reach over and take her hand in mine, squeezing it gently as I start eating with my other one.
Ever