Page 76 of Weekends with You

“Suit yourself,” he said, snickering with Finn. “All right, Luce, you’re up.”

“This should be good,” Henry slurred to no one in particular.

“Never have I ever rejected someone, then regretted it,” I said, the words tumbling from my mouth before they even registered in my brain. My instinct was to cover my mouth with my hand, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. The words were already out. Bloody hell. If Henry was doing this, apparently so was I.

I watched his jaw clench and unclench, but he said nothing. Did nothing. A laugh Finn must have been holding in exploded in the silence, and he raised a glass to Henry. “Drink up, mate,” he said.

Henry shot Finn a look that could have burned a hole in his boyish face, at which Finn recoiled wordlessly into himself. “You done, there, Finn?” Henry said, hardly parting his lips to speak.

“Yes sir.”

“We’ve all been there, haven’t we?” Raja said, putting a finger down and taking a sip. I was sure she was trying to softenthe blow, to help me save face, but I might have been past the point of no return. The longer the tension hung above the roof, the more I let it seep into my bones. This was his doing. He didn’t get to be the one who was mad.

“Anyone else?” I echoed Henry, raising my eyebrows in his direction. The bloodshot whites of his eyes turned his irises to emeralds, which made it hard to look away, whether or not I wanted to.

He drained the rest of his beer in one go, then let the bottle clatter to the floor beside him.

“And that’s three,” Raja said, making a fist to show she’d put all her fingers down. “It’s always me, isn’t it? Who’s next? Someone pick a card.”

We scrambled to get the game back on track, but Henry and I were moving in slow motion. There was an undeniable burning in my chest, and I wasn’t sure if I was angrier at him for winding me up or at myself for retaliating. Either way, the burning was becoming nearly unbearable.

Oliver was still smiling next to me, hand on my knee, getting back to the banter with everyone else, but I had a feeling I’d have to answer for this later. And so help us all if Henry got his way and drove a wedge between us. If that was, in fact, what he wanted to do.

I spent the rest of the game in a daze, trying to make sense of Henry’s behavior and hating myself for wasting another second on him at all. From time to time he ran his hands through his hair, eyes closed, his frustration seemingly melting into sadness. Embarrassment, even.

“Bloody hell, Oliver’s done it!” Jan’s excitement ripped me back to the game just as Oliver turned over the last king.

Oliver buried his head in his hands, groaning at the prospect of having to drink the King’s Cup. “How did it get so full?”

“I think we’ve all been pouring a bit in it the whole time, if I’m honest,” Margot said. “We always say we’re going to play by the proper rules, but we never do.”

Oliver picked up the cup, swirling the liquid around.

“It’s not a fine wine,” Cal laughed. “Just close your eyes and chug it.”

“You lot are having a laugh,” Oliver said, staring closely at the drink. “I think there’s even a dead bug in there.”

“A little extra protein never hurt anyone,” I said.

“That is disgusting, Luce.”

“Too posh for the King’s Cup, are you?”

He took a deep breath, eyeing me from the side. “You’re lucky I like you.” With that, he brought the cup to his lips and chugged. We cheered him on, laughing as he squeezed his eyes shut and slammed the cup on the table when he finished.

“Well done,” Margot said, clapping like she was on a golf course. “He isn’t too posh after all.”

I admired how well he was getting on with my roommates, proud that he’d fit right into my world. This was a tough lot to crack, but he’d done it in no time at all. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss and thank him for being so kind. So easy. So uncomplicated.

“Right, then,” Henry said, clambering to his feet. “Oliver’s quite brilliant, isn’t he? Perhaps he should come to every Warehouse Weekend. Maybe he can even replace Cal. Or me, once I’m gone. Would make sense, that, wouldn’t it?”

“And you, my friend, are cut off,” Jan said, joining Henry on his feet and slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Off to bed, then, are we?”

Henry shrugged Jan off, then stumbled toward the stairs, bidding us a slurred good night on the way down, Jan closebehind. I watched through wide eyes, my dry, speechless lips parted in disbelief.

“I can’t believe he listened to Jan,” Finn said once they were out of sight. “I thought we might have a riot on our hands.”

“He’s usually the one to cut everyone else off,” Liv said. “He must have known he was out of line. What the hell is going on with him?”

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