Page 49 of Winter Ends
Those strong hands pushed me onto my back again and then rolled me onto my side. Shawn crawled onto the couch behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I was delightfully floaty. And warm. So fucking warm. He felt good wrapped around me like this. But I also felt sick.
I groaned.
“Shhh. I don’t want to be the ass who tells you that you should have slowed down, but I did try to warn you.”
As much as I wanted to get angry all over again, I was too floaty and warm.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Shawn’s arm around me tightened, and it sucked not to be able to participate in a discussion that was about me, but I lacked the capacity.
“He will be. He just needs to sleep this off a bit.”
Right. Sleep. That sounded like a great idea.
The room was dark, but I could hear voices down the hall. I shivered as cool air hit my skin when I sat up. There was no one in the room with me. Everything still spun a little, but things weren’t blinking in and out like they had been earlier. I’d never gotten that bad. Not once. The hell was wrong with me?
My legs were shaky as I stood and looked around the room. It was only a little after ten at night if the clock under the television was correct. At least I hadn’t completely fucked up New Year’s Eve for everyone, though I felt like shit for making them all worry like that.
I followed the voices down the hall. Everyone was sitting in a large room that I hadn’t explored yet. It had large overstuffed sofas with a cushy rug in the middle. When I leaned against the doorframe, Shawn looked up from his phone screen. He shoved the device into his pocket and was across the room to wrap an arm around my shoulder before I could even blink.
“Hey, how’re you feeling?” He kept his voice low as he leaned in close.
There was still the part of me that wanted to be mad at him from earlier, but he’d risen above and taken care of me. The least I could do was not be a jerk. “I’m... shaky, but I’m okay.”
He nodded, pulling me into a hug. My arms snaked around his waist as I took a deep breath of his musky scent. My face heated. Jesus, had I said something about him smelling good?
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
Words escaped me as I nodded against his chest. I was more than aware of everyone’s eyes on me. That feeling of guilt settled in again. Everyone had been having fun until I decided to throw a fit earlier. Though it seemed like the party had gone on without me.
Instead of continuing to stand there in the doorway, I was pulled deeper into the room. The bottles of champagne that Chase and Nathan had brought were now sitting in buckets of icewith an array of glasses around them. I had no more desire to drink tonight, but if everyone wanted to toast in the new year, I could join them.
My eyes scanned the room. Aiden was sitting with Joe, the two discussing something while they leaned in closely. The two of them were the ‘odd men out’ as the rest of us had been weirdly coupled off.
God, I was part of a couple. That... was odd. I didn’t know if I liked it or not. Especially after the way I’d acted earlier. Who wanted to deal with someone who freaked out the second you offered them any type of help? But damn, I didn’t want to owe Shawn anything. Sure, this was fun while we were here at the cabin, but would it all change the second we went back to reality?
“I’m thinking that there needs to be some sort of game action here. We can’t just hang out for the next hour and a half talking. As much as I like you assholes, I need better entertainment.”
Shawn flipped Nathan off as he led me to a couch. My stomach still felt like it wanted to empty, but it wasn’t too unbearable.
“Games are dangerous,” Andrew sighed, looking over at his boyfriend and giving him a smile.
Brandon grinned before he shrugged. “I don’t know, playing games seemed to work out for us.”
There was a story there, but the way heat flashed between the two of them, maybe it was best if that remained a mystery.
“Games are for kids,” Chase whined, stretching out on the couch next to me. His head landed in Nathan’s lap and he nudged me with his toes. I gave my friend a smile before rolling and pressing my face into Shawn’s stomach. Things were still a little overwhelming, but it was good to be back around everyone else.
“I don’t know, we could do something like spin the bottle... or something...”
The room went silent, and I rolled back over to find everyone staring at Aiden. His face was splotchy and red as he chewed his bottom lip. He shrugged, but didn’t elaborate on where that idea had come from. His brother would kill anyone who tried to touch Chase, and Andrew and Brandon were no better lately. When his eyes kept shifting over to Joe, it was obvious what he was hinting at.
“No spin the bottle. Fuck no.” Nathan stood from the couch, dumping Chase on the cushions. He grabbed his brother by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
If anything, watching the two of them was more than enough entertainment. The protective older brother act would eventually get old, but for now, it was sort of sweet to see that Nathan cared so much about Aiden.
Joe was back to scowling, finding a spot in the corner, and sitting on the floor with a beer bottle dangling from his fingers. The only person who got the short end of the stick was him. He wasn’t a bad guy. Sure, he had a reputation I’d heard all about, but since he’d been spending more time with Aiden, I hadn’t witnessed it. He just seemed interested in Nathan’s brother.
