Page 84 of How He Got the Girl
But then again, Griffin’s always had this effect on me.
“Are you going to let me inside?” He shoots me his tilted grin. The one just for me. That thought sends the butterflies fluttering again.
I nod, stepping aside so he can come in. Once Griffin has greeted everyone in the living room and I’ve introduced him to Austin, we sit down on the couch together. With how packed our cozy space is, I end up with my booty half on Griffin and half on the couch. He reaches around my lower back and pulls me fully onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my middle. My legs tangle with his.
If this were happening just a week ago, I would’ve either jumped right back up or faked a smile for the sake of our audience. But today, I lean into Griffin’s touch, resting my head against his. In his arms, I feel safe. Secure. And—dare I say—loved. It’s scary, but also invigorating.
His thumb brushes across my stomach where my sweater has slid up. I feel that small touch across my entire body. Griffin makes every nerve ending come alive.
When I look at him, I see the same passion and desire mirrored in his eyes.
“If you two lovebirds are done making eyes at each other, we can get started.” Kelsey stands in front of the television and crosses her arms, though a smirk pulls at her lips.
I shoot her a thumbs-up while Griffin laughs into my shoulder. She hands each team a whiteboard, marker, and tissue.
“My mom made a slideshow with all the questions and answers. She literally just texted it to me, so everything is fair and square.” Alyssa connects her phone to the TV, showing the timestamp of the email from her mom as proof,even though I know she’s not the kind to cheat. “Let’s get this trivia night started.”
We answer questions about generic winter traditions first. Griffin and I successfully guessed that eggnog came from England and that candy canes were shaped to resemble a shepherd’s staff, among other questions.
“Next up is Christmas music,” Alyssa announces, flipping to the next slide.
I tilt my head back to look at Griffin. “We’re going to crush this.”
And we do. I mean, who doesn’t know that the best-selling Christmas song of all time is “White Christmas” or that Frosty the Snowman’s nose is made out of a button rather than the traditional carrot?
All the teams suffer through the winter sports round, except for Alyssa and Austin, thanks to his extensive sports knowledge.
“We are now entering the basic winter fun facts,” Shayna reads aloud. “Starting with…” She flips to the next slide. “What is the shortest day of the year called?”
As everyone else starts whispering to their partner, I murmur in Griffin’s ear, “It’s the winter something.”
He laughs and squeezes my side. “I think what you’re looking for is Winter Solstice.”
“See, I was half right.” I write down the answer on our whiteboard. I’m extra thankful he’s on my team when everyone else answers that question correctly. I would’ve looked ridiculous if I had just written downwinter.
The next slide asks how many sides a snowflake has. I immediately write downsix.
“How do you know?” Griffin’s breath against my skin causes all the hairs on my neck to stand. “Is it something you taught your students?”
“Yeah,” I lie. Even with where our relationship is at right now, there’s no way I’m telling him that I looked up everything I could about snowflakes after we kissed outside with perfect flurries falling around us. I thought if I learned everything I could about snowflakes, it would help me to focus on those facts rather than the magic of the moment I had surrounded by them with his lips pressed to mine.
Spoiler alert: It didn’t work. I don’t think there are enough facts in the world to make me forget the feelings I had when Griffin kissed me, but at least knowing this random fact guarantees us another point.
We’re the only ones to get the correct answer.
Griffin leans in, kissing my temple. “That’s my smart girl.”
Normally, I’d roll my eyes if I ever heard anyone say that to their significant other. But I beam under Griffin’s compliment. Maybe I’m more of the relationship type than I thought. It just took the right guy coming along for me to realize it.
I nuzzle into him, and he hums happily.
“Y’all are the cutest.” Emmy looks at us, doe-eyed.
“Adorable,” Shayna agrees.
Alyssa grins. “Totally goals.”
“Gross,” Connor mutters.
