CHAPTER 5 Intrusion 2

　　After sorting out the accompaniment of rice and plating up the curry, we were good to go, and began carrying through the plates to the lovebirds, who by know were sitting at the dining table, still petting each other like they hadn’t had any human interaction in years.

　　“Food’s up,” Dawson announced, laying a plate each in front of them.

　　“Mm, nice,” Tess commented, grabbing the cutlery that I had set down.

　　We all sat together in relative silence, with mainly Tess and Elijah holding the conversation. Dawson would swipe the odd glance in my direction, but I really wasn’t sure what to say. My Christmas spirit had upped and left with the door opening upon their arrival, and I wasn’t looking forward to spending any time with them here.

　　After eating, and as the boys decided that they would wash up, I went over to the window to look outside. I was in need of a distraction, to try and focus and debate whether I could leave now and go back home, but judging by the three-foot-deep snow that had fallen outside, I would probably need to hire a snow plough to get out of here alive.

　　“Penny for them?” Tess asked, making her way over to me.

　　“You don’t want to know.” I chuckled, turning to her as she handed me a cup of coffee.

　　“Come on, it can’t be that bad?” she quizzed.

　　“It’s not bad. It’s just I thought we would be having a girly couple of days together before Christmas, but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.” I sighed.

　　“It’s not all bad.”

　　“For you, no. Elijah is your boyfriend… and it is nice for you to have him here. I think it just reminds me of how single I truly am.” I chuckled.

　　“Being single doesn’t mean you’re alone. You have us.” She smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

　　“That’s easy to say when you’re not single.” I lightly smiled back, resting my head on her shoulder as we took in the view of the glittering snow in the moonlight.

　　“Right, come on, ladies!” Elijah’s voice broke out in the background. “It’s game night!”

　　What? Rolling my eyes and turning around, Elijah stood in the middle of the room, waving the ‘Who in the Room?’ party game in his hands, like it was some sort of trophy.

　　Squealing excitedly, Tess made her way over to him, as they lay out the cards on the coffee table. Dawson and I seemed to both reluctantly join them, and sitting around the table, with candles flickering away in the backdrop, this felt more like a séance than a game.

　　“Who’s going first?” Elijah asked, with his eyes lighting up.

　　“What is this game?” I wondered.

　　“You pick a card, read out the question, and point out who you think it applies to,” Tess filled in.

　　“But we have a twist,” Elijah beamed. “For each wrong answer, you have to take a shot.”

　　Ugh, shots? Were they trying to kill me?

　　“Here’s the box of the finest,” Dawson filled in, producing a box of cocktail shots from somewhere unknown.

　　“I’ll go first!” Tess cheered, grabbing a card. “Um, okay… who would be the worst at assembling a bookcase?”

　　“You!” Elijah laughed.

　　“Fair point, Tess. I imagine that it would look like something resembling the

　　Leaning Tower of Pisa.” I chuckled.

　　“Too true.” She smiled. “Right, Elijah, you’re next.”

　　“Okay,” he began, picking up a different card. “Who is most likely to pee in the shower?”

　　“Definitely you!” Dawson laughed, pointing at him.

　　“Do you pee in the shower?” Tess asked, looking slightly mortified.

　　“I have been guilty of doing it once or twice.” Elijah blushed.

　　“That’s gross.” I chuckled. “I’m definitely not using a shower after you.”

　　“Dawson, it’s your go,” Tess prompted.

　　“Right,” he began, picking up a card. “Who has the best voice for radio?”

　　“You,” I blurted, with little to no recognition from my brain.

　　The group turned to me as my cheeks flushed crimson.

　　“You like Dawson’s voice?” Elijah asked, grinning at me.

　　“Well, yeah. Kind of. As much as it annoys me,” I smirked his way, “it’s a nice voice. It’s got that rich, silky tone about it.” I closed my own mouth quickly – I was beginning to dig myself a very large hole.

　　“Thanks for the compliment.” Dawson grinned, with his blue eyes twinkling away.

　　“Whoever knew that Dawson could be the next Barry White!” Tess laughed.

　　“Yeah, Baby… come read me a bedtime story,” Elijah mimicked in his best Barry White voice, grinning at me and Dawson.

　　“Can we move on?” I blurted.

　　“It’s your go, Emma,” Tess prompted.

　　“Oh, okay,” I replied, picking up a card. “Who in the room has a crush on someone?”

　　The group fell silent, as I looked up from my card and took a look around. Tess had fallen mute, which was not like her, and Elijah had an expression on his face that I couldn’t read. Taking a look at Dawson, his eyes had widened, and were staring straight back at Elijah.

　　“Well, it’s got to be either Elijah or Tess,” I finally spoke, breaking the silence.

　　“Ha, at last, take a shot!” Elijah beamed, handing the box of shots over to me.

　　“But wait, why was that wrong?” I protested.

　　“Ooh, which one are you going to have?” Tess interrupted, leaning over my shoulder to eye the selection.

　　“Erm…” I paused, reading over the list of cocktail shots. “Probably a long, comfortable…”

　　“Ha, wouldn’t that be nice?” Dawson blurted, standing up. “Enough of this game, it’s boring me now. Why don’t we have some mulled wine?”

　　“Ooh, yeah. I’m up for that.” Tess agreed, jumping up and following Dawson to the kitchen.