The Shadows Of Yesterday

The Shadows Of Yesterday {20}

We stayed outside for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Arlo didn't strike me as the type who could stay quiet for long, but he was surprisingly good at it. Well, mostly. He seemed compelled to point out some constellation or something happening down on the street below every few minutes, just for an excuse to talk quickly. But he'd always fall silent again after instead of trying to pull me into an actual conversation.

Finally, though, I figured we should return to the party. I got up, stretching.

"Back inside?" Arlo said.

"Sure. There's flip cup, right? I feel like we need to beat Brooks again. It has to have been almost an hour since we last beat her at something. She might be getting her confidence back, and we can't have that," I said.

Arlo laughed so hard that he rocked back on the couch. "Savage! Let's fuckin' go!"

He hopped up, and the two of us went back in through the window. Arlo led us downstairs, searching the party for any sign of his friends.

"Unless they ditched you again," I said.

He pouted. "They might've. Those bastards."

"Oh, wait, I just saw Harley, I think," I said, pointing to the living room.

We slipped in there and, sure enough, Harley was talking with a girl near the couch. She spotted us and said something to the girl before coming over.

"Hey," she said. "Brooks and Nicky are getting refills. You guys want anything?"

"I'm good," I said, glancing down at my mostly full drink.

"We're going to play flip cup. Rally Brooks. We have a victory to claim!" Arlo said.

"Hell no, I'm great at flip cup," Harley said. "I'll go get her. Go prepare yourselves to finally lose tonight."

Arlo and I went into the kitchen, finding a spot with plenty of room to play. Arlo set the cups down and grinned when Brooks and Harley came into the room, both women looking determined.

"Gentlemen, prepare to lose," Brooks said, cracking her knuckles. "I'm buzzed enough to feel confident I can win this."

We dove into a game, and I found myself actually laughing and having a good time as Arlo and I beat the girls again. They demanded a rematch, and got close to beating us, losing only when Brooks accidentally flipped the cup so hard that it spun up and smacked into the ceiling.

I laughed so hard I fell against Arlo and he had to keep me upright while Brooks picked up the cup and smacked me in the head with it repeatedly. The sight of someone several inches shorter than me going up on her tiptoes to hit me with a plastic cup she'd just launched into the fucking atmosphere only got me laughing even harder, to the point of tears in my eyes.

It took me a long few minutes to get my laughter under control, my stomach aching from the force of it. I briefly buried my face in Arlo's shoulder and pushed Brooks away in the hopes that not seeing her desperate attempt at revenge would help me calm down.

It worked, and I sucked in a few breaths before lifting my head. Brooks threw the cup at my face, huffing and cursing me out.

"-and I hope you get a dog and you love it a lot and one day it bites you and runs away!" she was saying.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, maybe I'll get a chihuahua," I said, Arlo pushing me behind himself when Brooks tried to kick me in the shin.

"You're in league with Nicky! I should've known!" she cried in despair.

"I'll carry you around in a- well, not a purse, because I don't use purses. But I'll get a messenger bag or something. You can wear those little sunglasses," I said.