“I’m serious,” he added, wiping at his chin and giving me the once-over again. The way his eyes glued to my form, they caused goosebumps to pop on my arms. I hoped he wouldn’t notice. I wanted nothing more than to be beautiful enough that he’d pick me up in his arms, carry me into the den, throw me on the bed and have his damn way with me.

“Well, give Rebecca credit,” I said nervously, waving my hands all over my face. “This was all her magic.”

“It’s not magic, Perry. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known and before you say anything, you’ve always been that way to me.”

My mouth dropped open a little bit.

“And I’ve been with a lot of women, Perry, so I know. Believe me. And you have to learn how to accept a compliment, you got it?”

He reached for my shoulder in a rather awkward manner, then ended up sliding it down my arm, reaching for my hand and holding it in his, his thumb caressing around the welt on it.

I was still speechless but I nodded because I could see how sincere he was. That was maybe the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. Aside from the “and I’ve been with a lot of women” part.

“What do you think?” Rebecca’s voice interrupted my thoughts. Dex dropped my hand and turned to look at her. She and Emily were both changed and dolled up. Emily looked cute, albeit slightly uncomfortable with her empire-waisted grey dress, but Rebecca looked wonderful. Her dress was a deep red, to her ankles and slit quite low between her breasts.

She looked down at them and smiled at Dex and me. “I couldn’t let Perry be the only one on display.”

I was grateful for that. What Jenn has said earlier about it being a work party had been gnawing at my esteem a bit. Rebecca was ensuring I wouldn’t be the sluttiest-looking one there.

When I found my voice, I said, “You both look amazing.”

“Good enough,” Rebecca said, flashing her white teeth at us. “As do both of you.”

She walked over to Dex, her heels stomping across the floor. She took the tie from his other hand and said, “No tie. It doesn’t suit you.”

Then she undid another button his shirt. “You don’t have too much chest hair; you can get away with this.”

If it wasn’t Rebecca up in Dex’s face like that, I would have felt a pang of jealousy.

She peered down at me from the lofty perch of her heels, her hands still around Dex’s collar as she straightened it out. “What do you think of Perry here?”

The question was obviously for Dex.

“I might prefer the way she normally is,” he said to my surprise. “But I think she looks stunning.”

“Damn right,” she said, giving his collar a final tug. “She doesn’t need the makeup, really, but goodness she needs to show off that body more.”

I glanced down at my boobs and the rest of me. From my angle, I looked huge, as always.

I looked back up and saw Rebecca, Dex and Emily all looking at me rather rapturously. I smiled cheesily at them, the awkwardness just flooding my pores, and said, “I think now is the time to do shots.”

Rebecca let out a hoot and she and Emily ran behind the counter, pulling out the Jager, which ended up in the freezer where it belonged.

Dex patted me lightly on the back as we walked over to join them.

“Relax, kiddo,” he said, his voice low and gruff.

I shot him a quick smile. I just felt totally out of my element, yet I was enjoying the novelty of being “hot” at the same time.

Rebecca fished out four glasses from the cupboards and poured us each a shot. We raised them to each other and clinked.

“Wait!” Emily cried out and quickly brought out a tiny camera from her purse. “Pictures!”

“Ems is a mad photo taker,” Rebecca explained.

“And pure evil when it comes to tagging photos on Facebook,” Dex said, half-glaring at the blonde-haired cherub.

She paid no attention, but held the camera out and attempted to get a picture of us all in mid-shot. The flash flared out blindingly.

We all finished the shots, the Jager burning only a little. Emily flipped the camera around and squeeled.

“It worked,” she said, and showed us all. Though Rebecca’s head was half cut-out, it was Dex and me with the shot glasses to our lips and Emily at the corner. It was a rather cute picture considering the subject matter, but that said I unfortunately realized it was the only picture that had ever been taken of Dex and me together. I know I had been called “Paparazzi Perry” in high school, but for some reason taking pictures of Dex and me seemed…weird. I guess because we always had the video camera out. I made a mental note to get a photo of just the two of us later.

Jenn burst out of the bedroom and looked us all over with disdain, her hair piled high on top of her head. “Seriously? Jagermeister? How old are we here?”

I raised my hand. “I’m twenty three!”

I could have sworn a little vein in her head was about to pop. I tried not to smile at that.

“OK,” she said, picking up the cordless phone. “I think we should call a cab now and head over. They did say to be there by 8 and we’re pushing it now.”

Probably promised to meet Bradley at a certain time, I thought. And from the look I caught on Rebecca’s face, I could see she was thinking the same thing. As for Dex, though, I couldn’t tell. He was trying hard not to look in my direction and winning at it.

I grabbed my leather jacket from the coat rack and hustled into the den to grab my little evening purse that Ada had lent me. When I came back out, everyone was at the balcony window and staring outside.

“What is it?” I asked, coming over without tripping over my heels.

“It’s snowing,” Rebecca said incredulously. I guessed it was as rare in Seattle as it was in Portland.

I poked my head out to join them at the fogged-up window pane. Dark clouds, lit up orange from the city glow, had rolled in over the past few hours. Little, miniscule flakes of white were falling from them. So it was snowing after all. Another thing that made me think tonight was going to be different from any other night. This was going to be memorable.

It already was.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

With five of us, we had to take two separate cabs to the party. There was a slightly weird moment where I wasn’t sure who to ride with, Dex and Jenn or Emily and Rebecca. I really was the fifth wheel in this case, the singleton. But luckily Rebecca was the first one to speak up and insist that I was riding with her and Emily. Fine by me.

I got in our cab (the first to arrive), which smelled like incense and was filled with the sounds of Bhangra music.

As the cab pulled away from Dex and Jenn’s apartment, Emily started making small talk with the driver about the impending snowfall, while Rebecca picked up my non-welted hand and gave it squeeze.

“So,” she said, leaning in close, her voice dancing. “That couldn’t have gone better.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, come on, Perry. You saw the way Dex was looking at you. We ambushed you guys. He was holding your hand; I saw it.”

I shrugged, not wanting to think too much into it lest my heart start eating away at my logic. “Think nothing of it.”

“I know what you’re doing,” she whispered.

“Do you?” I asked, fixing my eyes on her to show I meant business.

She wasn’t fazed. “Yes.”

Then she brought out the bottle of Jager from her purse. “Pardon me, good sir,” she said, tapping the cabbie on the shoulder. “Do you mind if we quickly imbibe from this? We will be neat and tidy.”

The cabbie eyed the bottle quickly, then eyed Rebecca’s chest. “If you’re quick. Don’t spill, you’ll pay the fine,” he said, pointing at the sign on the door that indicated we’d be paying for any wayward liquids or vomit.

She nodded. “Don’t worry.”

She took a shot straight out of the bottle, then handed it to Emily and me. We exchanged a worried glance between each other, though I suppose the Shownet virgins of the bunch needed it the most, and followed through. The shot burned less the second time, but I was already feeling saucy and lightheaded, which was typically a bad combination.

“I wonder how awkward Jenn and Dex’s car ride is,” I mused out loud.

“Well, if I know them,” Rebecca offered, “one of them is giving the other the silent treatment. Though at this stage, I couldn’t say who. They definitely aren’t acting normal, that’s for certain.”

“You think you’ll make a move tonight?” Emily asked, leaning forward on the other side of her partner.

“Me?”

“Yes darling, you,” Rebecca said. She drummed her long manicured nails on her knees along to the music. The snow outside was starting to stick to the windshield. “If you don’t make a move on him tonight, Perry, I think you’re missing out. You are so bloody alike.”

I let what she said stew in my mind. We were alike. I was seeing this more and more each day. Either we always were, or it was a byproduct of spending too much time together. Maybe he was becoming more like me, as I was becoming more like him. I was certainly adapting to the fearlessness he seemed to possess, at least on the surface. But that didn’t mean anything. It happened all the time with people who were together a lot.

Soon we were pulling up to the restaurant just outside of the downtown area, down by the waterfront where the ferries and cruise ships were. It looked like a normal restaurant in a brick building, nothing fancy, and certainly not indicating there was a party inside.

But as soon as we all stepped out of the cab, after squabbling over who was paying the cab fare (Emily won because she had an actual “real” job), I recognized Dean and Seb standing outside the doorway sharing a cigarillo. The light snow fell lightly around us and was sticking to the ground in bits. To quote a song, it was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

I held my jacket close to me and Emily and I both hovered nearby as Rebecca went to hug both of the gamers. They extended the same courtesy to us. When Dean pulled back from our embrace he got the same look on his face that Dex had earlier.

“Wow,” he stuttered.

“Thank you,” I replied with a smile, remembering Dex’s words about taking a compliment. I’d take “wow” as a compliment, wouldn’t you?

“You look great,” he said, and jerked his thumb at me while glancing at Rebecca. “You talk to Bradley about her? Maybe you guys need a third babe in Wine Babes.”

I laughed. “Aw, hell no.”

He grinned at me. “Well, you just went up a few more points in my book.”

“Score for me,” I said with a wink. I don’t know why I winked; I never winked at anyone before, but out it came. The dress, the makeup, the Jager…it was all very dangerous. And suddenly making a “move” on Dex seemed to be not only possible but not the most important thing this evening either. There was a chance I could catch the eyes of other men. Dean was a bit too nerdy to be my type, and Seb seemed to be a bit of a thirty-something slacker, but who knew who else was inside?