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"You didn’t answer my question What did you do for your twenty-first?"

She does another one of those deep-breath things where her whole bodybetween groups of people talking, drinking, and s "Honestly? I went to dinner with my boyfriend" Her eyes flick to mine "My ex now We had dinner and then went back to his place That was about it"

"No big party? No night out on the toith friends?"

She shrugs "We weren’t really party kind of people"

"You weren’t? Or he wasn’t?"

"You know," she laughs "I don’t actually know" Her laugh is this pure, perfect thing Everything about her is light She makes it seem so easy, like I could just toss off all the bullshit and live in a bright shiny world just because she’s in front of et myself in her, and maybe help her do the same with me

"Well, you’re in luck, Pickle Because you happen to be with an expert partier"

I stand and slip one arm beneath her knees and band the other around herher up She squeaks and wraps her arms around my neck

"Excuse me," I call out on my way to the kitchen "Novice partier in the house!"

"Silas," she groans I digand squealing inthen At least not that kind"

She stills and the pink blush on her cheeks brings out her eyes evenarrested would putuntil ht onto the counter People are staring, and I can see her noticing theainst her knees and as move to let me rest between the the distracted one, too caught up in how I like the feel of her knees pressing into s, to be pressed right up against her Up on the counter, she’s the perfect height so that ed her to the edge, she’d be at the perfect height there, too I plant my hands on the countertop beside her and lean in until all I can see are those wide, nervous, excited eyes

"What’s your poison, Pickle?"

She frowns "What will it take to get you to stop callingmy questions with other questions Tell me how you want to belatedly celebrate your birthday"

"I really don’t think I should"

"Why not?"

"I justalcohol leads to bad decisions And I’ve already h instead"

Her odda of all the other ways I could make her lips part like that