Chapter 39

I put on my red and white Christmas shirt that Alison had given me for my birthday. Casey did my hair in two braids. She left some of my curls out for what she called a whimsical look. I wore a black leather skirt and high black boots. I even did my make up. My red lips would really drive Jeff wild. He absolutely loved when I wore red lipstick.

Casey had on a white sweater dress that was two sizes too big. It fell down her shoulder and exposed her green camisole. She had on fuzzy, high knee socks that had penguins on them. She also wore red lipstick that made her beauty mark on her top lip really pop. She looked like a movie star. Her hair was curled and pinned. It was beautiful.

My mom had made lots of treats and appetizers. She however, did not want to stick around. A bunch of teenagers in her house didn’t seem appealing to her.

“Breesy girl, please make sure you protect that heart of yours,” she warned.

She scooped me into a big hug and kissed my cheek.

“I’m fine mom. I really am,” I said.

She nodded and gave me one last peck before grabbing her overnight bag and leaving for Mrs. Kyren’s house.

Quinn and Jeff were the first to arrive. Casey had invited a cute boy named Gage from our history class to join us. I had to scramble to make his gift fit into the mix, but I did what I always do and I made it happen. Jeff handed me a white package with a peppermint ribbon wrapped around it. I knew his sister wrapped it, because he did not have it in him. I put it under the Charlie Brown tree that mom put out especially for Friendsmas.

Baylen had Christmas music playing low in the background as the fire flickered from the fireplace and laughter filled the air. This wasn’t so bad after all. I thought I would be super sad and not want to participate today after my heart was dragged through hell and back, but I was surprisingly alright.

Jeff pulled me onto his lap. He was sitting in my dad’s big armchair.

“You look absolutely stunning Brees,” he said, nuzzling my neck.

I giggled and thanked him for the compliment. As he was gently playing with my hair and whispering in my ear, I made eye contact with Keegan. He walked through the front door holding two presents. Both were wrapped in black and gold.

I kept my attention on Jeff. I wasn’t about to consort with the likes of Keegan. I did notice out of my peripheral vision that he put one of the gifts on the steps and one under the tree. It piqued my curiosity. Why did he bring two gifts?

“Hey Keegan!” my brother shouted cheerfully. “We have snacks and will start games shortly.”

“Sounds good,” Kegan said, scanning the room for somewhere to sit.

“Come over here dude,” Jeff offered, patting the couch next to us.

I gave him such a look of disdain. Of all the places to sit, Jeff thinks it a good idea to have my ex sitting right next to us as we cuddle in this chairs?

Keegan walked over and plopped down on the sofa.

“Where’s Izzy?” Jeff inquired.

“Oh she is in Italy for a week,” Keegan said.

“Man, that’s crappy timing with you being home right now. You probably miss her huh?” Jeff continued to innocently pry.

“Well we aren’t together anymore so not really,” Keegan said, looking directly at me.

Jeff tightened his grip around my waist. I could tell that Keegan’s words sat heavily on his mind.

“Well you have all those hotties at school, so I’m sure you will bounce back from this man,” Jeff said, reassuringly. .

Keegan nodded and sat back. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but I couldn’t concern myself with it. What he possibly did with Isadora last night was really eating at me. I couldn’t even eat today.

Baylen got the games started and made teams. We were playing a trivia game called, “Nobody Knows That.” It was one of my mom’s favorite games. None of us were quite as intelligent as her, but we tried anyway.

“What are the nine parts of speech? You can’t miss any or the other team can steal,” Quinn said, reading a card from the deck.

I was on a team with Gage, and Baylen. Baylen decided he wanted to pass. However, I was pretty confident I could name them. So I took a stab at it.

“Okay I know these. Adverb, preposition, verb, pronoun, noun, adjective, conjunction, interjection and…” I started.

I was stumped on the last one. I scanned the room to see if I could jog my memory, but I was drawing a blank. Finally I gave up.

“Okay, the next team gets to steal if you can give me the final part of speech,” Quinn said, turning towards Keegan’s team.

“It’s a determiner,” Keegan said, smirking at me.

“How the hell did you know that?” Casey asked, slapping Keegan on the shoulder in a celebratory fashion.

“I had a test on them last month and Brees helped me study for it. Those were a part of the grammar section,” he said.

“You were helping him study last month?” Jeff asked.

“I mean yeah, we are friends. Or were friends. It’s not a big deal,” I reassured him.

“It’s kind of a big deal if you are seeing me and still talking to your ex,” Jeff pushed.

I shook my head in disbelief. Jeff isn’t my boyfriend and he knows this is casual. I was very confused as to why he was getting so defensive.

“Jeff, chill out dude. I’ve known this family for a lot longer than you have,” Keegan said standing up.

“The fuck dude, what are you standing up for?” Jeff said, standing as well.

Keegan stepped forward and I shrieked.

“Boys stop!” I shouted.