Jeff was throwing a small party at his place to celebrate the reunion of the study group. He wouldn't call it a party though. Parties are for kids. No, this was just drinks with friends. Although as the night progressed, more drinks were drank than expected. The night became quite rowdy and before long Annie, Abed, Troy, Britta, Shirley and Jeff were drunkenly re-enacting their awful Christmas 'Glee Club' show. Voices were pitchy and drinks were spilled as they tried to do the dance moves with full glasses of wine in their hands. In a midst of the yelling and laughter that comes naturally with the excessive consumption of alcohol, Jeff took a moment to look over at Annie. She was so, so cute we she was drunk. Right now she had her arms over her head and her legs spread apart, trying to show Abed how to be a Christmas tree. It wasn't working. But she looked absolutely adorable.
"You look ridiculous!" he called out to her. She giggled and looked up at him.
"No way. I'm the bestest Christmas tree there ever was!" she said as she took a sip of her wine and stumbled a few steps across the room. Everyone burst into laughter at this, including Annie.
"Wow guys. We've gone through nine bottles of wine tonight! Shit." Jeff said with a sudden serious tone. Everyone stopped laughing and looked at him. A few silent seconds passed before they all burst into laughter again.
"Well this has been fun. Maybe a little too fun. But it's probably time I went home." said Shirley.
"Yeah me too." said Britta.
"Hey Jeff! You wanna Mario Kart?" said Troy completely ignoring the departure of Shirley and Britta.
"Do I wanna play Mario Kart?! Umm, yes!" Jeff replied excitedly. So Jeff, Annie, Troy and Abed spent the next hour drinking even more wine and attempting to play Mario Kart while severely inebriated.
More than an hour had passed since Shirley and Britta left and it was starting to get late. Jeff was also beginning to realise just how fucking drunk he was. He looked over to the other couch where Annie had recently fallen asleep.
"Hey guys. I don't know about you but I'm super drunk and my Mario Kart skills are failing me." Jeff said.
"Whatever Jeff. Don't blame your shitty skills on the alcohol. But you're right, we should probably take off." Said Troy.
"What do we do about this one?" asked Abed pointing to Annie passed out on the couch.
"Um, just leave her there. She might as well stay over." Jeff said casually. Troy and Abed looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What? Seriously guys, it's fine. I don't think any of us are sober enough to carry her to a taxi. I'll just get her a blanket and a pillow. It's fine."
"Okay" said Troy with as much subtext as one could possibly put into such a simple word. The two boys left the apartment to wait for their taxi outside.
Once they were gone Jeff closed his front door and was greeted with a sudden silence. And a whole lot of empty wine bottles. Also, a curled up Annie on his couch. He was secretly glad at the chance to have her stay over. Mind you, he would have preferred her to be conscious. He draped his fluffiest blanket over her and propped her head up on a pillow. She began to stir and murmur indecipherable words. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Where is everyone?" she said groggily.
"They all went home." he replied. She started getting up off the couch very slowly and he gently pushed her back down.
"It's okay, don't get up. You can just stay here and I'll drive you home in the morning." he whispered. She smiled at this and cuddled herself up in his blanket and said something about 'okay but it's your fault'.
She looked so fucking cute in that blanket. Her cheeks were all red – that's how they got when she drank too much – and her hair fell over her face. He resisted everything within him to touch her and cuddle her. He told himself it wasn't right. They were both really drunk and he didn't want to take advantage of her. He stood up, turned the light out and walked to his bedroom. He slipped into a pair of tracksuit pants, took his shirt off and got into bed. He was still so drunk and his head was spinning as he lay on his pillow. The thought of Annie being just outside on his couch made his heart beat heavy in his chest. He wanted her in his bed so badly.
After lying there for another twenty minutes deciding whether or not to bring her into his bed he finally got up and went out to the lounge room. 'Screw it', he thought. He walked over to the couch and put his hand on her shoulder to wake her up slightly. When she began to stir he effortlessly picked her up in his arms and began to walk her back to his bedroom.
"Mmm, Jeff, what are you doing?" she murmured with eyes still closed.
"The couch is uncomfortable, you can just share my bed." He replied. She simply buried her face into his chest and continued to sleep - which, apparently, he had barely interrupted.
He carefully laid her tiny frame into his bed and got in next to her. Straight away he snuggled up to her, wrapping his arms around her. They began to spoon and holy shit he was glad she was finally in his bed. Her body fit perfectly into his and she ran her hand up his arm until her fingers laced with his. He wasn't sure if she knew exactly what she was doing but he certainly didn't mind. He held her hand and draped his other arm over her torso to hold her tightly into him. The smell of her hair in his face was wonderfully intoxicating. He revelled in the chance to finally be close enough to her to actually know what her hair smells like, what her skins feels like. She was pretty much angelic. Dammit, how did he let himself fall for little Annie Edison? He was well and truly under her spell.
He buried his nose in her hair and placed a soft kiss just under her jawline. He hovered around her neck when she slowly turned her head towards him. Before he knew what was happening her lips were on his. His heart practically leapt out of his chest as he fervently began kissing her back. Their kiss had gone from tender to passionate in the space of about five seconds. This was something they had both been wanting for such a long time and they were finally in the right place together. Their mouths dropped open to make way for their tongues to come crashing together. He pulled his hand up to hold and caress her face. They were both holding each other so tightly, is if they were afraid that something might pull them apart. After a couple of minutes they slowed down and finally stopped kissing. Jeff planted one last kiss on her cheek before she turned away and they went back to spooning.
The only words running through his mind were 'I love you', 'I fucking love you so much it hurts' but he couldn't bring himself to say them. Not just yet. He hoped that tonight was the first of more nights to come. This was just the beginning. He would say the words when the time was right. And he knew that that time wasn't far away.
