A/N: An early relationship moment for Jim and Melinda this chapter :) Also you guys can see where Katie inherited her beer pong skill lol. Enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Andrea - 28
Bobby - 26
Jim - 25
Matt - 25
Gina - 23
Melinda - 21


Melinda Gordon was exhausted. She couldn't wait to get back to her apartment and eat the corned beef and cabbage and potatoes that Jim would be making. It was St. Patrick's Day, after all, and Jim loved celebrating holidays. Melinda enjoyed them too, especially after a year of dating Jim, who loved holidays.

Melinda had gone to work decked out in a green sundress—because it was great to avoid being pinched all day if she'd forgotten, after all. Twisting the knob on the door of Jim's apartment, Melinda smiled when she realized that it was unlocked. That meant that he was home.

She was looking forward to a night with her boyfriend and eating their delicious, holiday-themed dinner. When Melinda swung the door open, she was hit with a loud burst of music and the smell of alcohol. She could see all of her and Jim's friends gathered in their apartment, talking as they played a drinking game. Another smile formed on Melinda's face.

Well, she guessed she wouldn't be getting a quiet night at home.

Jim noticed her as soon as she shut the door behind her. "Melinda! Hello!" He climbed to his feet from where he was sitting on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled to him, kissing her deeply.

Melinda laughed; she could taste the vodka on his tongue. Jim wasn't quite drunk, but he was definitely on his way there. Melinda set her purse aside and took off her jacket. "So I guess we're having a party?"

Jim nodded and gave her a broad grin. "First it was the just the guys that came over after work, but then Andrea heard the music and came down. She set up a game of beer pong, and we invited everyone else over to make a tournament. My team is winning, by the way."

"Yeah?" Melinda arched an eyebrow and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "And who's on your team?"

"Bob is, of course." The team member in question was standing by the pong table, juggling the small, white balls in his hand. Bobby was looking quite drunk—his normally rambunctious self-was already showing, but she was stumbling unevenly to one side, and his cheeks were red. Still, he was expertly juggling the balls.

"It's cheating," Andrea grumbled under her breath. She shoved a small, plastic cup into Melinda's hand. "Here, have a Jell-O shot. You have to catch up to the rest of us." The Jell-O shot was green, of course. Clearly, someone had planned ahead, and Melinda wouldn't be surprised if Andrea was the culprit. Still, she ran her finger around the edge Jell-O to loosen it, and then knocked the shot back. Andrea let out at a loud whoop and clapped her hands together. "Yes, Melinda came to party!"

"Jim!" Bobby launched one of the ping pong balls at Jim's head with startling accuracy. Still, having played sports all his life, her boyfriend easily caught it. "Matt and Gina are ready for the next round, and I need to kick Matt's ass!"

Jim pressed another kiss to Melinda's lips. "I am being summoned, babe. I'll see you in a little bit, m'kay?"

As soon as Jim joined his colleagues at the beer pong table, Andrea grabbed Melinda's hand and towed her over to where Gina was sitting. A tray of Jell-O shots was set on the table in her, and she handed one to both of them as they sat down.

They both knocked them back quickly and then Gina cleared her throat. "We're playing a game," Gina announced.

Andrea smirked, and she really didn't like the look on either of her friends' faces. "What game?" Melinda asked cautiously.

"Get you as drunk as possible as fast as possible, of course." Gina grinned at her, and both she and Andrea waited expectantly for her to take her third shot.

Melinda sighed, but she took the Jell-O shot anyway. "Ugh, fine. I hate you both, and love you at the same time."


An hour later, the party was in full swing, and Melinda and Gina were playing beer pong against Jim and Bobby. They were holding their own, but it was pretty obvious that the boys were going to win.

Gina groaned. "Come on, Jim! Can't you let your girlfriend win? Be a nice boyfriend!"

Bobby snorted and easily sunk the next shot, eliminating the second to last cup. "That's cheating!"

Jim smirked and shook his head. "No can do, Gina. I play to win." He said.

Sure, Bobby was an amazing pong player, but Jim was an expert at sinking the last cup. Completely distracted by his confident swagger, Melinda licked her lips as she watched her boyfriend. She was pretty buzzed and more than a little turned on. Jim caught her eye and grinned, without looking, he made his shot, and the ping pong ball neatly sank into the red Solo cup.

Bobby immediately cheered and started taunting Gina, who rolled her eyes and reached out to ruffle his hair before going off to find Matt. Melinda meanwhile, grabbed Jim's hand and towed him towards the bathroom. She shoved Jim into the room before she turned and locked the door.

Jim was watching her with an amused look on his face. "Hey, Mel..." Despite the fact that he had started drinking earlier than her, he still seemed to be more on the sober side than she was. He had always been better at holding his alcohol than she was. "What are you doing?"

She pressed her hands to his chest and stretched up onto her tiptoes until her lips just brushed against his. "I think you know exactly what I'm doing, Jim Clancy."

"Melinda Gordon," Jim's hands settled on her waist and he pulled her closer to his body and sat down on the toilet seat. "Are you trying to take advantage of me?

Her nimble hands had already started undoing the button on his jeans. "Absolutely," she said before she kissed him again. "What are you gonna do about it?"

He chuckled, his hands moving up her sides to grasp her face. "Not a damn thing, baby," he whispered. "You have my full attention."

"Good," she smiled, licking her lips before she kissed him again, slipping her hand inside his jeans.


It was a half an hour before Jim and Melinda finally emerged from the bathroom. The party was still going strong, but everyone knew what the two of them had been doing. Jim didn't even bother trying to hide his satisfied grin at all, and Melinda's cheeks seemed to be permanently flushed as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

"That is so gross, man," Bobby groaned when he saw the two of them. "You two are like... so disgusting."

Planting her hands on her hips, Melinda glared at the boys on the couch. "How do you even know what we were doing, Bob?" she demanded.

Andrea plopped a green, plastic party hat down on Melinda's head. "Because we are not stupid, Mel." She leaned in to whisper in her friend's ear the next part. "Plus, your dress is totally on inside out."

"Well, shit" Melinda blushed furiously and immediately went back into the bathroom to fix her dress.

Andrea snickered, while Jim settled onto the couch and reached for a beer, completely unapologetic. Meanwhile, Matt poked Gina on the side. "It's been months since we've snuck off to a bathroom during a party." He poked her again. "How come we don't do that anymore?"

Gina swatted his hand away. "If you don't stop with the pouting, we won't do anything at all when we get home."

That shut Matt up immediately, and then Melinda reappeared from the bathroom. "Better?" She settled onto Jim's lap and curled into his chest. "Hi, baby... did you miss me?"

"Always," he grinned, meeting her lips with a sloppy, passionate kiss.

They all sat there, watching something on the tv, drinking and talking amongst each other. Andrea dropped a hat onto the middle of the coffee table so that it was upside down, revealing the hollow center. "Let's start taking bets on which couple is going to leave first!"

As everyone placed their bets, Melinda took the St. Patrick's Day hat off of her head and plopped it onto Jim's instead. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving to his lips, she kissed him deeply. Their friends cheered and hooted and hollered around them, making her smile against her boyfriend's lips.

Sure, this wasn't how she imagined her night going. But Melinda wouldn't have it any other way. She loved her little group of friends and most of all, her boyfriend.