"Hey, you came," Seth said cheerfully.
He pulled Adria in for a hug and dragged her into the hall. She giggled and stepped out of her shoes. She could hear happy voices coming from the living room.
"Am I the last one to arrive?" She asked.
"Yes," he answered.
"I hate being the last one," she said.
"They're gonna love you," he said.
They hadn't seen each other since they made pies together a month earlier but they had kept in contact everyday via phone. She felt like she knew him by now. He turned around and she followed him into the living room where four sets of eyes stared at her.
"These are my friends Roman, Alexa, Dean and Renee," Seth said. "Guys, this is Adria."
Everyone greeted her. She greeted them back while smiling. It wasn't hard to figure out game night had always been a couples thing. That was probably why he had invited her. He didn't want to be the odd one out. She was okay with that. They were friends but she would be his partner in whatever game he wanted to play.
"Are we playing charades today?" Dean asked.
"You love that game too much," Roman chuckled.
"I fucking rock at it," Dean grinned.
"We're playing twister," Seth said.
"Twister?" Alexa asked.
"My poor back," Renee said.
"Good thing I didn't wear a skirt today," Adria said.
Seth smirked at her and leaned in.
"I would have loved to see that," he said.
He placed a kiss on her cheek and went to find the game. Soon they were tangled in between each other on the board.
"Left hand yellow," Alexa said.
Adria moved her left hand to yellow. It made her come closer to Seth. They were face to face. He was smiling at her and his eyes seemed to come even more alive. They were so close that they could just lean a bit forward to kiss each other.
"Left foot green," Alexa said.
"Good thing I stretched beforehand," Seth said.
Seth tried moving his body around to reach green with his left foot. Instead he tumbled down and took Adria with him down. He landed on top of her and quickly raised his head.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm good," she laughed. "I won."
For a moment it felt like they were alone. It wasn't until Dean cleared his throat that Seth looked up and realized his four friends were looking at them with smirks on their faces. It was almost as if all of them were waiting for him to kiss Adria.
"Charades?" Seth asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, why not?" Dean chuckled. "I'll go first."
Many hours later everyone was getting back into their shoes to leave Seth's house.
"It was a pleasure to meet you," Roman said.
"Likewise," Adria said.
"It's in our house next time. Bring her along," Renee said.
"If she wants to," Seth said.
"I'd love to," Adria said.
Seth gave her a big smile. Everyone could tell he was happy in that moment. His four friends quickly hugged him goodbye and went out to their cars. Adria stayed behind for another minute to talk to him.
"I enjoyed myself tonight. Your friends are lovely," she said.
"Stick with me, kiddo, and they'll be your friends in no time too," he said.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
He took a deep breath and then sighed.
"Better than expected," he said. "I thought it would be more hard replacing her with you for game night. And you're not a replacement. That's not what I meant. I just can't think of a better word right now."
"I understand," she said.
"I thought it would be harder. Somehow I feel guilty for not feeling sad," he said. "Is that weird? Am I weird?"
"You might be weird but the feeling is not weird," she smiled. "It sounds like you're healing well. Don't feel bad about moving forward. Do you honestly think she would want you to be sad the rest of your life?"
"No, she wouldn't," he said. "You're right. I shouldn't feel bad about being happy."
He pulled her in for a hug that lasted several seconds.
"You make everything so easy," he said.
She broke the hug and took out her phone.
"Can I show you something?" She asked.
"Of course," he answered.
She found a picture of a house and showed it to him.
"I bought it," she said.
"Really? That's amazing. When?" He asked.
"I have been looking at it for months. I took the step and signed the papers a week ago. It's mine next month," she said.
"Need a hand moving in?" He asked.
"I would be so grateful if you could help me move all my crap down from the third floor," she said.
"Don't worry about it. I'll call in Roman and Dean to help. So I take it it'll be on the 1st?" He asked.
"Yes," she answered. "If you can all arrive at 8 AM, I'll have breakfast ready."
"Leave it to me to arrange it," he said.
"Thank you. You're the best," she said.
She hugged him again. He really was a good guy.
"I don't know if you ever talk to Charlotte," she said.
"I don't. She was Becky's friend. She hasn't reached out. I only saw her at your birthday," he said.
"Well, if you do, keep quiet about the house. I still haven't told her. She's been busy. I'll tell her next time I see her but I don't know when that will be," she said.
"Your secret is safe with me," he said.
"Thanks," she said. "I gotta go. I'll see you around."
She turned around and started walking down his driveway.
"Hey, you never told me what she gave you for your birthday," he said.
She looked back at him and gave him a sad smile.
"That's right," she said. "I never told you."
She raised her hand and waved, and continued down the driveway. He had a weird feeling inside. He wasn't sure if she was messing with him or if there was something there she didn't want him to know. She had looked sad for a moment but it could have been the darkness tricking him.