Crystal Ball

“Alex! Stop it!” Emma squealed between her laughter as I had her pinned. I simply smirked and continued to tickle my best friend. “Seriously, Alex. St-stop it.”

“Why should I?”

She tried not to smile when she answered, “’Cause if you don’t, I will tell the Loch Ness monster and sic her on you.” But she failed, her smile unavoidable in the midst of her giggles.

“She doesn’t scare me,” I deadpanned, my hands stilling as I watched Emma catch her breath. She rolled her eyes, letting out a noise of disbelief. “What? She doesn’t!” I argued, sitting back on my knees.

“Uh huh, she’s just an angel.” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. I knew Emma wasn’t exactly my girlfriend’s biggest fan. Rolling my eyes, I did not see Emma’s next move coming. She flipped us over, easily straddling my waist as she pinned my arms by my head. Laughing, she smirked; her face just inches from my own. “An angel who has horns instead of a halo and a tail tucked into her size double zero form-fitted jeans,” she continued, her tone playful.

“Tell me how you really feel,” I joked back, my voice unexpectedly catching. I stared into the blue-green eyes above; not for the first time noticing them sparkle in the little bit of light peeking through my bedroom curtain.

She didn’t seem to miss the hitch of my breath because she cocked an eyebrow as she slowly pulled back. Confused, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Maybe we should see what the guys are up to tonight,” I suggested, merely turning the conversation around. There was no way in hell I would be confessing the reason why I had become a jumbling, stuttering mess around my best friend recently.

Emma stared at me for a moment before shaking her head and standing from the floor, offering her hand to me. “Yeah, I could use a movie night with my boys.”



“Jack! I missed my boo,” Emma exclaimed as Jack and Rian walked into my bedroom. She jumped off the bed and hugged our shared friend.

“What about me?” Rian frowned.

“How could I forget my Ri bear?” Emma smirked, giving him a quick hug. Rubbing her hands together, she faced the three of us. “So, what are we watching tonight?”

“I brought Elf, Home Alone (one and two), and The Notebook,” Jack listed, holding four DVD cases in front of him. “Which will it be?”

“Why’d you even bring the other two? We all know you’ll put Home Alone in place of whatever we choose,” Emma laughed, taking the first of Jack’s favorite movies from him and placing it in the player. After pressing play, she returned to her seat next to me on the bed while Jack sprawled out at our feet and Rian sat on the beanbag at the foot of the bed.

Halfway through the second movie Rian and I were the only ones awake. Emma’s head rested on Jack’s stomach as his legs dangled off the side of my bed. I watched Emma’s chest rise and fall for a few moments, the movie simply background to me, before I jumped from the bed. “I need something to drink. Want anything, Ri?”

“I’ll come with you,” he offered, following me down the stairs to the kitchen. As I pulled two soda cans from the refrigerator, Rian leaned against the counter. “So, anything you feel like sharing?” he asked offhandedly.

“No?” I asked more than stated, confused by the question.

“You and Ems have seemed pretty close recently,” he commented.

“She’s my best friend, of course we’re close.”

“So you’re telling me you flirt with all of your friends?” he asked with a hint of a smirk.

“Well,” I hedged, wanting the conversation to change. “I do flirt with Jack, a lot. What does that mean?” I asked with my eyebrows raised in humor.

“Okay. Fine, don’t tell me.”