Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

Ariana tried to speak, but her throat felt constricted, dry. She nodded, wiping her sweaty palms on her wool

pants.

"What the fuck are you doing here, man?" Thomas demanded, resting his forearms on his knees as Eli

dropped down next to him on the bench. "Better question is, what are you two doing here?" Eli flashed his

familiar, impish grin. "Just hanging out," Thomas said warily, catching Ariana's eye. "Ariana had to stay

behind for a couple days to finish up some things." "I bet," Eli snorted, letting his eyes linger on Ariana. "So

really, what are you doing here?" she asked quickly.

"Needed a break, so I trained in from Greenwich," he replied, stretching his arms over his head. "Evil

stepsister number two is getting hitched next week, and if I had to sit around the house and hear one more

screaming phone call to the florist, I was gonna lose it." He pulled something from his jacket pocket and

rolled it between his fingers, examining it carefully. Ariana tried not to look obvious as she craned her neck a

little to see what it was. A joint. "Thought I'd come over to campus and hang out. Didn't know you two were

already staked out here." He smirked, giving his wiry curls a shake. He picked up one of the votives and held

it to the end of the joint. He inhaled deeply, then paused. A sickeningly sweet smell hovered around him.

"Shame they're tearing this place down." "Yeah," Thomas said vaguely. "Shame." Ariana thought she saw

the beginnings of a smile in his eyes, but she wasn't sure. She had the sudden urge to tell Eli to leave. She'd

gotten a taste of what being with Thomas was like, and she wanted more. Craved more. Her body still

throbbed with anticipation, restless energy. She wanted Thomas alone. She needed to find out what could

happen.

Eli passed the joint to Thomas. He closed his eyes and brought it to his lips. Ariana felt her body tensing.

Would Thomas rather get high with Eli than spend time with her? He should have been thinking of ways to

get Eli to leave. A spark of anger flared up inside of her. Why did the men in her life always put her second?

Her father, Daniel, Thomas. Why did she never come first? "Ariana?" Thomas held the joint in her direction.

And just like that her irritation melted. He was still thinking of her, including her. Only she had never smoked

before. It had never quite seemed her. But who the hell knew who she was, what she could do? Didn't just

being here prove that?

"Why not?" she said casually, taking the joint from Thomas and praying she would do it right. She pinched

the joint between her thumb and index finger and inhaled, just like Eli and Thomas had done. Her lungs

burned, and she doubled over in a coughing fit. She could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment, and tears

sprang to her eyes.