Chapter 12

"Do you come here often?"

The group walked into the bar, Hooked On A Feeling playing on the radio. There were a few people milling around ordering drinks and food, talking to each other, generally having a good time. None of them seemed self conscious, which meant that they probably felt at home here. Gloria felt like she was intruding.

“Alec!” The bartender shouted above the din of voices and music. “Man, I could use a bit of help, you came at just the right time!”

“Dude, you know I’m not here to work, I’m here to celebrate the first week of the semester! You know how it is.” Alec nodded back, heading towards the back of the building.

“I’ll give you 40% of the tips if you help out! Come on, I’m drowning!-” he turned to a middle aged woman standing in front of him “Yes, Mary, how can I help you?” he asked in a much quieter voice meant for customers and not friends.

Alec rolled his eyes. “Ok, Ashton, you’re on fun duty. I expect everyone to be having a blast by the time I get back,” He headed over to the bar and put on a waist apron.

Mr. Blue Sky came on the radio, and Gloria couldn’t help but bob her head to the music. Aquila raised an eyebrow. “Not such a bad place, is it?” She asked.

“Hey, don’t make my love for Mr. Blue Sky a sign of my overall enjoyment. It’s Mr. Blue Sky, you gotta dance,”

Aquila smirked as she turned and walked to the back of the bar with Ashton and the rest of the gang. Gloria followed so she wouldn’t have to be left among strangers, to find a ping pong table and sparring dummies in the back of the room.

Gloria raised her own eyebrow. “Uh, What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s part of initiation, apparently. I haven’t seen them used, but Alec and Ashton couldn’t stop laughing at how silly they can get.”

“Ok,” Ashton projected to the small group of five. “The game is simple. Beer pong, then you have to fight the sparring dummy. Whoever is the winner at the end of the night gets bragging rights and a choice for a movie at the theater next weekend!"

Arhun and Maria gave a short Woo! and Gloria saw the glint of a flask sticking out of her back pocket. She’d started drinking already? Where had she gotten the alcohol? Timothy and Miranda were very strict about no casual drinking in the house and there was no open alcohol.

“Ok, in preparation, I’ve made up a chart of who will play who, starting out, and then we’ll move forward! First up is Aquila and Maria!” Ashton gestured to the table where colorful plastic cups had been placed and alcohol had been poured.

“First up is Aquila and Maria. Ladies, in your own time, play!” Ashton presented.

“Wow, I haven’t done this since that party in highschool. I wonder if I’ve still got it?” Maria said to herself.

Aquila looked at Arhun. “What do you think my chances are?” she asked.

“You have good finger dexterity from painting, but I’m not sure you’ll beat her in hand eye coordination.” he answered, solemnly.

Aquila eyed Maria from the other side of the table, weighing her odds.

“May I go first?” Maria asked.

“Be my guest,” Aquila said coolly.

Maria got the ball in on the first shot, and Aquila took the drink. She then missed the next shot, but so did Maria. Finally Aquila scored a point, but Maria still had her beat.

Almost as if she had a sixth sense about it, Maria put a ball in Aquila’s last cup, eliminating her.

“Maria wins the round!” Ashton said above the din of the numerous conversations that were being held. “Next up is Arhun and Gloria.”

Gloria passed Aquila as she took her place at the end of the table. “Eh, you did your best,” Gloria said.

“I swear, I don’t know how, but that didn’t feel fair.”

“You just don’t like losing.” Gloria assured, patting her arm.

“I don’t like losing to Maria,” she said, going to play foosball.

Gloria took her first shot, missing. The game was long though, so anyone could still win. No need to get discouraged.

Arhun’s first ball splashed into her cup, and she took a dutiful drink, spiked punch. At least it didn’t taste bad.

The game progressed with Gloria and Arhun gaining points and losing cups. It may have been the alcohol, but when Arhun was down to one cup left, Gloria felt confident enough to close her eyes and try. Miraculously, she got the shot, and won!

“In a great show of ballsy confidence, Gloria has won the round! Next up, Alec and myself!”

Ashton and Alec took their places, and like a pro Ashton’s first shot splashed into Alec’s cup.

“I should have spiked these harder,” Alec said as he drank. “Would make for a more interesting evening,”

“Not every social occasion needs booze,” Ashton said as a ball splashed into his cup. “That’s how accidents happen,”

“I think we’ve both learned from our mistakes,” Alec countered. He watched as Gloria made her way out of the room and rounded the corner to play foosball with Aquila, a twinkle in his eye.

“I don’t think we both have learned,” Ashton said as a ball splashed into Alec’s cup and he gave a celebratory whoop.

“Oh, no more accidents are coming my way. From here on, everything is intentional,” Alec said as he raised his cup and chugged it down.

Down to a cup each, Alec threw the ball and it sailed like a small bird into Ashton’s cup. “Yes!” he exclaimed.

Ashton’s face sank, and after he’d cleared his throat of drink he raised his voice and announced “Alec has won the round! Next up is Gloria and Maria!”

Before Gloria had even taken her place, Maria sank a ball into one of her cups. “Way to jump the gun, Maria,” she grumbled, walking to the end of the table, passing Alec.

Gloria threw a ball and it woefully missed.

Maria’s ball did not. Gloria was now down two cups, and Maria had all four.

“Oh, would you look at that?” Maria asked, and Gloria had to remember that they were here to have fun and develop comradery, not worry about winning a game.

Gloria missed again, but Maria, ever the eagle eye, didn’t. Gloria drank her penalty, and managed to take out one of Maria’s cups, but then she lost her last cup.

Ashton stepped over from the foosball table. “Oh, looks like Maria won that one pretty quickly! Next up is Alec and Maria!”

Gloria teared up, suddenly emotional. She hated losing, and loss at the hands of Maria felt even worse.

She stepped away from the table, and Arhun came over and gave her a big, brief hug. “You did your best! That’s the best thing you could try and do.”

“Thanks, Arhun,” Gloria said, sniffling.

Maria won the next round losing only one of her cups. “Yes! We’re watching StrangeTown Massecar next week at the theater!” she cheered.

Gloria groaned. She didn’t like horror movies, especially bloody ones.

“I need a drink,” she grumbled, stepping away from the group. Alec shimmied his way through the group, joining her and walking to the bar.

Before they reached the bar, Alec touched Gloria’s shoulder and stood between her and the bar. “Before you get wasted to hide your shame, would you like to play foosball? I’m pretty good, and it’s more strategy than beer pong,”

“I swear, I wasn’t cheating!” they heard Maria exclaim from behind them, interrupting Aquila and Ashton’s game. “I just got lucky!”

“Lucky? You won more than the rest of us and had to drink half as much! You were too sober for it to be fair!” Aquila shouted back, clearly in her cups.

“We’d better diffuse the situation,” Gloria arched her eyebrow, coming over to the group and hugging Aquila. “Come on, I think it’s time you take a nap. Drink some water,”

“We are commandeering this table!” Alec said, his words not slurring at all. He took his place at the table as Gloria let go of her friend.

“I think I’m going to get some water and go up stairs where it’s a bit quieter,” Aquila said, moving away.

“I’ll join you,” Arhun was at her shoulder in a moment, walking with her and making a crack joke, making her laugh.

“I think you’re going to lose that bet of ours,” Gloria grinned as Alec tossed the ball into the table.

“I’m not so sure,”

“What bet?” Maria asked, peering over his shoulder at the game.

“It’s a bet between Gloria and I, nothing we can tell you about. You could blab about it and then it would be spoiled.” Alec answered. He was good at making it seem that the bet wasn’t about her.

“I wouldn’t blab!” Maria said a bit too loud. “I would never! You can trust me- tell me.”

“Get lost, Maria!” Alec laughed, nudging her with his foot.

Alec artfully put the ball straight into Gloria’s goal, and she fumed for a moment before grabbing the handles again. They played 5 rounds, and Gloria lost each and every one.

“How are you doing that!?” Gloria shouted, earning some looks from other patrons. It was late in the night at this point, and the music was playing low.

“What do you think I spend all of my extra time on while I’m at the fellowship? Beer pong and foosball.”

“So I had no hope of winning?” Gloria tried to let the anger roll off of her.

“Well, we both saw how lucky Maria got at beer pong, I could have gotten doubly unlucky tonight and lost to a rookie at foosball, too.” he winked. “No one else I would have rather lost to either.”

“Oh, I’m flattered,” Gloria mockingly placed her hands over her heart. She remembered what Aquila had said about Alec liking her, and she knew she shouldn’t encourage him, but she felt like she couldn’t help it. Like the responses were the most natural thing in the world. Like being led in a dance.

“I think I owe you that drink though, you deserve it.” He motioned.

“I think you’re right!” she laughed, making way for him as she moved to the bar.

~*~

“So, do you come here often?” he asked, yawning and stretching his arm closest to her up and over his head, stretching to his right and past Gloria’s shoulders. His hand landed on her shoulder and she felt a flurry of butterflies erupt from where he touched her. She eyed the hand, breath catching in her throat. She turned to look into his brown eyes and stubbly beard.

Her stomach felt like a fizzing bottle and she leaned in, closing the distance between them. Alec put his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him, making her gasp. She knew he wanted this just as much as she did, had wanted it since they’d said hello, and she pulled him closer with a hand on his bicep. The cotton of his shirt under her fingers was a soft weave. He smelled like mint and cologne, of open spaces and growing things.

“I want this,” he said as the texture of his shirt changed to the feeling of bear skin, the air colder. His hand cupped the back of her head as they kissed, holding her close and secure. She felt exhilarated. “Do you want this?”

Gloria placed her other hand around him, pulling him closer to her, feeling him smile against her lips. “Yes,” she murmured as one of her hands fished for the shower curtain, pulling it open, the hot water already running and steaming the air.

She took his hand in both of hers, nearly making him stumble as she pulled him in.

Gloria woke up feeling horrible. Her stomach flipped like a pancake, her head ached and pounded she was sick at sea, and her heart felt heavy. What had she done? What had she let sprout?

I'm using a new font, hope you all don't mind! Let me know if you like this font better or if you want me to go back to the previous one.

This chapter I directed the sims, but I had freewill on too, so there were lots of bloopers! Please enjoy them.

^There's a perfectly good dining room and living room on the first floor, but Gloria chose to eat her cereal in the upstairs hallway...

^ I don't have sisters, but this is what I'd imagine it'd be like. Lots of dramatic conversations in the bathroom.

^Just gonna look up at the flowers. Ok.

^Yep, you guys keep having fun, I'll just be pinned behind the door... No trouble.

^I love their expressions. Aquila seems like she's hardly putting up with being talked to, Gloria is smug, Alec is explaining something, Maria and Ashton both show surprise in varying degrees. In reality, Gloria had just lit a fire form the other room using magic and they were all surprised.

^I ended up not using the training dummies. It was a lot to keep track of and I didn't want to complicate my playing. I'm still not 100% sure how they work.