"Be my, be my valentine," he sang as he strummed the upbeat chorus.
"I think I'm in love," Jill crooned drunkenly beside me, throwing her arms around my neck and laying her head on my shoulder.
"Do they breed them to be like that?" Casey cooed on the other side.
I hadn't even noticed they'd followed me. I quickly closed the door and knocked hard to warn Sara of our presence―but I think she may have heard us.
"Sara, you need to get out here," Casey yelled obnoxiously, knocking harder. "Jill's breaking the rules big time."
Sara opened the door wide enough to be seen, but kept Jared concealed in the background.
"Shoot her," Casey demanded in her intoxicated enthusiasm, pointing to Jill. "She's breaking the rules. Shoot her right in the face." When Sara only looked at her in confusion, Casey grabbed my gun and shot a stream right in the middle of Jill's forehead. Jill let me go and screamed.
"I'm going to kill you," she bellowed, sending Casey down the stairs in a fit of laughter with Jill in pursuit.
Sara and I looked at each other, shaking our heads. "Hey," I finally said as casually as I could, "we're out of ice. Do you have the key to the basement?"
To my surprise Sara replied, "Yes. Let's go." She shut the door behind her and led me down the stairs. I clenched my teeth in a grimace, glancing at the door and hoping Jared didn't think she was rejecting his Valentine's ballad.
We filled up the tubs with ice, and Sara noticed the music change. She pointed to Evan accusingly, ready to pounce. He held up his hands, feigning innocence with an adorable grin on his face.
"You were in charge of the music," she spat.
"And look," he pointed to the swaying bodies, "they're dancing. Not a bad job if I do say so myself."
Sara rolled her eyes and disappeared upstairs. Evan yelled, "You're welcome," after her, and she flipped him the finger―which made us both laugh.
"It's almost midnight," I shared, walking past him, wanting to touch him so bad it hurt.
"Don't worry," he promised, "it'll happen." I grinned and kept walking into the crowd.
The rule that Sara was most adamant about enforcing was that no one was allowed onto the deck that overlooked the enclosed pool and hot tub. They were deemed instant aphrodisiacs, with the waterfall built into the rocks at the far end of the pool and the rolling bubbles of the hot tub. She kept the lights off, so as not to tempt the hormone driven drunkards.
I caught a glimpse of lights coming from the forbidden space and groaned in frustration―not wanting to be the person to kick them out. I waved Evan over and continued onto the deck as he cut through the dance floor to follow me.
The pool was surrounded by what resembled a green house, panes of glass arching over a cut stone floor. In the summer, it retracted away from the house to become an outdoor pool. In the winter, it kept the pool in use, even though the glass was frosted over and there was snow piled up against the exterior.
I stepped out into the balmy air to find the potted trees around the pool lit with small lights, creating a romantic setting. By the pool's edge were Sara and Jared, kissing. I wanted to scream!
"No way," I fumed at the sight of them. I stormed down the stairs. She was the one who made up these asinine rules, and within an hour of Jared's arrival she was going to break them?! Not on my watch!
Before Sara even realized I was there, I exclaimed, "Rule breaker!" and shoved her. Jared tried to recover their balance, but it was too late; they plummeted into the blue water. Sara came up for air, gasping.
"What the fuck?" she stared at me in shock, her hair slicked back and her red lips smeared.
Evan started laughing, which made Jared start. A smile crept on my face, and I joined in. The commotion brought spectators out onto the deck.
"You are so dead," Sara threatened without sincerity. Before she could lift herself out of the pool, Evan swept me into the water alongside him. This set off a chain reaction, and bodies began plunging in after us.
When I surfaced, I found Evan in front of me, smiling proudly. He pulled me toward the rocks, away from the splashing and jumping. I held onto the side of the pool, my weighted boots threatening to pull me under as Evan wiped my lipstick off with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Told you I'd kiss you by midnight," he grinned, pulling me toward him. His lips encased mine. I could taste the chlorine of the water and feel the warmth of his breath. I gripped his shirt and pulled him closer, feeling his hand glide along the skin of my back. He turned me so that my back was against the pool's wall, placing his hands on either side of me, pushing himself against me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and his hand ran along my thigh. My heart raced and I couldn't breathe, the flitters capturing the air from my lungs.