“You have to choose a character first. Then we pick a song and you push the colored buttons on the guitar as they go by on the screen. I’m going to play the drums.” Rubio seemed excited and I didn’t understand it. I’d never considered myself socially retarded until that moment.

I chose a bearded rocker as my character and got a feel for the toy guitar in my hands. At the very least, I felt less awkward having something to do. Rubio selected his character and proceeded to the song list.

“What’s the name of our band?”

“Sophia picked it. We’re The Sex Rifles.” He laughed. “She thought it was more gangster than The Sex Pistols.” I didn’t know who The Sex Pistols were, but I could appreciate Livvie’s sense of humor.

“Ooh, yes! I want to play.” Claudia squealed as she joined us in the living room. I looked around for Livvie and didn’t see her. Please don’t leave me alone with both of them.

“Where’s L-Sophia?” I just stopped myself from saying Livvie and was glad the pair of them were too busy fitting Claudia with a bass guitar.

“Sophia! Come play!” Claudia yelled at an obnoxious level. I must have made a face because she responded to me. “Get used to it, gorgeous man. If you’re going to be part of our group, you’re going to have to handle our rude-ass behavior. There’s no room for politeness in a family.” She winked at me. I smiled.

“You startled me is all; I don’t think you’re rude.” Really, she was very rude. If she weren’t Livvie’s friend, I’d have shown her some manners. Alas, I had promised Livvie I was done torturing people who didn’t like it. And as for family, she was really talking to the wrong person.

Livvie walked in and the happiness I saw on her face melted me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her so happy. It made me jealous of her friends. I’d given up my whole fucking life to be with her and she never looked that happy with me. She walked up to me and fiddled with the strap of the guitar.

“Well, look at you. You making nice, Sexy?” She rose up on her toes and puckered her lips. I bent down and accepted her kiss without thinking.

“I have a name, you know.”

She grinned.

“I remember, Sexy.” She turned and reached for the controller and the microphone. “Dinner is ready, so we can only do one or two songs and then we should eat.”

“The food is so good, Rubi. I’m glad you met me instead of Sophia first. I’ll never make you anything that good,” Claudia said.

“What you give me is better than food,” Rubio replied evenly. He kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and she blushed. I gained a little respect for them both. Their love was obvious and I hoped that one day Livvie and I could have what they did… without the skinny jeans… or the reminder we met under horrendous circumstances.

I felt a tap against my ass. Livvie was giving me some serious “come fuck me” eyes.

“You ready to play, Sexy? Make sure you set it to easy so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Some of my anxiety fell away.

“And you better remember who you’re talking to, or else I’ll have to remind you.”

“Oh, I look forward to it.” She squeezed my ass. I shook my head and laughed. “Okay, I’m gonna do ‘Eye of the Tiger’.”

“You always do that one,” Claudia whined.

“Shut up! When it’s your turn to sing, you can pick the song. Don’t embarrass me in front of Sexy. I want him to marvel at how talented I am,” Livvie said.

“You should let him read your smut. I bet he’d love that.” Claudia made claws out of her fingers and scratched at the air in a motion no one in their right mind would think is sexy but was supposed to be.

“Is that what you’re always writing on your laptop?” I smiled wide, knowing I was going to get my hands on Livvie’s laptop at my earliest opportunity. Livvie looked ashen for a second.

“It’s nothing. Forget it. Let’s play already.”

“Oh come on, Sophia. It’s so good.” She turned to me. “It’s about this girl who—”

“Claudia!” Livvie said seriously and glared.

“Fine. Okay, let’s play,” Claudia said sarcastically.

My interest was piqued before, but I became like a dog with a bone after Livvie’s reaction. I would be asking questions later, that much was certain. For the moment, I decided to focus on the plastic guitar in my hands and pushing the right buttons. It was a good thing my mind is so quick, because even on medium I was having a tough time keeping up with the rush of colors going across the screen.

The intro seemed to take forever, but once Livvie began singing I found myself swept up in the game. Livvie’s voice was beautiful, raspy and powerful. She seemed filled with so many talents I didn’t know about. I wanted to know all there was to know about her. I fleetingly wondered what talents I possessed that could possibly compare with hers. She turned toward me during an instrumental section.

“You’re doing good! I suck at guitar.”

I winked at her.

“Trying to concentrate, Pet. If you don’t mind.”

“Ha! Play on, rock star, don’t let me stop you.” She went back to belting the chorus and I wondered how her lungs were capable of holding so much air.

Finally, the song ended and I skated through the round with a seventy-five percent success rate. The rest of the band scored in the nineties and Livvie the highest with ninety-nine percent. A fact she wouldn’t stop gloating about. I’d never seen Livvie so smug, and I felt my chest expand with something akin to pride at seeing some of my own mannerisms in her. We’d come so far, and I was oddly desperate to see where we could go.

Claudia sang next. Her softer, more lyrical voice did well with “Nine in the Afternoon.” I had a hard time keeping up with the guitar but seemed to be out-performing Livvie, who was attempting to play bass with her entire body. Her tongue was out as she concentrated on the screen, paying no attention to the way I stared at her every chance I had.

After Claudia finished her song and everyone laughed at my sixty-two percent accuracy (Livvie only had sixty-five, and why they chose to only make fun of me, I’ll never know—bastards), the decision was made to sit down to dinner. Livvie’s table wasn’t large enough for all the food and guests, so we served ourselves in the kitchen and brought our plates to the table. It was all so strange to me. I felt a bit like an outsider, even if I’d literally been closer to Livvie than either of her friends.

Once everyone was seated, I picked up my fork, eager to get into the turkey and stuffing when Livvie stayed my hand. I looked at her and purposely growled. She only smiled and patted my hand.

“Not yet, Sexy. It’s Thanksgiving. We have to go around and say what we’re thankful for.”

“I’d be thankful if we could eat,” I muttered. I put my fork down and looked around the table. They were all smiling at me. It was creepy. Believe me—I know creepy.

“Sophia, it’s your house. You should go first.” Rubio suggested.

“Okay,” Livvie said and took a deep breath. “Well, first, I want to say I’m thankful for the food. I can’t wait to eat it. But, more importantly… I’m thankful that I’m here at all.” She swallowed, and the sight of her eyes becoming wet with unshed tears made me want to tell everyone to leave so I could kiss her into forgetting everything she was feeling. Instead, I had to sit and pretend I wasn’t the villain in Livvie’s life. “It’s been a difficult year for me. Last year I spent Thanksgiving alone. I didn’t know where I was going with my life or what I wanted out of it anymore. I was… heartbroken and miserable.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

“Sophia....” Claudia reached for Livvie across her boyfriend’s chest. Livvie smiled.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mean to cry. It’s just… this year, I have two of the greatest friends a girl could ask for, an apartment of my own—in Spain! And I…” She looked toward me, and damn it I could feel myself getting caught up in her emotions. “I have you. I have a place to belong. I have a family that loves me. I’m deeply grateful for that. I don’t know where I’d be without it.” She wiped at her cheek and shook herself. “Eww, sorry to get all emo. I just love you fuckers, that’s all. Someone else go now.”