The Christmas Ornament (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 12

twelve

RUBY

“Dare,” I choose, and as soon as the word passes my lips, I instantly regret it.

Sab and I are sitting in the hot tub, drinking margaritas and giggling like schoolgirls. The pitcher is nearly empty, as is the bottle of red Sour Puss we used for shots beside it, but I’m too comfortable to climb out and make more. Only our heads are above the water, because even though the temperature is warmer today than it has been, it’s still winter and there’s a slight chill in the air. Steam billows off the bubbly water, and condensation pours out of our mouths with each breath we take. The sensible thing to do would be to take it inside, but Sab and I are anything but sensible when we get together—plus, we have margarita-brain and we all know what tequila does to sense and sensibility.

Even though it’s just the two of us, today has been great and exactly what I needed. It’s reminded me of our high school days when we’d sleep over at each other’s houses. Back then, we’d sneak wine coolers down to the boathouse and drink them quickly to get a buzz. Then we’d fall into fits of giggles while playing truth or dare, just like now .

Sab suggested we play it and I eagerly agreed because she always manages to make me laugh, but instead of chugging wine coolers quickly, we sipped on margaritas and did shots of Sour Puss.

Right now, my stomach hurts from laughing so much, and I’m well past tipsy. Our dares are getting more and more wild, and the one Sab just offered is the craziest one so far. “I dare you to jump naked into the lake.”

“Are you crazy? It’s fucking arctic out here and you want me to jump naked into the lake?”

“We’ve swum naked in the lake before,” she throws back at me.

“Yeah, in the middle of summer and in the middle of the night. Right now, it’s the middle of the day and it’s December.”

“Live a little, Rubes,” she challenges, with a look that always makes me cave to what she wants. She knows I’ve never been one to turn down a dare, and I’m not about to start now. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it?—”

“Yay,” she squeals, clapping her hands.

“But only if you do it too,” I counter offer.

“That’s not how this game goes.”

“You join me or it’s no deal.” She stares across the hot tub at me. “Please?” I beg, pouting at my best friend. “You know you want to.”

“I do not want to jump naked into the lake,” she protests but from the smile on her face, I know she’s full of shit. I eye her and then she cackles like a witch. “Okay, yeah, I do kinda want to do it. We can pretend we are at one of those Scandinavian bath thingies.”

“You are fucking crazy?—”

“And that’s why you love me.”

It’s true. I love my crazy best friend with every fiber of my being. “Okay, let’s do this. We can pretend we are at an exclusive Scandinavian bath, but if I die, my frozen naked ghost is going to haunt you forever.”

“Deal.”

Sitting up, I shiver when the frigid air hits my skin. “Fuck me,” I hiss, dropping my shoulders back under the water. The alcohol has made me think it’s warmer than what it actually is, but I’m committed now. Needing some liquid encouragement, I reach over the edge and take a sip from the nearly empty Sour Puss bottle before handing it to Sab. She empties the bottle, then she grabs the margarita pitcher and drinks straight from the jug. She takes a huge gulp and hands it over to me.

Chugging back what’s left, I place the empty pitcher down and I look over to my best friend. “Okay, let’s do this.”

We each peel off our bikini and throw the discarded material over the edge. We look at one another and begin to count. “One. Two. Three.” On three we each jump up out of the water, climb out, and hand in hand we race down to the lake. Our feet pad across the icy dock, and me being me, I slip onto my ass. Sab cackles like a bitch but offers me her hand. Once I’m upright, we make our way to the end and before I chicken out, we leap.

There’s no going back now.

Sailing through the cold frigid air, we crash into the water with an almighty splash. It feels like a million pins are stabbing me, and when I break the surface, I’m no longer holding Sab’s hand. Treading water, I look around for her but I can’t see her. Panic begins to build, but then her head pops up and she gasps for air.

“Holy fucking fuckballs,” she breathlessly pants. “It’s fucking cold.”

“Understatement of the fucking century, Sab.” My teeth are chattering, and my skin is burning from how cold it is.

“I dare you to climb out and cannonball in,” she says .

“It’s my turn to give you a dare,” I tell her.

“I partook in your dare, therefore I get two in a row.”

“What if I choose truth?”

“Okay, truth. If you could run away with anyone in the world, famous or otherwise, who would it be?”

“Okay, I’ll cannonball in.”

“You chickenshit.” She splashes me and I laugh.

“Okay, well then, to sweeten the cannonball deal, after this, I will cook you my famous lobster mac and cheese.”

“With New York cheesecake for dessert?”

“Deal,” I agree.

After shaking her hand, I swim over to the dock and lift myself up. “Fuck me. It’s even colder when you get out,” I hiss.

You’d think with the sun shining and not a cloud being in the sky, it would be warmer than it is. And I guess it is, if you’re not naked and swimming in the lake. The chatter of my teeth increases, and I’m just about to leap back in when Sab calls out, “If you do a sexy naked dance before jumping in, I will send you a case of wine a month for the next three months.”

“Make it six months and you have a deal.”

“Fine,” she relents.

Taking a deep breath, I hum along to “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails, and I begin to shake my booty and seductively—well, I hope it is—dance on the dock while freezing my tatas off. After dropping down to a squat, I leap back into the water. Once again gasping when I come up, now I’m not sure what’s colder, being in the water or being out.

“Oh my God,” Sab says with a giggle. “That was the best.”

“It was actually fun,” I tell her.

“Really?”

“Really-really.”

Before I know it, Sab climbs out and does a little dance and then jumps back in. When she surfaces, she’s laughing like a hyena but agrees it was fun. Then we decide on a duet. We both climb out. We’re singing a Backstreet Boys song when we hear the sound of a police siren.

My eyebrows raise, and I look to my best friend. She looks sheepish, and then with a giggle, she utters, “We are so fucked,” before we jump back in to cover our nakedness from the law here to arrest us.