You love smores. Your mouth is now watering for them, but the key ingredient has been spread across your beautiful back deck. “Niiiiicccckkk,” you try to wine, though it’s not too convincing because you’re still kind of laughing.
“Here,” he chokes through his mouthful of mallows with a shrug. He picks up a couple of mallows off the ground and wipes them on his shirt – as if something he pulled off his bedroom floor this morning is going to make it any cleaner. It sounds like he says, “Still good, see?”
You crinkle up face, is he really going to – yup, he is… Nick shoves the mallows in his still-full mouth and though you’re obviously a little disturbed, he grins triumphantly, “NINE!” is his muffled cry. “I WIN!”
Brian looks down at the soiled snacks and you wonder if he’s brave enough to follow suit. He thinks about it for a moment and then squishes the remaining marshmallows in his mouth into his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a chipmunk. “I forfeit.”
You all laugh again, but then everyone realizes that Kevin’s roasting the only edible marshmallow – he’s good too. It’s clear he’s had some training, and your mouth begins to water again at the sight of the perfectly golden-brown morsel. Your disappointment is obvious as the mallow is packed between chocolate and gram crackers. “Nicholas Gene Carter!” you threaten in the ‘I mean business’ voice that you’ve acquired since Kevin stopped attending recording sessions and rehearsals. “It’s my birthday, and if there is not a new bag of marshmallows in my hand soon, we’re going to play a nice game of smear the queer, only there won’t be any need for a ball!”
“But…” he starts to protest until Kevin gives him that look of his.
Nick disappears into the house without any further argument, and once he’s gone you and the guys all burst into laughter. “You’ve really got to teach me how to do that Kev,” you say, throwing your arm over his shoulder.
Kevin hands you the most perfect smore you’ve ever seen in your life. “Happy birthday, Howie.”
“Aww, you shouldn’t have,” you tease, but you happily accept the gift.
You eat your treat and then join Kevin, AJ, and Brian in the hot tub again, where you stay until Nick returns. After changing back into his swimsuit, he joins the party on the patio with a new bag of marshmallows. “I can’t believe I just had to drive all the way into the Valley for a bag of stupid marshmallows,” he grumbles as he shuts the back door behind him.
Realizing he left the roasting sticks on the kitchen counter, he turns around only to find that the door is locked. You think for a moment but you quickly realize that you are now locked out and there is no way off the secluded deck that hangs over the side of the mountain you live on. You try to jimmy the door open, but with everyone in their swimwear, there’s not a credit card among you. There’s not a cell phone either, so since you are not about to have your wife kill you for breaking the large picture window in the family room in order to get inside, you are now stuck with two options.
Brave the night, with your buddies on the back porch until your wife returns in the morning, or try to climb over the back railing and make your way barefoot down the side of the mountain to the nearest phone.
If you’re brave enough to venture a night hike in nothing but your trunks, skip to chapter 10.
If singing Cumbyiah around the fire pit till morning sounds like a better idea, skip to chapter 8.
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Skin created by Kali & edited by Karen.