7pm

"Do you like my outfit?" I ask, stepping into the living room where Zach is sitting on the sofa.

When I spin around, causing my dress to elegantly fly in the wind and flatter my bare legs, Zach stands up and comes across while sizing me up.

"You look incredible, baby," he whispers before leaning down for a gentle kiss. His hands land on my ass where he starts kneading it through the thin fabric of my dress.

I chose a sage-colored off the shoulder dress with long, tiered puff sleeves and a little matching tie around the waist. It ends midway down my thighs, so it's rather short, but doesn't look slutty.

"I like the color. It matches your eyes," Zach mumbles and brushes a kiss on my exposed shoulder before twirling a lose strand of my hair around his finger. "And your hair looks beautiful that way."

With a beaming smile, I lift my hand and adjust the hair clip I used to create some kind of messy bun. I pulled out a few wisps of hair which now softly hug my face. Except for the infinity bracelet I got from Zach, I didn't put on any jewellery, because I simply was too lazy. Besides, I love to place the focus on that beautiful little piece.

I take a step back and let my eyes roam over Zach's body. His outfit is casual as always with black ripped jeans and a plain white t-shirt. It's simple and still he looks so damn handsome. His defined but not too present muscles are lightly showing and also his tattoos are shining through his t-shirt.

"You look beautiful too, Zach," I state with a warm smile, earning a tender look from Zach.

Just in that second, the doorbell rings out, making us both jump.

"Ooh, that must be my family," I squeak, causing Zach to chuckle.

Ripping open the door, I directly throw myself into the arms of my mother and hug her tightly.

"Mom, I missed you so damn much," I murmur and feel a tear running down my cheek as I breathe in her soothing scent.

A lot has happened since I last saw her. Franco's death, Zach's and my break-up as well as our reunion, the return of my father, and to top it, I had to face all these things alone. I mean, of course, my friends were by my side and now that we're back together, Zach is there for me too and helps me getting through my shit, but the care and support of my mother is something what gives me comfort in a way nobody else can.

"Oh, honey, I missed you too," my mother croaks out and strokes my back. "We all did!"

After a moment, I pull away, wiping away my tears and look behind my mom where Logan and Jude are waiting for their turn to greet me.

Logan comes over first, placing a kiss on my forehead, and tells me how good it is to see
me again and particularly to see me happy. After my stepdad, Jude approaches me.

"Hey sis!" He quickly hugs me and then grins behind me. "Yo, Zach!"

Well, I guess, I'm written off now due to my boyfriend. Amazing!

"Hey, buddy!" Zach comes over and gives my brother a fist bump before turning to my mom, brushing a light kiss on her cheek. "Good to see you, Callie!"

"Oh boy," my mum sighs with a slightly reproachful undertone. "You caused some huge drama in my daughter's life. I hope you've learned from this."

"Mom!" I roll my eyes and shake my head with a soft laugh, but Zach places his hand on my shoulder and stops me from talking.

"It's okay, Liv," he says before facing my mom again. "I know I've been a fool, Callie, and I truly regret hurting your daughter. I really do."

Mom eyes Zach for a second and then tilts her head. "I hope it won't happen again!"

"It won't. I promise. I have now understood that I was wrong with my way of thinking." He shoots me a tender glance which I return.

After giving him one last skeptical look, my mom smiles contentedly and nods, opening her arms for him. "Good. Now come here!"

With a surprised laugh, Zach hugs her before shaking hands with Logan.

My family is staying in a little b&b just a few minutes away from our apartment, and the best thing is, they only leave on Monday, so I finally get to spend some more time with them again. I can't wait to hear how they have been lately.

After showing them around, we talk about their accommodation and their flight for a while until the other guests begin to show up.

Nora, Sadie, Hailey, Abbey, Liam, and Ben arrive together closely followed by Jake. Theo is the last one showing up and rings the bell shortly after Jake. As soon as I open the door for him, he holds out a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers, smiling broadly into my face.

"I thought, they fit you better than some boring roses or tulips," he states with a wink, earning a light chuckle from me.

I mean, he's right, I indeed love wildflowers. Much more than roses or any other flowers. I love the imperfection and the diversity of them and how they fit into nearly any room.

"Oh, look at those nice flowers." Zach steps behind me and skeptically eyes the bouquet in my hands. "Thanks, Theo. How thoughtful of you."

He pats Theo's shoulder and then gently but also slightly forcefully pulls me into the apartment.

"Zach, stop acting like an idiot. He's just being nice," I hiss and release from his grip to focus my attention to Theo, very much to Zach's displeasure. Well, taste something of your own medicine, Zachy.

I give him a sugary smile, batting my eyelashes, and put the bouquet into his hands. "Baby, could you water the flowers, please?"

With a wry smile, Zach disappears towards the kitchen, leaving me alone with Theo who smirks in amusement but whatever he has on his mind, he keeps it to himself. I lead him into the living room and introduce him to the others. Nora checks him out before giving him a flirty smile which he returns. Abbey and I exchange some knowing glances watching them two. We both know Nora and that she always gets the guy she wants. Let's see what this evening will bring.

"Oh my god, Livie, I love this place!" Hailey wraps her arm around my shoulder. "It gives away massive vintage vibes. And the rooftop terrace. Gosh, I wish I had a place like this."

Giggling softly, I shake my head, thinking of Hailey's apartment which is beautiful as well. She inherited it from her granddad and it's quite big and located in a much more elegant neighborhood.

I smile as I look around. But she's right. This place is amazing and charming. The decoration we bought is plain and simple and mainly white. I hung up a few white garlands and fairy lights to provide a cozy atmosphere. We pushed the dining table against the wall and spread out an off-white linen tablecloth on which we placed all the in bowls filled snacks.

Zach and I spent yesterday's entire evening creating a playlist which meets everyone's desire and I honestly think we did a great job. It's a mishmash of oldies like Queen, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, and rather modern music such as like Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Ed Sheeran. We even added a bit of rap like Mac Miller, Eminem, and Macklemore to the playlist and finally a tiny tad of heavy metal from Metallica to make sure there is something for all tastes and moods.

Before I turn on the music to get the party started, Zach and I prepare some drinks for our guests and then position us in front of the table to have a little speech, both a drink in our hands as well.

"Okay, listen up, everyone," Zach calls out, wrapping his arm around me, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Fuck, this is weird! Anyways, we just want to say a quick thank you for coming and for helping us moving all of Liv's stuff here. I'm not good at speeches, so start partying now."

Everybody laughs and we clink our glasses with our guests. Somehow, it's a strange situation for me too. It feels like such a grown-up move to throw a housewarming party with your boyfriend, and it makes our relationship many times more serious than before.

"We're freaking living together now, can you believe that?" I giggle, looking up into Zach's smiling face as soon as the people start scattering. "This whole thing feels totally unreal to me!"

"Absolutely," Zach agrees and takes a sip of his whiskey. "It's kind of scary, isn't it?"

"Yea," I breathe a sigh of relief that he feels the same before a smirk plays upon my lips. "I guess, from now on, you're stuck with me."

Zach tilts his head and brushes his knuckles over my cheek. "I won't let you go anyways and there is nothing you can do about it. Once I'm older and get saggy eggs, I'll lock you away in the cellar to make sure you won't leave me."

"Well, until then, my boobs will be saggy too!" I giggle softly, standing on my tiptoes and lean in for a tender kiss.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt your little making out session, but we have something for you," Abbey's voice pulls us out of our little moment of intimacy. She and Hailey, Nora, and Sadie are all standing in front of us, expectantly looking at us. "Since you're properly living together now, we thought you need an appropriate door sign."

Sadie holds out a wrapped gift and hands it to me and Zach.

"Open it!" she orders excitedly.

A wooden door sign is revealed as we remove the light-blue wrapping paper. We both laugh while reading what's written on the sign. It says 'Hold on, we're probably not wearing pants. Brooks & Wood'

"How fitting," Zach remarks with a broad smirk on his face. "Right, Liv?"

With rosy cheeks, I chuckle and bury my head in his chest.

"Oh, come on, Livie," Abbey exclaims, rolling her green eyes. "Everybody knows you two can't keep your hands off each other. We all heard you on my birthday when you hooked up in the restroom."

While Zach is laughing so hard I can feel his chest vibrating, my face must be red like a tomato by now as I face my friends again.

"Thanks guys, for making this awkward!" I can't help joining in their laughter. How could I even think that they haven't heard us? With Zach it's hard for me to keep quiet since he knows exactly how to ignite my body and make me lose my mind.

Once we all calmed down again, Zach and I thank the girls for the gift and clink our glasses with them.

The next hour, we mingle with our guests, dance, laugh, and have nice conversations. The atmosphere is relaxed, and everybody seems to have a good time. My mom has a gift for us too. Actually, she has two gifts. First, she hands us a cactus with the explanation that I always forget to water my plants and I could practice with the cactus, and the second one is a framed picture we took when Zach and I visited them on our Vancouver trip. On the picture we're all sitting in the living room of their cozy home and happily smile into the camera.

"We thought with that you guys won't forget all about us," my mom states as Zach and I hug her, making us both chuckle.

Half an hour later, Sadie and I are in the middle of a lively dance, the music stops. Everybody looks up, searching for the reason of the sudden silence.

"Seriously?" I ask as I spot Nora with the little karaoke machine she sometimes uses in her bar when there are parties or theme nights.

"Hey, it can't be a proper party without karaoke, darling," Nora reasons and smiles at me, showing her perfectly white teeth. "Zach, Liv, you two go first!"

Zach shakes his head in amusement but comes over and takes the microphone out of Nora's hand.

"What do you want to sing?" he asks as I step next to him.

"Uh, I have no idea," I confess, nervously looking into all the expectant faces surrounding us.

"What about 'When you say nothing at all'," Nora suggests, wriggling her eyebrows at me. "That would be fitting, don't you think?"

Abbey and the other girls are cheering loudly, so Zach and I agree.

"You'll go first," I whisper, earning a chuckle from him.

The music starts and Zach dramatically grabs my hand. I wonder how he can be that confident with things like this. But then he starts singing.

"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I may I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing"

The softness of his voice hits me. I didn't expect him to have such a nice and smooth voice. A few times before, I've heard him singing along with some songs and I knew he was able to hit the notes, but I never noticed how beautiful his singing voice actually is.

Zach holds out the microphone to me, motioning me it's my turn now. After taking a deep breath, I wrap my fingers around the black object and hold it up to my mouth to sing the refrain.

"The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best, when you say nothing at all"

My voice, however, comes out shakily and croaky and I need to hold on to Zach's eyes the entire time to have enough courage to keep singing. I hate being the center of attention, and right now all ten pairs of eyes as well as ears are on me.

The rest of the song, Zach and I sing together, never taking our eyes off each other. The longer we're standing there, the more comfortable I feel and, in the end, I almost forget about all the people watching us. We get reminded of their presence when the music stops, and everyone starts cheering and clapping wildly.

Zach leans down for a quick kiss before returning the microphone to Nora who gives us a thumbs up.

"That was amazing, guys," she states with an appreciative nod.

While Abbey and Liam go next with 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, Zach and I head for the kitchen to refill our glasses.

"I didn't know you could sing so well," I say, watching Zach mixing my second Gin Tonic for tonight. "Your voice is freaking beautiful."

"Well," Zach hands me my drink, smiling mischievously, "I have a lot more hidden talents, baby."

"Is that so?" Cocking my head, I take a sip and bat my eyelashes at him. "And that would be...?"

Zach comes closer until his body is pressed against mine and I feel the counter touching my lower back.

"I guess, you'll have to wait until the party ended to find out," he breathes against my lips, gazing at me with dark eyes while his hand reaches for my thigh. Slowly, his fingers slide under my dress, giving me goosebumps. "Unless you want me to show you right here?"

"Zach, my mom is out theroaah..." my hand shoots up, pressing against my mouth to muffle my moan as I feel his finger pressing against my clit through my panties.

"What was that?" Zach raises his eyebrow, licking his lips.

"Uh...I...Zach, please...Oh god..." My eyes flutter and I clench my teeth when Zach's fingers move my panties aside and start rubbing my damp center. "Oh shit!"

Grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt, I lean my forehead on his shoulder at the quick and the precise movements of Zach's fingers. The tingling sensation running through my body clouds my brain and lets me forget we're not alone. I hear Abbey and Liam singing their karaoke song as if through a fog but can't pay much attention to them.

"You like getting dirty in the kitchen, don't you?" Zach mutters hoarsely, teasing my earlobe with his teeth while entering me with two fingers. "Fuck..."

Thrusting fast and roughly, Zach's breathing speeds up as well. The risk of getting caught seems to turn him on as well. Just as I start to feel the approach of my orgasm, the music stops, and Hailey's voice calls out.

"Liv? Zach? There's someone at the door for you."

"Too bad." Zach chuckles and draws back his hand, leaving me all wet and frustrated. "I think that mind blowing orgasm I was about to give you has to wait until later."

He lifts his hand to his mouth, slowly taking his glistening forefinger and middle finger into his mouth. I must admit, this bold little action makes me hot even more and I press my thighs together at the sight of him sucking on his fingers. Shaking my head, I pull myself together and adjust my dress.

"I will pay you back for this," I whisper, patting his shoulder as I walk past him, a smug little smile playing on my lips at the surprised expression on Zach's face.

When I reach the hallway and look at the person standing in the open door, my jaw drops, and my eyes widen.

"Hello, princess. Long time no see!"

*****

Well, well... What do we have here? Who's at the door, what do you think?🤔

So, the party started and one (ore more?) uninvited guest(s) showed up. It won't get boring with them. Stay tuned for the second part of the party. 😏

Like always, please don't forget to vote and comment.🦋

Katie🤍