“So nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much,” Jodi gushed.

“It’s great to finally meet you,” Shea said, as Elli just stood by grinning.

“And this is her husband, Derrick. He looks mean, but he’s a teddy bear,” Elli said, rubbing the man’s large belly. When he broke out in a huge smile, Shea could breathe. The dude was huge!

They shook hands, just as the doorbell rang again.

“Walter and Trice are here! Y’all can head into the kitchen, Harper and Jakob are in there,” Elli said, going to the door, as Jodi beamed back at her.

“Two boyfriends in one day, it’s my Christmas wish come true.” Jodi gushed. Shea chuckled as the couple made their way into the kitchen. Elli then opened the door to two blonde haired men. One was wearing a pink jacket while the other wore a nice tailored black one.

“Hey guys, come on in.”

The guys came in, grinning over at Elli.

“I mean, goodness, Elli, you look fantastical! Radiant!” one of the guys said, while the heavier one nodded his head.

“You do, darlin’!”

“Thanks guys! Shea,” both men turned to look at Shea, looking him over as Elli went on with the introductions, “this is Trice and Walter. Trice runs the makeup department at the TPAC, while Walter is the backstage director. Guys, this is Shea,” she said, while the guys took turns taking Shea’s hand in theirs.

“Well, aren’t you perfect for our Elli? Just the way she described you. It’s nice to meet you,” Trice said. Shea nodded as he smiled broadly.

“Same here, thank you,” he said, as Elli took his hand in hers.

“Y’all ready to eat? I’ve been cooking all night!”

Everyone made their way into the dining as Shea and Elli carried all the food in, placing it in the middle of the table that Elli had made into a wonderland.

She had actually dusted fake snow down the middle, with little Santas, snowmen, reindeer, and stars everywhere. The girl loved Christmas, something else he never knew. After placing all the food for everyone to dig in, Elli and Shea sat down and dinner started. The food was amazing, but what Shea found surprising was how easy he fit in with Elli’s friends.

He was nervous about Trice and Walter, since he didn’t really know any homosexuals, but the guys were funny as all hell and Shea enjoyed their stories of the terrible actress they were currently dealing with. Jodi and Derrick were so different that they worked; Derrick was calm, while Jodi was a firecracker that loved the dramatics. Shea was certain the girl would break out in song at any minute. Derrick talked a lot about his job as a teacher at one of the prestigious private high schools in the city, and since Shea’s parents were also educators, they had a lot to talk about. Shea could see why Elli loved these people so much, they were all great.

When Jodi stood, clanking the side of her glass, everyone stopped talking, bringing their attention to the cute little blonde.

“I just want to make a toast to Elli. The food is divine, honey, and I don’t think any of us could disagree on the fact that Shea is amazing.” Elli turned deep red as she smiled at Shea, while everyone agreed, holding their glasses up. “Also, I would like to say that I never thought I would see the day when Harper Allen would have a boyfriend, or be moving in with the boyfriend. So here’s to you, Jakob, for taming the crazy bitch!”

Everyone stated laughing as Jakob kissed Harper’s glaring face, but Jodi didn’t sit down, and when the tears welled up in her eyes, Elli stood, but Jodi shook her head, stopping Elli in her tracks.

“We’re all in such good places right now, and this is the best time to tell everyone, don’t you think Derrick?”

Jodi looked down at Derrick and he smiled, taking her hand in his, “We’re pregnant, guys!”

Shea, Jakob, and Derrick were then left at the table as everyone hugged, gushed, and shrieked over Jodi, congratulating her as they rubbed her belly. Derrick shook his head before smiling over at the guys.

“They act like I didn’t do anything.”

Jakob and Shea had to laugh at that.

After dinner with Elli yelling at everyone to leave the dishes alone because she would do them later, they all gathered in the living room. Elli had Shea move the coffee table into the bedroom, since she said they needed more room. Shea didn’t know what for, but he did what she asked anyways.

“Is Jakob gonna be able to play?” Jodi asked. Jakob looked up from his cake to Jodi then Harper.

“Probably not. I don’t know, we can try. I’m the best here anyways so I’ll carry him if I need to,” Harper said with a smug grin. Elli rolled her eyes.

“We all know I’m the best, so shut it!” Elli said laughing.

“Whatever, I smoke y’all every time!” Trice added.

“What are we playing?” Shea asked. Elli smiled.

“You’ve seen Pulp Fiction right?”

“Yeah.”

“You know the dancing part?”

“Yeah,” he said, getting more worried by the minute.

“We do that,” she giggled as she handed a dry erase board to everyone. Shea just looked up at her confused.

“Okay, so we pull two names from the hat, then a song. The two people get up, the song starts, and they start dancing.”

Shea raised an eyebrow, she had to be kidding.

“Now the point of the game is to not smile. If you do, you get points taken off each time. One person keeps up with how many points you lose while the others score you, then we deduct, and then we have your final score.”