Chapter Twenty

The expression on his face was rigid as she stepped towards him and her breath caught in her throat, her body tingling with excitement. She could feel the thud of her heartbeat in her ears as she approached him, and his lips thinned when she was only a few steps away.

"Here, the towels!" Mike said from beside them. He strolled in from the hallway and stopped before Keanu, handing him the towels. Alice stopped in her tracks, disappointment filling her.

"Thanks," Keanu said.

"Why don't you head to the restroom to continue cleaning up? I can pass you some clothes," Mike said.

"It's alright, I'll head home instead," Keanu told him.

"Are you sure? You're literally dripping."

"Doesn't matter," he said, turning around to push the front door open to let himself out.

"Wait! Just change into dry clothes!" Mike called out.

"I'll be fine!" Keanu called out without turning back. Alice watched as he pulled his wet shirt over his head again before he disappeared down the pavement to somewhere else out of their sight.

"Geez, that guy. I have no idea what he's thinking sometimes," Mike said, shaking his head, closing the front door. He turned around to look at Alice, then shrugged. "What was the hurry?"

Alice shrugged back.

"Did something happen while I was gone?" Mike asked her.

"He invited me out to that family gathering you guys are gonna have soon."

"Oh, that," Mike said. "Well, we initially agreed no kids, but Keanu wanted you there."

"Who else will be there?"

"Well, wait and see," Mike said.

When that day came, she arrived slightly late and the food was already on the long tables, joined together to fit 15 people. They were already eating and drinking, but when she came into the restaurant, her eyes immediately fell on her aunt.

"Aunt Gabby!" Alice screamed.

Her aunt launched off her seat and hopped towards Alice with arms wide open. They flew into each other's embrace, jumping up and down on the spot. She was so excited! Her aunt was always there for her when she was a kid before she had to move for her husband's job. She was like a second mom, and they always kept in contact no matter what. She missed her so much!

"Alice, you've grown so much! You look good!" Gabby exclaimed after they parted to stare at each other.

"Thank you," Alice said, smiling widely.

"Hey, Alice!" her uncle, Sam, called out, waving.

"Sam! Hey," she said.

Keanu walked towards the table, carrying a tray of beer glasses. He smiled at Alice and glanced at the far side of the table. "Alice, this is Monique, Leah, Rachel, Chloe, and Zoe. They're all younger sisters of mine."

She gawked. "That's a huge family! No brothers?"

"I'm the only one," Keanu laughed.

"One brother is enough!" Leah joked.

"Yeah, he's always butting into our problems," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I'm just taking care of you little girls," Keanu said and the group devolved into a mess of siblings bringing up past events to argue over. Alice grinned and sat down at the side of the table.

"Here, dear," Gabby said, taking a glass of beer from Keanu and passing it to her. "Drink up!"

"Oh, I'm not sure," Alice said.


"Come on! I can finally drink with you! The last time I saw you, you were still a kid."

"Okay then," Alice said, picking up the glass of beer and drinking it.

"Chug!" Monique yelled out when she saw Alice drinking.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Keanu's other sisters joined in.

Hearing the pressure, Alice downed the entire glass of beer down in a few big gulps. She slammed the glass on the table with a resounding bam after she was done and everyone cheered.

"You know to have fun, huh?" Leah called out. "I think I like you, Alice!"

"Another glass for Alice here please," Gabby said and the group passed another down to her.

"Oh, it's really okay," Alice laughed.

"Aww, don't be shy," Rachel said. "Let's play a drinking game."

"Truth or Dare!"

Rachel took an empty beer bottle and cleared a space in the middle of the table. She put it down and spun it. Alice stared at the rotating bottle, begging for it not to land on her.

But it did.

"Alice!" Rachel cheered. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she said.

"Taking the easy way out, huh?" Gabby said. Alice shrugged.

"What's the biggest regret of your life? No lying," Rachel said. "I'm an interrogator for the FBI, I know when you're not telling the truth."

Great.

Alice swallowed. "I think I regret not going to prom."

"That's a lie!" Rachel said.

"Penalty!" Gabby called out and the rest echoed that.

"Chug!"

Alice laughed awkwardly. "Come on!" But they continued chanting for her to chug. So she picked the glass up and downed it. When she put it back down on the table, the room spun a little and her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Tell us the truth!"

Alice hiccuped. "Fuck, you guys want to know the truth? I regret ever dating Leonard!"

The entire room quieted.

"Leonard?" Leah said. "Your son, bro?"

"Yes," Keanu said.

"You were dating Keanu's kid?" Leah asked. "How long?"

"Five long years!" Alice said a little too loudly. "But we recently broke up."

"Geez, that must suck," Rachel said. "Next!"

She spun the bottle again. It rotated and rotated, but when it finally came to a stop, the mouth was pointed at Alice again. Everyone laughed.

"Truth or dare?"

"Say dare!"

"Dare!" Alice shouted in between laughs. "Dare! Woo!"

"Chug another glass!" Leah said.

"Yeah!" Alice said, downing the third glass of beer. When she was done, she slammed it down on the table and it fell off the side of the table. A waitress nearby came over to pick it up and take it away.

"That's such a stupid dare," Monique said. "Leah, come on."

"Redo it then!" Alice shouted. "Another glass?"

"I think it's enough for now," Keanu said, pushing the glasses of beer away from Alice. "You'd had enough for tonight."

Alice jumped to her feet. "Fuck that!" She rounded the table and stood before the table. "Give me another glass!"

"Alice, sit down. You can have juice from now on," Mike said.

"Let's fucking redo it, guys!" Alice shouted. "Truth or dare? Fucking truth! I choose truth! Fuck yeah!"

Everyone stared at her in silence.

She stumbled on her feet, laughing. Then she pulled the rubber band from her hair and tossed it towards the ground. Her hair fell down around her shoulders, and she brushed it out of her face.

"Who wants to know a huge secret of mine?" Alice said loudly. "My deepest, darkest secret!"

"I do!" Rachel cheered and Keanu shot her a dirty look. "What?" she said sheepishly, shrugging.

"You guys wanna hear it?" Alice said.

"Yes!" Monique said, her hands up in the air.

"I REALLY WANT TO FUCK KEANU!" Alice screamed, then stumbled a little, laughing loudly. "I THINK ABOUT FUCKING HIM EVERY DAY, EVERY EVENING, EVERY NIGHT. I WANT TO FEEL HIM BETWEEN MY THIGHS, AND I WANT HIS MOUTH ON EVERY INCH OF MY SKIN!"

Dead silence.

"Fuck! That was nice to get out!" Alice said, laughing. "I mean, can you blame me? Who the fuck looks like that?! He puts absolutely no effort - " she said, hiccuping. "No effort in his appearance, but he looks like a fucking underwear model!"

Everyone sent glances between her and one another.

"I've been dating Leonard for so long, but I'm still a fucking virgin at 21! I have never wanted to kiss Leonard, but Keanu? Keanu - " she said, stumbling again.

"Isn't Keanu your boyfriend's father?" Gabby asked.

"Ex-boyfriend!" Alice said. "Should've dumped that loser years ago!"

"Hey, that's Leonard you're talking about," Chloe said. "That's distasteful."

"WHO CARES!" Alice blurted out. "I WANNA FUCK KEANU!"

"This is so wrong…"

Keanu got off his seat and approached her. She stumbled again, nearly falling but he caught her in his arms. "Alright, that's enough. You're obviously drunk and spouting nonsense you don't mean." She tried to balance on her heels but to no avail. Leaning against Keanu, it was not long before she bent over the side and puked onto the ground. He brushed her hair away and kept it back as she emptied her stomach. When they regained a standing posture, her entire body was still leaning against him as the room spun. She threw her head back and laughed.

Everyone was silent.

"Keanu…" Alice said, still laughing. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed her body to him.

"Alice, please," Keanu said.

She ran her fingers through his hair and tugged hard on it. Then she touched her mouth to his earlobe and took a deep sniff in before she moaned aloud. Reaching down, she pressed her lips to his neck and sucked on it.

"Alright, that's it," Keanu said. "I've had enough."

What he did next shocked everyone.