𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲

𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲:
Lessons

❅𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲❅

That same night we were back at Mazin's house, carrying the boxes of Crumbl cookies as we all walked into the large house—our laughs and voices echoing around us. 

We trailed in past the main foyer, setting the pink cookie boxes down on the kitchen island as everyone began heading outside to smoke. 

Tahir had two pre-rolls on him, but I fully knew I would barely need one or two hits to feel the effects. 

Especially because the alcohol is still very heavy in my system. 

"Here, baby," Mazin said, walking over to me from the living room with one of the throw blankets in her hand. 

I smiled happily when she draped the furry blanket over my shoulders, "Thank you," I whispered as she slid her arm around my waist. 

"Anything for you," she murmured, guiding us outside where everyone else had gotten seated. 

Ronan was working on getting the fire table on while Tahir focused on lighting one of the pre-rolled blunts, settling in beside Alena. 

Mazin sat down on the outdoor couch before me, naturally pulling me onto her lap as I held the furry blanket tighter against my body. 

I leaned closer to her, draping my legs across her other leg as she instinctively secured her arms around my waist. 

"Look at us," Tahir said, exhaling a large cloud of smoke, "All coupled up and shit."

I raised a brow, "Are we all coupled up?" I emphasized purposely, glancing over to my best friend who sat over on the other couch with Ronan. 

Nelli gave me a narrowed look, "Well if you must know," she went to speak, taking the blunt from Alena after she took one brief hit, "We are all coupled up." 

A wide grin spread across my face, "No way—my smelly Nelli?" I joked with her, earning an eye roll from my best friend. 

"Smelly Nelli?" Mazin asked with an amused laugh, subtly running her hand up my back hidden by the cover. 

"She made that one up one time when I was in Korea," Nelli mumbled distastefully, exhaling a deep breath of smoke as Ronan, Tahir, and Alena laughed at the name I created. 

"I'm very creative," I said with a happy smile. 

"Very creative, baby," Mazin murmured, gently squeezing my waist. 

And I swear her touchiness and words combined were enough to send a heat burning to every inch of my body. 

She knows what she's doing. 

She has to. 

"John Wick," Ronan said, passing the blunt over to me. 

Which made me shift away from Mazin, leaning over to awkwardly grab the blunt. 

Something I had never held in my life. 

"Can I see it beautiful?" Mazin whispered to me, her dark eyes burning into my face as I stared down at the burning blunt. 

I nodded unconsciously, awkwardly passing it over to her as her lips twitched up slightly at my actions. 

"I'm going to hold it to your lips and you're going to inhale," Mazin instructed me as Ronan and Tahir fell into a weird debate about whether peacocks are birds. 

Which was very random,  but I was entirely too focused on Mazin—nodding wordlessly at her instructions as I leaned down closer to her. 

Mazin raised the blunt, causing me to wrap my lips around it as I held her dark eyes. 

"Inhale," she said, her raspy voice lowered and echoey in my ears as she pressed her hand firmly into my back. 

I drew in the deepest breath, staring almost speechlessly into her eyes.

"Okay, not too much—"

Mazin was cut short when I began coughing, pulling the blunt away from my lips as I coughed out a huge cloud of smoke. 

"Fuck," I coughed out, my body physically shaking with each cough and wheeze. 

"Damn, Vee," Tahir said as Mazin instinctively rubbed my back. 

But I swear all I could do was cough, my eyes burning with tears as I clutched my stomach. 

"Breathe through it baby," Mazin instructed me, her voice lowered in my ear as I coughed a few more times. 

Until I finally drew in a deep breath, holding it for a long time as Mazin squeezed my waist. 

"She took a big fucking hit," Nelli said, eyeing me with everyone else as I tried to let out a deep breath without coughing. 

And as soon as I did, I felt a huge relief, relaxing against Mazin as I slumped down in her arms with a wavered sigh. 

"Yeah, she's done," Mazin determined, taking a long hit of the blunt before smoothly exhaling a cloud of smoke. 

"I am in fact done," I mumbled, my voice raspy and barely audible. 

My ears almost felt stuffed with cotton and my head already felt really fucking heavy. 

But Mazin's hand against my lower back managed to keep me grounded, leaning closer to her as she hit the blunt a few more times before passing it over to Tahir. 

Once she passed it off, she softly tapped my waist—motioning me up as she mentioned something about water. 

I naturally followed her without fully understanding why we were heading inside.

Everything felt so fucking slow around me. 

Almost weirdly delayed. 

And I didn't want to ask her to repeat herself, so I just held her hand tightly—allowing her to guide me past everyone. 

Surprisingly, I turned out to be right about the water given that was the first thing she grabbed from the fridge, twisting the cap open and handing it to me. 

"Thank you," I said, and I thought I sounded much louder in my head, but my voice was in this weird whisper. 

"How do you feel?" she asked me, her dark eyes analyzing my face as I brought the bottle to my lips and took a sip. 

Or a gulp. 

A few gulps actually. 

I don't think I've ever felt this fucking thirsty in my life. 

"Virelai," Mazin chuckled, an amused smile growing on her lips as she watched me gulp down the water, "I can't take you seriously right now."

I only took another long gulp, letting out a deep sigh as I lowered the water bottle down from my lips. 

"Much better," I breathed out, smiling as I set the bottle down on the counter. 

"Good," Mazin said, eyeing my face for a moment before she leaned down to softly kiss my forehead, "I wanted your first experience to go smoothly." 

I hummed as she pulled away, "Of course it would—you're here," I said, leaning up to briefly kiss her lips, "You make everything go smoothly."

Mazin smiled slightly, wrapping her arms around my waist, "Always," she whispered, pulling me into a hug as she nuzzled her soft face down in my neck, which was such a different feeling now that I was high. 

It made me feel so warm. 

Her body itself is so warm. 

"I'll always take care of you, Virelai," Mazin said in the most serious tone, pressing the softest kiss to my neck. 

I fell deeper into the hug, inhaling her familiar cologne, "And I'll always take care of you too," I whispered softly to her. 

Mazin hummed, "We'll take care of each other," she murmured, pressing another kiss to my neck as her arms tightened around my waist so presently. 

A comfortable silence filtered in around us, remaining tangled in the deep hug with our bodies pressed so firmly together. 

I swear time genuinely felt nonexistent. 

But as soon as I heard the door open behind me, I turned my head slightly, noticing everyone now walking back into the house. 

"Awww, look at the love birds who snuck away," Tahir said, walking toward us as Mazin leaned away from my neck—flicking off her older brother. 

"I just need a fucking cookie," Ronan said, passing by Tahir to grab one of the Crumbl boxes. 

"I really want that brownie," Nelli determined as she and Ronan rushed past us with Tahir and Alena now following behind them. 

And suddenly, I was thinking about cookies too—and even a brownie, wanting to eat it all. 

"Mazin," I said, wordlessly staring over at them as they opened the different pink cookie boxes. 

"On it beautiful," she didn't hesitate to say, letting go of my waist to walk over to them and grab one of the boxes for us. 

"I say we do a movie night," Tahir suggested, earning nods from us all, "Maz is my stuff still upstairs?" 

Mazin immediately nodded, "Yeah, it's in the closet," she said, cluing me in that they were referring to his clothes. 

"Then me and Alena are going to go change before we start the movie," Tahir determined, closing the pink cardboard box, "I can bring some stuff down for you guys too," he added, glancing over to Nelli and Ronan who both nodded. 

"We should probably get changed too," Mazin determined, glancing over to me. 

I nodded, determining that I would love to get out of this small sparkly dress. 

"Okay then we'll go get the living room ready for the movie," Nelli suddenly determined as I walked over to Mazin, dropping the blanket around my shoulders onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island. 

"There are blankets in the hall closet," Mazin told Nelli as we began walking out of the kitchen behind Tahir and Alena. 

And soon we were upstairs, walking the opposite way of Tahir and Alena toward Mazin's room. 

Where she guided us to her closet, picking out clothes for us to both change into. 

I quickly got dressed in the closet, pulling on an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants while Mazin went to the bathroom to get dressed in the tank top and sweatpants she picked out for herself. 

After that we focused on taking our makeup off—something Mazin helped me with once she had finished with hers. 

She also washed my face for me, letting me rinse my face before carefully patting my skin dry. 

It was weirdly intimate, especially when I decided to wash her face as well—patting her face dry when she had finished rinsing the soap off. 

Then we focused on the serums and face lotion she had, applying the different products before finally heading downstairs. 

Where everyone already seemed to be settled in the living room on the piles of covers, not bothering to lay on the couch. 

It felt like the epitome of a sleepover. 

Tahir already had the movie called Bad Christmas pulled up with the cookie boxes open and ready for us to eat. 

Mazin also grabbed a few water bottles for us all before settling at the end of the cover pile with me as Tahir started the movie. 

Then we all dug into the cookies and brownies from Crumbl, watching the hilarious Christmas movie as we occasionally laughed or commented on certain scenes. 

But around forty-five minutes into the movie, I began dozing off. 

It was the sweet desserts and then also Mazin's warm side that I was tucked in as she gently played with my hair. 

I swear there wasn't a better feeling than this moment right here, surrounded by my friends and cuddled up with my girlfriend after smoking and eating high-calorie desserts. 

My stomach was so full and I swear I've never felt warmer. 

Or more content falling asleep. 

❅

"Everybody up!" 

I furrowed my brows at the familiar voice, nuzzling deeper into the warmth around me. 

"Come on, up-up," she said again, and that's when I heard groans from around me. 

Even I groaned, feeling the cover get tugged off of me. 

"Mama come on," Tahir said with a groggy sigh, suddenly alerting me that Lena was here. 

When did she get here? 

I suddenly opened my eyes, furrowing my brows when they burned and a pain shot through my head. 

But even still I pushed through it, noticing Tazmin and Lena who stood in front of the flatscreen TV displaying the typical Netflix words: Are you still watching?

"What time is it?" Mazin said, her voice raspy as she rubbed under her eyes. 

"Eight thirty-two," Lena said with a happy smile, earning a groan from not only Tahir but Ronan and Nelli as well. 

Meanwhile, Alena seemed to be genuinely sleeping through this given we all didn't go to sleep until four. 

She managed to sleep without the covers that Lena had ripped from each of us, setting them over in the corner. 

"Since you want to wake my wife up in the middle of the night for cookies, I figured I would return the favor," Lena said, and I couldn't help but notice Tazmin eyeing her with a smirk, "You're all going to make us breakfast."

I let out a deep sigh, feeling like I couldn't possibly make breakfast right now with this terrible fucking hangover. 

I'm not even sure I can stand.

"I doubt Maz even has anything for breakfast," Tahir said, giving Mazin a noticeable look. 

And I could tell he was silently telling her to agree. 

"I can doordash Chick-fil-A," Ronan offered, patting around for his phone with squinted eyes. 

"Oh there's no need," Lena said, motioning her head over to the kitchen, "We already picked up groceries for all the ingredients you'll need for a huge breakfast spread." 

My head fell back with a sigh, feeling Mazin pull me back down to her as everyone else groaned dramatically. 

"You have sixty seconds to get in the kitchen or I'm throwing cold water on all of you," Lena sweetly said, grabbing Tazmin's hand and pulling her away from the living room. 

"Fuck this," Tahir mumbled, standing from the pile of covers as Nelli and Ronan did too. 

And as Tahir began gently shaking Alena to wake her up fully, Mazin seemed to hold me tighter to her body—not showing any signs of getting up. 

"Mazin," I whispered with a tired smile, trying to pull out of her firm hold, "I really don't want cold water thrown at me." 

Mazin sighed dramatically, "Ten more seconds," she mumbled, nuzzling her face deeper into my chest as she hugged me tighter to her. 

"The faster we make breakfast, the faster we can go back to sleep," I tried to convince her, gently playing with her soft blonde hair, "In your bed," I purposely emphasized. 

Which seemed to work, given Mazin reluctantly pulled away from me with pursed lips.

Luckily, Alena was awake now too, standing up as Mazin and I stood as well. 

Then we headed into the kitchen, where Tazmin and Lena sat contently at the kitchen island where bags of groceries sat. 

"On this lovely morning, you'll be making us pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, yogurt, and then fresh fruit that needs to be washed and cut," Lena told us as we silently began going through the different groceries bags, "I also got T's favorite fruit to cut—pineapple.' 

I pursed my lips into a smile when Tahir gave Lena a narrowed look, but as soon as she raised a sharp brow, he quickly went back to focusing on unloading the different groceries. 

I swear it has never been so silent between us all. 

Especially as we all began naturally focusing on the different tasks. 

Mazin and I focused on the pancakes and hashbrowns. 

Tahir and Alena were in charge of washing and cutting the numerous fruits Lena had gotten, also preparing the yogurt with it as well.  

And then Nelli and Ronan handled the eggs and bacon. 

There was not a single word that came out of our mouths, only random deep sighs as we focused on making the large breakfast for them. 

Which took us close to forty minutes by the time we had set the table to Lena's standards. 

"This looks perfect guys," Tazmin said with an amused smile, eyeing us as we stood by the table that they sat at. 

I know none of us planned to eat anything. 

All we wanted was sleep. 

"You're joining us for breakfast too," Lena casually murmured as Tazmin reached forward to begin making their plates.

Mazin let out a deep irritated sigh, pulling one of the chairs out for me to sit in while everyone else silently took their seats. 

"So how was Crumbl guys?" Lena asked with a smile as Tazmin scooped the fresh fruit onto their plates. 

"Great," Tahir dryly mumbled, not bothering to touch the food. 

And as soon as Mazin instinctively went to make my plate, I shook my head—mostly because I couldn't stomach any food right now. 

Even smelling it makes me nauseous. 

"Glad it was worth it," Lena said as she picked up her fork, "Thank you, baby," she murmured to Tazmin for making her plate. 

Who hummed in acknowledgment at her wife, taking a brief sip of her water. 

Ronan awkwardly cleared his throat, "So we're uh not hungry—" 

"That's a shame," Lena quickly cut him short before he could speak, "I suppose you'll all have to respectfully wait until everyone finishes their meal." 

I pursed my lips, glancing over to Mazin who shook her head at Lena's words. 

And Tahir managed to sigh yet again for the hundredth time, leaning back in his chair with a bored look as Alena stared forward tiredly. 

Nelli seemed to be dozing off slowly, especially with her face resting in her hand. 

The silence only got tenser as time went on, and while Tazmin had finished her food within a decent amount of time—Lena purposely ate slowly, conversing with her wife as if this were all a normal breakfast. 

Meanwhile, we were forced at this table against our will, anticipating when Lena would finally be done. 

"So what have we learned on this beautiful morning guys?" Lena suddenly said, poking her fork into her last piece of fruit, "Answer incorrectly and I might find room for another pancake," she subtly added. 

"We don't wake mom in the middle of the night," Tahir sighed, glancing over to Tazmin with a narrowed look. 

Meanwhile, Tazmin looked fully content, letting Lena do all the talking for once. 

"We don't wake either of you in the middle of the night," Mazin quickly added to Tahir's statement. 

Lena nodded once, "Correct answer, Mazi," she said to her, eyeing us all for a moment, "Now what do you owe my wife?" she asked us. 

"An apology," we all managed to say in sync, our voices montone and heavy with tiredness. 

"Correct, you owe her an apology," Lena said with a smile, taking the last bite of her fruit.

"I'm sorry," I spoke first to Tazmin, causing Mazin to say the two words as well. 

And then Tahir and Ronan. 

Alena seemed to snap from her daze to say the two words as well to Tazmin, while Ronan had to nudge Nelli who had dozed off. 

"I'm-yes, I'm sorry," Nelli quickly said, blinking a few times as she rubbed under her tired eyes. 

Lena glanced over to Tazmin, who nodded in approval, "I accept your apologies," she said as Lena stood from her chair. 

"You can all leave now," Lena determined, which immediately made us all impatiently stand up from the table, our chairs scraping the marble floors, "After you clean up this table and the kitchen, of course," she subtly added, causing all of our shoulders to physically sink in defeat. 

It was silent yet again as we split up, focusing on cleaning the dining room table along with the kitchen. 

And then there were the dirty dishes too. 

Tazmin and Lena also seemed to stay until we finished it all, ensuring we put a thorough amount of work in.

By the time we finished that, on top of making breakfast and watching them eat, it had been close to two hours. 

But luckily, after we finished cleaning they let us off the hook after we finished. 

Tahir and Alena had decided to head back to their place to sleep while Nelli and Ronan decided to do the same, leaving with Tazmin and Lena. 

Meanwhile, Mazin and I headed up to her room, already determining that we would be sleeping for the rest of the fucking day. 

Trust and believe that I'll never be a part of another middle-of-the-night phone call to Tazmin or Lena. 

I think we've all learned our lesson with this one.