Chapter 13 #2
The group’s energy and spirits were bright, which usually happened after a dangerous op. Especially when a loved one was rescued. The teasing banter, always top-notch, hit a new high when Chaz and Lex instigated a drinking game called “Most Likely To.”
“Ooh, I’ve never played this before,” Ellie said, rubbing her hands together.
Wes dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “Don’t you dare spill any of my secrets, Ellie-Bean.”
“Who? Me?” She batted her lashes at him, and everyone chuckled.
“This was your brilliant idea, Madden and Battle,” Brand commented. “So you can start.”
“How do you even play?” Lottie asked. Like Jayson, Lottie was a single parent—at least up until recently—who was too busy caring for her daughter to play drinking games.
“It’s easy, Sunshine. We go around the table and ask, ‘Who is most likely to…’ and someone fills in the blank. Then everyone points to the person who best fits the description. Whoever has the most fingers pointing at them has to drink.”
“Uh-oh, I have a feeling this is going to get messy,” Lottie predicted. Then she snuggled closer to Chaz. “And I’m here for it!”
“Let’s try to keep it PG, fellas,” Corey said. “Ladies present.”
“Can’t make any promises,” Chaz said. “Okay, I’ll go. Who is most likely to have the words ‘Top Gun Graduate and Man Whore Extraordinaire’ engraved on his tombstone?”
Everyone pointed to Lex and he toasted them with his glass. “That’s right, fuckers. And don’t you forget it!” He took a healthy swig of whiskey then reached over and grabbed the worn game box on the brick near the fireplace. “No more making up your own questions. I brought the game.”
Lex opened the box and pulled out a card right from the middle. Clearing his throat, he read, “Who is most likely to lock themselves out of the house?”
Everyone pointed to Brand and spit-laughed.
“It was only once, assholes! And to be clear, it was the bar. Luckily, Houdini over there got me back inside in less than thirty seconds.”
Jayson grinned. “It’s a talent that never fails me.”
“It’s not your only talent,” Sabrina murmured under her breath, and his head swiveled in her direction.
“Damn straight.” They shared a knowing smile while Brandon finished drinking and pulled a new card.
“Who is most likely to die first in a horror movie?” Brand read.
They all thought for a moment then pointed in Lottie’s direction. “Hey!” she exclaimed, face screwing up and blonde curls bouncing. “I disagree.”
“Only because you’re pregnant,” Chaz assured her. “That makes you slower, so I’d have to pick you up and run.”
“And then you’d both get eaten by zombies,” Brand said dryly. “Drink up for your wife, Madden.”
“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” He played with her curls as he tipped back his whiskey. “Go ahead and pick a card, Sunshine.”
Lottie reached over and lifted a card from the box. “Ooh, this is a good one. Who is most likely to have had their first kiss before everyone else?”
“Don’t look at me,” Lex said, raising his hands. “Believe it or not, there was a time when girls scared the shit out of me. I didn’t muster up the courage to lock lips with one until I was fifteen.”
“And he’s been making up for lost time ever since,” Chaz stated, making the table crack up.
“Girls used to make me so nervous, too,” Corey added. “But I had my first kiss at fourteen, so guess that means I manned up before you, Battle.”
Lex flipped him off.
Wes nodded. “Girls gave me hives. I was fifteen, too.”
“Thirteen,” Brand confessed. “And no clue what I was doing.”
“I don’t think it’s any of the guys,” Ellie said carefully, sending a sly look in Julia’s direction.
“How old were you?” Sabrina asked Jayson.
“Twelve. We were playing Spin the Bottle at a birthday party. I think it lasted a total of two seconds.”
“How times have changed,” she teased, and he reached for her hand beneath the table, threading their fingers together.
And even though they’d just gotten there, Jayson was ready to leave. He dragged her hand onto his thigh, enjoying her soft, warm skin. The way her fingers threaded through his. How it felt so damn right.
“I hate to ask this, but why do you keep looking at my fiancée?” Brand asked Ellie.
She chuckled and lifted her brows at Julia.
“Okay, it’s me!” Julia announced dramatically. “I was six.”
“Six! You were kissing boys at six?” Brand’s mouth dropped open, and Julia reached over and closed it.
“Not boys, honey. Just Charlie. And it was in the coat closet in first grade. He had this cute little bowl cut,” she said dreamily.
“Oh, no girl could resist a bowl cut,” Sera agreed.
“I used to have a bowl cut,” Corey said, and they exchanged a kiss.
“Drink up, baby.” Brand nudged Julia.
“To bowl cuts!” she toasted and downed the rest of her drink.
Sabrina looked over at Jayson, smiling brightly, and a strange ache filled him. For more of this, more of her. More of what they could have together.
“I like your friends,” she said.
“I’m glad.”
They continued looking at each other, gazes glued together, while Julia read the next card. Hell, Jayson couldn’t look away for a million dollars. Everything he’d always wanted was right there in her golden-brown eyes, staring back at him.
“Who is most likely to wake up in a foreign prison cell?” She snorted. “I’d say any one of these guys. There’s a reason they’re called the Motley Crew.”
“Accurate,” Brand said, and the men all took a drink.
“I want to pick!” Ellie reached for a card. “Who is most likely to marry someone they just met?”
Jayson felt the love between significant others at the table rise another notch.
In the past year, his friends had been falling left and right.
And when they knew, they didn’t hesitate.
Brand proposed to Julia right away. Wes and Ellie renewed their vows.
Chaz married Lottie in record time. And, most recently, Corey and Sera tied the knot in a winter wonderland ceremony.
He couldn’t blame them, and while he’d thought them impulsive at the time, he was beginning to understand better.
Because when you know, you know.
His and Sabrina’s fingers lightly caressed beneath the table, moving and stroking. Weaving in and out. He flipped her hand over and circled his thumb in her palm. Eyes locked, they both picked up their glass and drank along with everyone else.
Well, except for Lex. He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t believe in love at first sight.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen her yet, Lex,” Wes said, still staring intently at his wife.
The pilot snorted. “Who’s next?” he asked, changing the subject.
“You pick,” Sabrina urged Jayson, and he reached over for a card.
He quickly scanned the question, but hesitated. Who is most likely to fake their own death?
The clear answer—the man who actually did it—was currently MIA, maybe even gone for good.
The last thing Jayson wanted to do was bring up Xander Hawke, reminding everyone about their lost friend and putting a damper on the festive atmosphere.
Even though Hawke was a moody, broody, pain in the ass, he was part of the Motley Crew. And they missed their brother.
Replacing the card, he chose another. “That was a little X-rated for our current company.” Everyone waited as he read, “Who is most likely to be the first on the dance floor?”
An old-school rap song began to play and Sabrina stood up. “That would be me,” she declared. Then she downed the rest of her drink and pulled Jayson up. “C’mon, Master Jay. Show me your moves.”
A laugh burst from his throat. “It’s Jam Master Jay. He was the DJ for Run-DMC—”
She pressed a finger against his lips, silencing him. “Just put your hands on me,” she invited in a low, throaty voice.
Hot desire pulsed through him as he shut up and followed her toward the dance floor, his friends’ voices carrying over as they continued the game.
“Who is most likely to eat something off the ground?” Wes asked.
They all yelled, “Chaz!”
“Bite me,” he responded flatly.