Chapter 6
“WOW, EMILIO, I DIDN’T think pasta making would involve paddling each other,” Cole said, inspecting a wooden utensil with a handle and a flat end with grooves. “Pretty kinky. Congrats, Abby.”
He saluted Abby with his paddle, but the exchange left Josh confused.
“Uh, I don’t want to be paddled for pasta,” he said. “I can go get mine at the store.”
“It is not a paddle, but a pasta making board,” Emilio said, easing Josh’s worries. “We are going to roll the dough against the grooves to create some different shapes.”
“Well, that seems less fun, but okay,” Cole said, pouting. Josh couldn’t always tell when Cole was joking. It was even more difficult when Elena whispered something in his ear that had him turning red.
Cole lucked out with Elena. She was model-gorgeous, with her caramel-colored skin, long, silky black hair and curves to boot. But Josh had never felt anything toward her besides friendship because she was also scary as hell. Apparently, that was Cole’s type.
Josh was on a mission to find someone who treated him as well as Riley did, but no woman he’d met over the years had ever come close. Maybe one day. It was New Year’s Eve, so maybe this would be his lucky year.
“Cole, you may not borrow the pasta making boards when we’re done with them,” Abby said, throwing a glare in his direction.
“Fine, ruin my fun,” he said. Cole had such a weird definition of fun.
“Bene, children, let’s get started on the dough, and then we can make the pasta shapes as we play Hailey’s newlywed game.”
Josh watched, transfixed, as Emilio created dough using water and flour. Just two ingredients. The boxed pasta he bought at the store usually had a whole list of ingredients.
They made a huge batch. Emilio separated it into big chunks, dispensing the pieces to each of them.
Emilio took a small ball, maybe the size of a nickel, and placed it on the board. In one motion, he used his thumb and simply rolled the ball down the grooves of the board, resulting in a little grooved pasta shape.
“Here we have cavatelli. All you have to do is roll it down the board with your thumb. Try to make them all the same size so they cook evenly,” their Italian tutor explained.
“Holy shit, it looks like real pasta!” Josh exclaimed, drawing chuckles from everyone. “You made it look so easy.”
“It is easy and you can do it. Here…” Emilio said as he lightly held Josh’s thumb against another tiny dough ball, pushing so he dragged it along the board.
“I did it! Riley, look!”
Josh proudly showed his little pasta to Riley, who beamed at him. Making Riley smile was one of Josh's favorite things to do, and it warmed his heart that Riley did it because he was proud of Josh.
“That’s awesome, man,” Riley said, turning his focus to his own dough and board. “I want to try.”
Before long, all of them were stationed around the kitchen with their own dough and boards, creating piles of pasta.
Everyone was so into it that they completely forgot about Hailey’s game, including Hailey. But who could blame them? They were having too much fun inventing new pasta shapes and comparing each other’s work.
“New plan, let’s play the game after lunch, and then we can get our drink on while we play. That way, we have plenty of carbs in our stomachs.”
They all agreed, and while everyone continued making their pasta, Emilio stirred a pot of his pomodoro sauce on the stove, filling the room with a delicious aroma. Josh couldn’t wait to eat it.
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Everyone had satisfied smiles on their faces as they finished their Italian feast. Emilio was adamant that they have a second course with a protein, as was the Italian way, and he made delicious roasted chicken. He ended the meal with shots of chilled limoncello.
As they cleaned up from lunch, Hailey got them ready for her version of a newlywed game, passing out dry erase boards and markers to each of the couples. Elena had borrowed them from her classroom during winter break.
She passed them out while everyone grabbed a drink and settled around the living room.
It was a cozy place with dark wood accents, a fireplace and comfy furniture that everyone sank into.
The home leaned into the nature aesthetic, with pinecone and antler decorations scattered around.
The chef’s kitchen connected to the living room and made it easy for them to keep participating even if they had to grab a refill.
“I found this long list of questions, but I haven’t read them yet because that would be cheating,” Hailey said.
“Hopefully, it’s a good list,” Abby said. “Otherwise, I’m sure there are others we could search.”
“Oh, yeah, I have three backups ready to go,” Hailey said. “I’ll read a question, and then we all write our answers on our boards. We’ll reveal them one couple at a time. Sound good?”
There were nods and shouts of encouragement around the room. Hailey bounced in her seat with excitement.
“Let the game begin! Question one: Which partner is better at handling things breaking in the house?”
Josh uncapped his marker and wrote Avery on his board.
He was the best at fixing everything, apparently a skill he learned when visiting some of his clients' houses. As a social worker, he always went above and beyond for his families. Josh tried helping him hang a shelf once and accidentally put the hammer through the wall. Avery didn’t ask for his help again after that.
“Riley and Josh, reveal your answers in three, two, one!”
Josh flipped his board around for everyone to see at the same time as Riley, who had written his own name on his board.
There were confused looks around the circle, until Riley spoke.
“When they say which partner, they mean, out of the two of us, not the whole group,” Riley said.
“I appreciate the confidence in my skills, though, Josh. Thanks,” Avery offered, making him feel a little better about messing up already. He would do better the next time now that he understood the rules.
Only Hailey and Avery matched on that one, Cole and Elena bickering about picking themselves, and Emilio and Abby still getting to know each other. Hailey moved on to the next question.
“Which partner is more dominant in the bedroom?”
Josh took a moment to think. When Riley brought home a date, he could easily hear them through their thin walls.
He usually heard directions from the woman rather than Riley.
Then there was that threesome they had once a couple years ago, and Josh remembered taking the lead on deciding who would do what.
They didn’t touch each other, but it was pretty clear that Riley enjoyed being told what to do, so he wrote his own name on the board.
“Elena and Cole, what do you got?” Hailey asked.
Both of their boards read Elena and both of their faces showed smug smirks. He could have guessed that one. Emilio and Abby both wrote Abby, while Avery won out for his team. Hailey was bright red when she revealed her board.
“Riley and Josh?”
They both revealed their boards, and they matched, Riley having Josh’s name written on his board.
“Yeah, we got our first point!” Josh shouted, excited for their first right answer of the game. Riley returned his excitement with a high five, and they were ready for the next question.
“Next one. First, decide which partner will be partner A and which will be partner B,” Hailey said, and they all decided who was who by marking it on their boards in the upper corners. “Which body part would partner A say is partner B’s sexiest?”
They all took a minute to write their answers before Hailey prompted Emilio and Abby to go first. Abby was partner A and she wrote "his smile" on her board. Emilio was red-faced when his board revealed “my dick.”
“What? You tell me all the time how much you love it,” he said to Abby, who could only laugh at him.
“He’s not wrong,” she said. “Hailey and Avery, what did you put?”
Hailey was partner A for their team, and Avery guessed his eyes, which matched Hailey’s board. A few people said “aww” when they saw the cute match. But the sound turned to laughs when both Cole and Elena’s board said Elena’s ass.
“Obsessed,” Cole said. “Can you blame me?”
Elena ruffled Cole’s hair, and said, “No, you’ve made it quite clear that’s your favorite.”
“I almost wrote your face, but I figured you would guess your ass and I wanted the point,” he said. He had a good game plan.
Josh was partner B for their team and wrote his booty. He had a skill for twerking and often showed it off for Riley.
Riley wrote "badonka donk" on his board, and Riley and Josh cheered as they got another point.
The next few questions were tamer: who was the better cook, the better driver, the better dancer?
Going into the final round, Josh and Riley were tied with Hailey and Avery.
It made sense, since both couples had been best friends for years.
Elena and Cole were still bickering about the rigged game while Emilio and Abby snuggled closer, likely having learned some things they didn’t know about each other.
“The tiebreaker says…” Hailey trailed off as she read from the questions on her phone. “Um, okay, that’s spicier than I thought it would be. Uh, it says the tiebreaker is for each couple to kiss for ten seconds and everyone has to vote on which couple is hotter to watch.”
Her face got redder as she read the question, Avery squeezing her against him on the couch with his arm around her shoulders.
“We can call it a tie. It’s not like Riley and Josh are going to kiss anyway,” Avery said.
“No way!” Josh shouted. “This game is ours.”
He lifted his leg and threw it over Riley’s lap, climbing on top of him and straddling his body until they were sharing the same breath, Riley’s eyes wide in surprise.
“Unless, you don’t want to win, Ri,” Josh said, knowing exactly what those words would do to his bestie.
They were all competitive. It was a good trait to have as a soccer team, but sometimes it made them do crazy things.
Riley’s eyes darkened, and he pulled Josh into a bruising kiss.
Josh had never kissed Riley before, but now he wondered why they hadn’t tried it. They were great at everything else they did together. Why wouldn’t they ace kissing too?
The kiss softened enough for Riley to part his lips, Josh’s tongue taking advantage of the opening and meeting his, deepening their connection.
He forgot all about the ten seconds and lost track of how much time had gone by, absorbed in the feeling of Riley underneath him.
Riley’s hands slid up and down his back, while Josh had one hand braced on the back of the couch and the other swimming through Riley’s thick hair.
That’s not all that was thick as Josh used his hold on the couch to roll his hips against Riley's, hardness meeting hardness. Riley gasped, and Josh retreated. His best friend had never looked so wrecked and confused, and Josh couldn’t take his eyes off him.
“Um, yeah, okay you win.” Hailey’s voice broke Josh out of his trance. He turned to the rest of the group to see them either gaping at them or looking everywhere but at the show they’d put on. Cole, on the other hand, was beaming.
Josh cheered, “We won! We’re the best couple!” He swamped Riley in a big hug, then turned to the rest of the group and settled in his seat next to him. “Take that!”
“Well, hot damn, I think I just got pregnant watching that,” Cole said.
“Abby, please tell me the education system in America isn’t that bad and he’s kidding,” Emilio said, holding in his laughter.
“Someone is clearly not familiar with mpreg novels,” Cole responded, the rest of the group looking confused while Elena facepalmed next to him.
“Ignore him, please,” she said. “It always helps me.”
Cole wrapped his arms around Elena and yanked her onto his lap, tickling her until she cried from laughter. Josh was constantly confused by their mating rituals.
When he turned to Riley, he saw his friend frozen where he had left him.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked quietly, so no one else could hear.
Riley snapped his gaze to Josh’s like he forgot he was sitting there, then leaped off the couch.
“Yeah, I need a refill. Anyone else need anything?” Riley said as he escaped to the kitchen.
Made sense. That kiss left Josh thirsty too. Not for a drink, but for more Riley.
That’s when the demon in his brain spoke, silencing his racing thoughts about Riley and reminding him of his true nature: you don’t deserve him.