Chapter Twenty-FiveFischer #2
She shrugs. “I figured you wouldn’t want to wear Houston’s Coke spit all night. Maybe it can be a good omen! Though…” Her eyes wander over my chest and abdomen with interest. “I wouldn’t mind if you decided not to wear anything at all.”
I don’t know why she’s so obsessed with my workout routine when it’s really nothing special, but the idea of teasing her and keeping it a secret is too tempting to pass up.
I’ll have to keep her guessing for a while before I tell her I do the machine circuit at the gym, like everyone else.
I have just had a lot of frustration to work out lately, which translated into higher weights and more reps.
I’m almost glad for it when I get looks like the one she’s giving me right now.
“You’re drooling a bit.” I tug the shirt over my head. It’s small and squeezes around my biceps more than I’d like, but it will do the trick. “Thank you.”
She beams. “No, thank you . Now I get to enjoy those arms all night.”
“What, these?” I flex my arms up in a move that I instantly hate, especially in this too-small shirt. I feel like a tool.
Micah glances behind her and then steps aside to let another guy into the bathroom. I drop my arms. “You don’t have to stay for trivia if you don’t want to,” she says when I join her in the hall.
I tuck a curl behind her ear. “I want to be wherever you are.” Ugh .
That’s literally a line from the book I read, spoken by the billionaire with the secret life as a spy.
I need to work on my game. At least I didn’t say it with a British accent, which is how I imagine all billionaires sound even though the character was supposedly born in Alabama.
When we get back to the table, the group has split into two. Houston sits with his twin and Jordan, and apparently Busty Brunette from the bar has joined them. I’m more than glad that that leaves Micah and me with Kit and Skyler. I don’t think they’ll mind if I am a bit on the quiet side.
“We made a bet,” Kit says as we sit down.
Micah groans. “Why are you two always making bets?”
Laughing, Kit puts his arm around Skyler’s shoulders. “Because Houston is too used to winning. That means we have to be on our game tonight.”
I realize he’s looking at me, and I grimace. “I’m not sure you should expect much from me,” I warn.
He grins, his eyes dancing between Micah and me. “Yeah, you might be distracted. That’s okay; Micah and I can win this.”
Skyler elbows him. “And what about me?”
“You’re too smart for trivial knowledge.”
“Darn right I am. But I am going to help us win because there is no way under the sun I am wearing whatever Halloween costume Houston picks out for us if we lose.”
Oh, I don’t like the sound of that. Micah must see my horror because she leans in and presses a lingering kiss to my cheek. “Don’t worry,” she whispers in my ear, sending a shiver through me. “I’ll protect you from my brother.”
Will she protect me from her brother if I start kissing her in the middle of the bar?
Kit clears his throat, and I reluctantly give him my attention. He’s smirking at me like he can read my thoughts, and I don’t like it. “We need a team name.”
“The Houston Briggs Defeaters,” Skyler suggests.
“Houston Haters,” Micah counters.
“The Coalition for Hallelujah, Houston Lost.”
“Better than Houston.”
“You know I can hear you, right?” Houston says, and both women burst into laughter.
The brunette across the table from Houston smiles despite the way he is glaring at her like she’s his worst enemy. “I think you’re onto something,” she says and raises her glass in our direction.
Kit rolls his eyes. “I’m putting us down as Book Smarts unless one of you guys comes up with something better.”
“What about Winning So I Can Go Home?” I suggest.
Micah snorts. “You’re fine. You agreed to this, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I like her, though.
And I like the way she’s grinning at me even though I’m being grumpy.
I have no idea how she puts up with me, but she almost seems to like the way I challenge her.
In my defense, I wouldn’t be grumpy if we had followed my unspoken plan, which was to go back to her apartment and use our mouths for something other than spewing useless facts.
I’m still not over the taste I got in the car.
“What’s your team name?” Micah asks the other table.
“The Inquizitors,” Brooklyn replies.
“I wanted to be the Chewy Cheese Fries,” Jordan says. “They didn’t go for it.
Micah leans over so our shoulders press together. “We’re usually the Briggadiers,” she tells me, “but we didn’t want to use that without Chad. He’s the one who came up with the name.”
“Is a team name really all that important?” I ask. Then I reach for her hand and pull it into my lap so she can’t move farther away.
A lovely splash of pink colors her cheeks as she smiles at me. “Of course it’s important! If you look over there, you can see the lovely Wall of Weekly Winners.”
It’s on the other side of the bar and my contacts are drying out, but I can see The Briggadiers on there quite a few times. “So, I’m with a champion triviateer?”
“Oh!” She slams her hand on the table. “The Triviateers! That’s our name!”
Kit grins. “Like privateers but trivia? I like it.” He quickly erases Book Smarts from our whiteboard and changes it to Triviateers right as a waitress places a heaping plate of nachos in front of us.
Not going to lie—they look incredible.
“And this,” Micah says, sweeping her hand over the steaming cheese and meat, “is why we’re here. And beating Houston, of course. Fischer, are you ready to have your tongue delighted?”
“Oh, I’m ready,” I tell her without moving my gaze from her mouth.
I am absolutely ready.