Chapter 25 This Fucking Guy
CHAPTER 25: THIS FUCKING GUY
JACE
T he parking lot at Bruno’s is slammed with cars when my Uber pulls into the parking lot. I hop out and make my way through the front door of the restaurant.
My eyes land on Lacey the minute I walk in. She’s seated at a table with Logan, Poppy, and some guy I’ve never seen before. Her hair falls around her shoulders in loose curls and her whole face lights up as she laughs at something the guy next to her says. I freeze and realize this must be the infamous Chris. I suck in a deep breath. We agreed to be friends again and part of that is meeting the men she brings around. I know it’s true, but it doesn’t make this easier.
I feel a hand slap across my back and I look over my shoulder to find Tanner followed by Wren and Gray.
“You ready to dominate trivia, dude?” he asks, squeezing my shoulders. We all begin to walk towards our friends.
“Yeah, can’t wait.” I manage to choke out. Lacey stands when we approach and I get a better look at what she’s wearing. Her white workout top is fitted and hugs her tits perfectly. The locket is still hanging around her neck like the universe is taunting me. Her skirt is light purple and fits her like a second skin.
“Hey everybody.” She smiles. “This is Chris. Chris, this is Jace, Tanner, Wren, and Gray.”
“It’s nice to meet you all,” he says, putting out his hand, shaking mine and then Tanner’s. We all sit around the table and I take a seat directly across from Lacey.
“So, Chris, Lacey said you know your history,” I offer, trying to be cordial.
“I think I do.”
“Good,” says Poppy. “I want that cabin. We have to win.”
“Welcome to Friday Night Trivia. I’m the one and only Legendary Leonard and I’ll be your host this evening. If your group will be participating, please make your way to the bar, give me your team name, and pick up your answer sheets. We’ll begin shortly,” our trivia host says over the mic. Some eighties tune begins to blare through the speakers.
“What should our team name be?” Poppy asks. “I’ll go get the stuff and turn it in.”
I’ve never been good at this sort of thing. The first thing that pops into my head is Parliament, the name for a group of owls. Owls and trivia go together, right? Shit, that’s bad, but it’s all I got. I begin to offer my suggestion, but I’m interrupted by our waitress.
“Hi, I’ll be taking care of y’all tonight. What can I get you to drink?”
“Well, hello beautiful,” Tanner says, raking his eyes down her body.
“Settle down, pretty boy,” the waitress says, pulling out a notepad and immediately looking annoyed.
“You think I’m pretty?” he flirts.
“It wasn’t a compliment. What can I get you to drink?”
The rest of the table is deep in conversation about the trivia team’s name. Lacey laughs at something Chris says, and my stomach rolls. I turn my attention back to the interaction between my roommate and the waitress, who looks like she could eat him alive.
“Sounded like one,” he presses.
“Tanner, stop flirting and help us pick a name,” Gray says. Logan and I both choke on a laugh. The waitress’s cheeks turn a deep red and she looks around the table.
“We’ll take a couple pitchers of Miller and waters all the way around,” I say. The waitress nods and quickly moves away from us.
“You jealous, Gray?” Tanner says in a cocky tone, turning to face her.
“Gross,” she says flatly.
“Focus y’all. We need a team name,” Poppy says.
Tanner clears his throat. “I vote Dink and Balls.”
“We can’t name ourselves that,” Chris says.
“Why not?” Lacey asks. “It’s the name of their pickleball team.”
“It’s pretty inappropriate.”
“I think it’s funny. They have the cutest mascot. It’s a pickle and he’s got little pickleballs as balls,” she laughs.
“Suit yourselves,” he says, sounding like a pompous asshole.
“I’m cool with that,” I say. Chris’s eyes shoot in my direction and I stop myself from saying anything else. This fucking guy. Lacey offers me a small smile.
“It’s perfect,” Poppy adds, standing up and running towards the bar.
She returns with a pencil and an answer sheet. The music continues to play and the conversation around the table is a mix of updates about work and strategizing how we’re going to win the cabin. Chris stays mostly quiet and I can’t seem to figure out what he and Lacey have in common. Lacey brightens up the whole room and Chris somehow dims it.
“Where are Enzo and Donovan?” I ask.
“Out of town, but they fully expect us to win, so they can come to the cabin,” Lacey says.
“Of course they do.” I laugh.
“There are more of you?” Chris asks with a chuckle.
“Yep, Donovan and Enzo are getting married soon and Chloe was going to come, but her sitter canceled at the last minute,” Lacey explains.
“Have you all known each other for a long time?”
“Some of us have known each other longer than others,” I say, my eyes shifting to Lacey’s. Fuck, she looks beautiful tonight. I don’t know what I was thinking sitting directly across from her.
“What do you—” Chris begins, but he’s interrupted.
“Alright folks, it’s time to get tonight started.” The music fades as Leonard begins to talk. “Please take a moment to put your phones away. Cell phones will not be tolerated and your team will automatically forfeit if I see a phone being used at your table.” The restaurant fills with the sound of people putting away their phones and I place mine in my pocket.
“Okay, now that we’ve addressed the cell phone policy. There will be seven rounds of questions tonight. Each round will have three questions. I will ask a question and you will have until the end of the song to turn in your answers. You decide how many points you wager for each question. We’re going to start this off with a bang or should I say a POP! Your categories for round one are pop hits, poppin’ bodies, and popular sports.”
Poppy frantically jots down each category onto the slip of paper in front of her. Our waitress returns and drops off the first round of beer and grabs our pizza orders. “Okay, so when he asks the question, I’ll write our answer and run it up to him. We gotta be quick, so everyone be ready,” Poppy lectures.
“Yes ma’am,” Lacey quips, saluting Poppy with her hand.
Logan, Tanner, and I all stifle a laugh.
“Stop it. I really want to win this,” she says.
“We can tell,” Tanner chuckles. “Seems like Logan’s competitive nature is really rubbing off on you.”
“Is not,” Poppy argues.
“I beg to differ,” Lacey says, nudging Poppy with her elbow.
Poppy giggles, and Logan leans over and places a kiss on her forehead. “My girl knows what she wants, and she wants that cabin.”
“We got this,” I say, offering them a smile. I let my eyes explore the restaurant. There are at least ten other tables participating in trivia night, and each one looks more intense than the last. We definitely have our work cut out for us.
“Okay, your first category is pop hits. This song, originally released in 2019 and then re-released as a single in 2023, is now Taylor Swift’s most streamed song of all time.” Another eighties song starts to blare through the speakers.
Lacey and Poppy whisper-scream “Cruel Summer” at each other, and Poppy scribbles it down.
“Are we sure?” Chris asks.
“Yes,” both girls say in unison, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“Chris, I’m no Taylor Swift fan, but I imagine the girls know what they’re talking about. Want to wager three points, ladies?” I ask.
Lacey offers me a big smile, and Poppy jots down a three on the slip of paper. She stands and runs toward the front of the restaurant.
“I was just saying that she has a lot of popular songs,” he tries to argue.
“It’s okay. We know when we’re right, and we’re never wrong about Taylor Swift. You’ll see,” Lacey teases, but Chris doesn’t look amused.
Poppy returns with a cocky smile. “We were right,” she says, plopping down in her seat next to Logan and cutting her eyes in Chris’s direction.
The music fades out, and our host comes back on the mic. “Alright. The second category is poppin’ bodies. If you were to crack the joints of your finger, what three joints would you be popping?”
Both Chris and Lacey’s faces light up. “Quick, give me the paper, Poppy,” Lacey practically shouts.
“Distal interphalangeal joint, metacarpophalangeal joint…” Chris begins. Lacey is scribbling them down as the rest of the table watches her and him work together to come up with the answer. I fucking hate it.
“Shit. What’s the third one?” Chris asks. They search each other’s faces like the answer is somehow going to appear on the other’s forehead. The knot in my gut tightens. I have no right to feel this way. I know I don’t, but I hate seeing her with this guy. I barely know him, but it’s obvious she is way out of his league.
Lacey looks back at the paper and reads it to herself a couple of times before a wide smile spreads across her lips, and she begins to write again. “Proximal interphalangeal joint,” she whispers.
“Yes, that’s it,” he says, slapping the table.
“Y’all good with two points?” she asks. We all nod, and she jumps up from the table and runs the paper to the front. Jealousy pulses through my body, and I take a long swig of my beer letting the ice-cold liquid cool me down.
“No way any of the other tables got it correct,” Chris boasts.
“I guess we’ll see,” Tanner says. Lacey returns with a big smile on her face.
“Okay, last question of round one. The category is popular sports. This sport was invented in 1965 by Pritchard, Bell, and McCallum.” “Don’t Stop Believing” is fed through the speakers, and our whole table is filled with blank stares and blinks.
“Does anyone have any idea?” Logan asks.
“Not a fucking clue, man,” Tanner adds.
“Would be really nice if we could use our phones right about now.”
“Don’t you even think about it,” Poppy scolds, her finger shooting in my direction.
I throw my hands up. “I wouldn’t dare, but I have no clue what he’s talking about.” I shake my head.
“Could it be basketball?” Chris asks.
“Basketball has been around a lot longer than 1965,” I say.
“True,” Lacey says. “So, think of some newer sports.”
The other tables are all noticeably quiet and I know we need to get this answer right.
“It’s pickleball,” Wren says, so quietly that I can barely make it out.
“What?” Logan asks.
“The answer is pickleball,” she repeats.
The corners of Tanner’s mouth tip up. “Hell yeah, Wren.” He puts out his hand for a high five, and she hesitantly meets him with hers. “How did we not think of that?”
“Hurry, Poppy. Write it down,” Gray says. She writes quickly placing our final point next to the ten-letter word. She pops up and runs toward the front as the last notes of the song play.