Chapter 11 #2
Nerissa ignored both of us, sinking deeper into the couch and tossing her legs onto Jesse’s lap like she always did. “I need a cold beer and pizza. Immediately.”
Jesse nodded solemnly. “Seconded. Possibly a miracle.”
“Are we still going out tonight?” he asked, glancing my way.
I groaned. “Absolutely not. I am done peopling for the day.”
“Beer and pizza sound elite, though,” Ari added.
“And we can just do a welcome-to-the-new-place game night,” I said. “Low effort. Maximum reward.”
Nerissa perked up. “Yes. There are board games somewhere.” She pointed lazily toward a stack of boxes near her bedroom door. “One of those.”
Jesse patted her calf twice before standing. “On it.”
Savannah shifted forward. “I can call in the pizza order.”
That earned her immediate approval from everyone in the room.
“Toppings?” she asked, already pulling out her phone.
“Pepperoni,” Jesse said as he dug through the boxes.
“Boring!” Ari called out. “No, do something with sausage or something. I need meat.”
“Figures you'd want sausages in your mouth, ” Jesse teased softly, glancing over his shoulder.
Savannah smiled to herself as they bickered, her gaze flicking between them while she typed.
“You know what? Fuck. You.”
“Pepperoni and chicken,” Nerissa added without looking at them both. “There, easy fix.”
“Anything spicy,” I chimed in.
“You like spicy food?” Savannah asked, turning to look at me.
“With these three, I kind of have to.”
“Damn right you do. Oh, wait, no pineapple or anything.”
Savannah did this cute scrunch of her nose as she shook her head. “No objections there. I hate pineapple on pizza. Certain foods shouldn't mix.”
Ari perked up. “Finally! Someone who understands me. Hate to break it to you, baby, but your man over there is a pineapple pizza lover. You may want to come sit on my—”
I rolled my eyes and threw a pillow at him, successfully interrupting his attempt at flirting. Savannah laughed and looked around at me.
“What? I was going to say my ‘side of the couch.’”
“Sure you were.”
He was lucky I was too exhausted to get up and hit him in the head. What part of no flirting with my girl didn’t he understand?
“Nerissa, what freaking box is—” Jesse muttered from the floor, digging through a half-collapsed stack near the wall. Then he straightened, holding up a black rectangular card box I knew all too well. “This is the only one I can find.”
Nerissa craned her neck, eyes lighting up. “Oh, that’s perfect! But we’ll need alcohol.”
She popped up and disappeared into the kitchen, reemerging seconds later with a bottle of dark rum and five cups.
“Where did you even…?”
She winked at me. “You know I always have rum, Jax. I had a half-bottle from the apartment.”
Of course she did.
“And the pizzas just got ordered.” Savannah eyed the box suspiciously. “What game is that?”
Jesse tossed it onto the coffee table. Bad Decisions.
“It’s basically Never Have I Ever,” Nerissa explained, already setting the cups in front of everyone, “but dirtier and way more fun.”
Savannah let out a soft laugh and shook her head, leaning back into the couch. “I’ll just watch. I don’t really—”
“Oh no, you're playing,” Ari cut in immediately, wiggling his brows. “Best way to get to know Jax's new girl. Don't worry, babe, it’s a judgment-free zone.”
I smacked the back of his head without looking.
“Ow—will you stop hitting me?”
“Stop flirting and maybe I will.”
Nerissa smirked over at Savannah as she poured the equivalent of a shot in her cup before moving around the table to the rest of us.
Savannah stared at the cup like it was a snake ready to pounce on her.
I grabbed mine and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You know, trouble, if you can’t handle your liquor, you can sit out. Wouldn't want to make any more mistakes.”
She scoffed, turning ever-so-slightly to look at me. The problem was, that put her lips dangerously close to mine. The daring twinkle in her eye told me she realized that, too.
“Please. I can handle my liquor just fine, thank you very much.”
“Mhm, we shall see.”
We settled into a loose circle on the couches, drinks in front of us. My knee brushed against Savannah’s as I got closer to the table, but she pulled away the second it did.
Nerissa went first.
She flipped a card and read it aloud, grinning. “Never have I ever had sex with someone while thinking about someone else.”
Without hesitation, Jesse lifted his cup. Ari and I followed, slightly grimacing at the look Savannah gave me.
“Was a long time ago, trouble.”
“Mine was insane. Went to this music festival with two girls, and I really wanted one of them, but her friend was sexy as fuck. Don't ask me how but on the way to get snacks, the friend snuck me in this tent, and we just ended up fucking.”
“What the hell? What happened to the girl you were interested in?” Savannah asked.
Ariyo just shrugged. “She didn't even realize we were gone.”
“There's a joke somewhere in there about coming quickly, but I'm not going there,” I taunted, laughing when he threw the same pillow back at me.
Next card—Jesse’s turn.
“Never have I ever had sex in a public place.”
Everyone drank.
Everyone.
I shot Savannah a sideways look, pleasantly surprised that little miss above-board had a naughty side. She avoided my gaze like it burned.
Ari went next. “Have you ever hooked up with someone you met online?”
He drank. Nerissa drank.
“In my defense,” Nerissa started immediately, raising a finger, “he was hot and even hotter in person.”
“That’s not a defense,” Jesse said.
“It absolutely is,” she shot back.
Then it was my turn.
I flipped the card and read it. “Never have I ever faked an orgasm.”
There was a beat.
Then Savannah slowly lifted her cup.
Alone.
My brows rose and I watched her.
“Oh, hell no.” Ari choked and grabbed another pillow and launched it at me. “Step up your game, man.”
I threw it right back. “Not me, you dickhead.”
“Girl! No man is worth faking it for,” Nerissa exclaimed. “I don't fake it for shit. If you aren't doing your job, you either pick up the pace or get out of my bed.”
Savannah buried her face in her hands as Nerissa practically shrieked, “We need details. Immediately.”
“No,” Savannah groaned. “Can we move on?”
“No!”
“Hell no.”
“No, I want the tea! Wait, is this the ex?”
After relentless begging—and a healthy sip of rum—she finally sighed.
“My ex always thought I was… hard to please,” she admitted quietly. “It took me a while to… finish, so he would get frustrated. I felt like I was the problem, so I just went along with it after a while and gave him what he wanted. It made sex easier with him, trust me.”
I stared at my drink, jaw tightening. Something cold and sharp settled in my chest as I thought of the endless ways to hate her ex. How dare he put the blame on her? She was perfect.
And any man with common sense would’ve known not to put that mental strain on a woman. If she wasn’t coming, then you weren't doing your job. He didn't want to put that on his ego, so he passed it to her, and that wasn’t fair.
Nerissa slammed her cup down. “He’s a worthless piece of shit.”
Savannah lifted her glass in agreement. “Cheers to that.”
I drank, too.
Not because of the game.
Because every second that passed, I became more certain of one thing—
Chase didn’t deserve her.
And I was going to make damn sure she knew it.