Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
I spin then, and she starts laughing loudly, in that way where I know, if I were looking at her, her eyes would be glossy, her head tipped back, exposing that silky, slender neck of hers.
“Shut up!” She reaches up, her dainty fingers running along the miniature clipped-in braid I somehow got to stick to my short hair. It’s light enough, only hangs to my neck, and feels annoying as hell, but her reaction makes it worth it.
She shakes her head, shoving the shawl thing back a little to run her eyes over the tattoo stamped there.
“I fucking knew you were born in the wrong time,” she teases, beaming up at me. “You are giving Ragnar Lothbrok some serious competition.” Her eyes trail over me slowly, from head to fucking toe, and a light buzz slithers along my spine.
Mason steps forward, holding out his phone. “Look at these two,” he says to no one in particular, and we all shuffle in.
It’s a picture of Ari and Noah in their costumes, angel wings on the back of Ari’s white dress, metal cuffs covering Noah’s shoulders. They’re posed so he’s facing her, lips pressed to her hand as she smiles at him, so I can’t see much of what he’s wearing, but there’s something about the pose and clothing that’s familiar. As I’m staring, a second picture comes through, and I throw my head back with a laugh.
“Wait, are they…?” Chase scowls, not sure he’s got it right.
“Romeo and Juliet?” Cameron smiles. “Yes, yes, they are.”
“The Leo DiCaprio version.”
“Classic.” Mason grins, shoving his phone…I don’t even know where in that Spidey costume. “All right. We’ve got a sitter for the night. Let’s not waste it.”
He pulls Payton close, kissing her temple, and shuffles toward the house.
The rest of us follow behind, the girls already dancing around as we enter and the music gets louder.
We make drinks and head over to the room with the dartboards, playing a few rounds. We chat and laugh, and about an hour in, the girls are already two drinks ahead of us, our little group leading them to the kegs for their fourth round of flat beer.
“So we gonna just watch and see how all this plays out?” I tease.
“Not sure I’ve ever seen Paige drink more than a half a beer before.” Chase looks our way, frowning at whatever he sees. “Not that I pay attention or anything, I just—What?” he finally snaps.
Me and Mason laugh, bumping each other as the girls start belting out the lyrics to the Spice Girls “Wannabe” using their cups as pretend mics, and all I can think is yeah …
I wanna be.
“Pretty sure Cameron had a shot or two before I picked them up, but she seems to be handling herself just fine.” Mason meets my gaze a moment before looking back to the girls. “Payton, on the other hand, never drinks, so I might have to steal her away after this one.” Mason’s eyes trail his woman’s every move.
“And would you be taking her back to her studio, where your mama and daddy are waiting for you, along with baby boy?”
Mason smirks, shaking his head nice and slow. “Nope.” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “Stay outta my room tonight, boys.”
“You mean no sleepover?”
“There will be zero sleeping for us tonight, my man.” He waggles his brows. “How about you?”
I don’t realize he’s talking to me until I look over and find Chase is staring at me expectantly too.
Now it’s my turn to snap. “Wait, what?”
“How far do these boyfriend duties of yours go?”
“You left out a word,” I deadpan.
“Yeah.” Chase’s grin widens. “But so did she.”
I frown, not sure what he’s talking about when her little tease from earlier comes back to mind, and he’s right. She did call me “boyfriend,” leaving off the fake. My hand tightens on my cup, and I force a shoulder to shrug. “People are around, that’s all. It’s not like that.”
“And if you guys get a little needy and decide you want it to be like that?” Mason teases.
I swing my eyes to his and hold them, his losing some of the amusement the longer he stares.
“You still haven’t told the girls?”
“Wait, really?” Chase’s head whips back this way.
He’s not talking about the shit going on in my head lately—that has now started to take a little trip south, if you know what I mean. No, he’s talking about something else entirely.
I grumble. “It’s not exactly a conversation you have at the dinner table.”
Mason nods slowly, gaze assessing. “But you don’t want her to know. Do you?”
“What would be the point of telling her?”
“What’s the point of keeping it a secret?”
“I’m not embarrassed if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Mason frowns. “It’s not and you know it. Chase.” He looks Chase’s way. “Help me out here?”