Blake sat across from her. Even in a plain black V-neck tee and jeans, he looked like he just stepped off the cover of GQ. The shirt showed off his broad shoulders and muscular arms, and his skin glowed golden in the bar’s dim lighting.
Blake caught her staring and flashed a cocky grin. “Like what you see?” he mouthed.
“I’ve seen better,” she mouthed back. She had. In the sculpture sections of Italy’s art museums.
Blake smirked with the confidence of someone who knew he was the hottest guy in the room.
Luke said something to him. When Blake turned his head to reply, Olivia grabbed Farrah’s arm. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“That.” She gestured at Blake. “I almost melted from the sexual tension.”
“Ha! You’ve been drinking too much.” Farrah had never heard anything more absurd. “There was no sexual tension.”
“Oh, honey. Yes, there was. Why deny it? Blake is hot.” Olivia lowered her voice. “He’ll help you get over you-know-who. Like they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”
For the first time in her life, Farrah was thankful for the red flush that took over her face every time she drank alcohol. It concealed the heated embarrassment on her cheeks.
“He’s not my type.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s every girl’s type.”
Farrah sighed. She was tired of hearing that.
“Guys, look what Luke brought.” Courtney waved a deck of cards in the air. “What do you say? Y’all up for a game of Kings?”
“Hell yeah! I’m the king of Kings.” Luke pounded his chest. “Bring it on.”
“Your resemblance to a gorilla is remarkable,” Kris observed.
“Bite me.”
“You wish.”
“Children, settle down.” Courtney shuffled the cards and spread them, face-down, around the bottle of baijiu they smuggled in. It’d been sitting there unopened for the past hour. The staff didn’t seem to care, but no one in the group had the guts to open it. Baijiu, which ranged from eighty to one hundred twenty proof, was the Chinese equivalent of moonshine. It was no joke.
“Normal rules, yeah? Ace is waterfall, two you, three me, four floor…” Courtney ran through the instructions in one breath.
“I agree except for one thing,” Blake spoke u
p. “Ace is Hot Seat. Whoever draws it has to answer one question from every other player. Honestly.”
“Oooh.” A grin spread across Courtney’s face. “I like that. I like that a lot.”
Farrah narrowed her eyes. Blake would be the type to barge in and change the rules.
The game heated up. Everyone took turns pulling a card, each of which came with a predetermined rule. For the first few rounds, Farrah pulled innocuous cards such as a ten (categories) and a five (all guys drink).
Her luck ran out in the fifth round.
After Olivia pulled a three (me, which meant she had to drink), it was Farrah’s turn. She examined the remaining cards. Her hand hovered over the one closest to her before she changed her mind and plucked a card from the other side. She flipped it over.
An ace. The first of the night.
The table erupted into cheers.
Farrah groaned. “I hate you guys.”