“Let me hold that for you, babe.” Gamble reached for her bottle of chick liquor, but she held it out away from him and leaned the rest of her body his way as she puckered her mouth for a kiss.
“I’d rather you hold me instead.”
“Ack! God.” Wincing, I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the lip-lock that followed. “Really? You’re going to make me watch your porn after I’m already being forced to suffer through this stupid-ass game where Shakespeare’s cheating by sneaking drinks between each turn and these two can’t even participate?”
I hooked my thumb toward Milk Tits and Buttercup, who were both big and swollen with pregnancy, and therefore banned from drinking any spirits.
Buttercup rolled her eyes as she took a sip from her sparkling grape juice—another cheat, sneaking drinks. “Getting drunk isn’t the point.”
Frowning, I lifted an eyebrow. “Then what’s the goddamn point of a drinking game?”
“Reconnecting,” Milk Tits answered. “It’s been forever since we’ve all been together. We’re just trying to have a little fun, Ten. Gah. Don’t be such a fun hater.”
I sighed. Stupid games were not my idea of reconnecting or having fun. I thought we’d done a damn fine job of catching up at dinner before the concert, and I’m sure all the guys would’ve backed me on that...if they’d been willing to go against their wives’ opinions.
Whipped pussies.
Appreciating Caroline to hell and back for never making me feel as if I couldn’t voice my own fucking outlook, I slung my arm over her knee and stroked the length of her soft calf. She sat on the chair next to me, and I was already leaning against her leg for support.
When her fingers burrowed into my hair in response, I almost purred contentedly. God, I loved this woman. I would honestly do anything for her, even leave our perfect nest in Lake Tahoe—where I’d eventually gotten another opportunity to apply for that job and accepted it this time, and Caroline had transferred colleges to graduate with a filmmaking degree—to travel all the way back to Chicago and watch Asher Hart and his band Non-Castrato in their first big performance at the Metro.
Okay, so maybe I was proud of the guy, too, and I’d also wanted to watch his concert, which fine, had been pretty kick-ass, and the backstage passes he’d sent us had been even sweeter—but I never would’ve admitted all that aloud. Instead, I had to piss and moan about it because that’s just the way I rolled.
But getting together with the rest of the crew in Pick and Milk Tits’s hotel room afterward to play “reconnecting” drinking games really did suck ass.
“Ooh, it’s my turn.” Buttercup was a little too giddy as she snatched a folded sheet of paper from the pile in the center of our circle and opened it. After clearing her throat, she read the message aloud. “I think this game fucking sucks.” Tipping her face to the side, she sent me a dry
look. “Ten.”
“Wow,” I said, unimpressed, “You figured out that one was mine.” Setting my hand over my heart, I fluttered my lashes her way. “You know me so well.”
She sniffed. “No, unlike some people here, I actually have a good memory. You said that very phrase aloud not thirty seconds ago.”
“Oh, you’re going to go with the memory bash, huh? That’s low, Mrs. Lowe. Just low.”
Every once in a while, I still had blanks in my memory. I remembered absolutely nothing from the picnic on the day of my accident, and sometimes Caroline had to remind me of things we’d done when we were dating, but I never forgot how much she meant to me, which was all that mattered. “Next time, just go after my fucked-up face, why don’t you?”
Actually, everyone had gotten so used to my scars they usually didn’t even see them.
“But they’re kind of cute.” Buttercup reached out to trace the deepest one down my jawline. “So that would defeat the purpose of trying to make fun of you.”
“This one’s my favorite.” Caroline touched the one that bisected the corner of my left eyebrow. I grinned up at her.
“I kind of like the swirly one on his chin.” Blondie grinned over at me as she wrapped her arm around Ham’s bicep and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
When I winked at her, Gamble groaned. “What the hell? The asshole gets mutilated, and chicks still dig him?”
“Hey, I’m just a loveable guy.” Resting my cheek on Caroline’s thigh, I grinned up at her, and she grinned back, letting me know she agreed.
“Yeah, a loveable guy who hasn’t stopped bitching and complaining since he entered my room,” Pick muttered. He flicked a finger to the pile of paper pieces on the floor. “And whose turn it happens to be.”
I groaned. “You all are really going to make me keep playing, aren’t you?”
“Just pick a damn piece of paper already,” Lowe growled.
With a scowl his way, I pulled away from the warmth and comfort of my woman to lean forward and snag a scrap.
Grumbling under my breath, I undid every annoying fold and then widened my eyes before focusing on the words. “I’m pregnant and don’t know how to tell my husband,” I read aloud, before immediately guessing, “Milk Tits.”