I get a smirk that makes it more than clear I’ve amused him today. “What do they make now?”
“No fucking clue,” I chuckle. “I just know Blue needs a raise and so I asked Rutherford for it.”
There’s a long low whistle that comes from Legend as he shakes his head, still with that amused expression on his face that tells me I’m charming the fucking pants off him. “You are absolutely fucking whipped, aren’t you?”
My gaze goes back to Blue. She laughs at something Tacker says to Billy and it fucking hits me in the chest and groin at the same tie. My voice is droll when I admit, “Guess that’s one way of putting it.”
I turn and set my unfinished beer on the bar. “Which makes me wonder why I’m sitting here talking to your ugly ass when I could be hanging out with Blue.”
“You love my ugly ass,” he says as he points his beer at me.
I don’t respond to that directly, but yeah…I kind of do. Legend’s my closest friend on the team. Instead, I nod over to the robots where Brooke and Bishop are now having a go at them with Dax and Pepper cheering them on. “You should go over there. Challenge Pepper to a duel for ruler of the neighborhood rights.”
“Fuck off,” he mutters as he looks over at her, his brow furrowing. He truly doesn’t need the robots. Those two just need to battle it out in bed, but that’s not going to happen. Dax has already made his move for her and once he taps that, if he hasn’t already, she’ll be off limits to Legend.
I stroll across the arcade to the Galaga machine. Billy’s currently playing while Tacker stands to the side of the game, his hand perched up on the top. His gaze is intent as he gives Billy encouragement.
Sliding in next to Blue, I put my arm around her waist. She tips her head to look up at me and well…those lips just need to be kissed.
So I do.
When I lean back, she turns slightly to rest her hand on my stomach and my muscles involuntarily contract from her touch. She goes to her tiptoes, putting her mouth near my ear. “Thank you for all of this.”
I pull my head back slightly to look into her eyes. With my arm sweeping out, I tell her, “This is nothing but a fun afternoon for everyone involved.”
“Yeah,” she replies with a laugh. “But I’m sure you and the guys had better things to do.”
I shake my head and give her a pointed look. “No. We didn’t.”
“So getting lucky tonight,” she murmurs and then turns her attention back to the game.
After Billy soundly thrashes Tacker, I step around the chair to face Billy. “All right, buddy…I challenge you to a game. Are you up for it?”
Billy’s broad grin goes bigger as he jabs his arm at me. His voice is thick and the word is drawled out with long vowels, but I understand him clearly when he says, “Yeah.”
I put my monetized card you have to use to play the games into the machine and set up two players. I tell myself that I’ll go easy on Billy since it gives him such joy to win.
Except…he’s really damn good with his coordination. Far better than I am and he beats my ass soundly. Tacker merely slaps me on the back in commiseration before looking down at his watch.
He looks to me briefly and then bends down slightly to Billy. “Look…I got to go, but it was great hanging with you, Billy. Can we do it again sometime?”
This prospect pleases Billy so much he has a hard time getting the word out, so he just nods his head exuberantly. Tacker grins at him and holds a fist out to which Billy bumps his to it.
Tacker straightens and turns to Blue. To my surprise, he leans in and kisses her on the cheek. I wait for a flash of jealousy but it doesn’t come. Instead, it makes me happy to see Tacker finally interacting on a personal level with someone. “Had a great time, Blue. See you on the next trip.”
After Tacker leaves, I ask Billy if he wants to play Galaga again. He shakes his head.
I let my gaze sweep around the arcade, looking for something new for us to play. “All right then…let’s go find something else.”
Billy instead shakes his head again and looks at Blue. He tilts his head and puts the back of one hand to the side of it and taps it there. Blue smiles at Billy and ruffles his hair.
Turning to me, she says, “He’s tired. It’s been a long day for him, so I think we better get him back to the Cresson.”
“That was a sign for tired?” I ask, to make sure I start to understand his language.