The Game Changer (The Perfect Game 2)

I punched him in the arm. “Kiss her better then, jackass. ”

“I kiss her just fine, fuck you very much. ”

“Obviously not,” I teased. Sensing his defenses on the rise, I backed off. I loved to torment my little brother, but I didn’t enjoy actually hurting him.

“You want me to talk to her for you?” I offered, wondering what Melissa’s deal was.

Dean’s back straightened as his shoulders tensed. “Definitely not. The last thing I want is for you to talk to her. ”

“Just tryin’ to help, little brother. ” I took another sip before pouring the rest of the bottle down the sink. Warm beer tasted like piss. The shower turned off and Dean glanced up the stairs. “Go up there, already. What you should have done was hopped in the shower with her,” I suggested with a laugh.

“You’re such a dick,” he shot back as he headed toward the bathroom.

“But I’m right,” I shouted as he flipped me off over his shoulder.

We sat around the small circular oak table, drinking and laughing. Melissa pounded her tiny fist against the tabletop before shouting over the music, “Jack, I forgot to tell you that I sent Cassie the jar of quarters the other day!”

My mind drifted back to the night she left, standing alone in her old room while I stared at the jar she’d left behind. “Why?”

“She asked for it. And she made me promise to wrap it in like a thousand layers of bubble wrap so it wouldn’t break. ”

I raised my eyebrows and offered a cocky grin, happy to hear this revelation when my eye caught sight of the last possible person in the world I’d ever want to see, with her maid of honor trailing behind her. My jaw tensed as I cracked my neck.

“Oh, look who it is, Vanessa. My husband. ” Chrystle’s grating voice rang in my ears, and I suddenly wished I were deaf. “And if it isn’t his delicious brother too. Vanessa, you remember Dean, don’t you? From the weddin’?” She looked toward Vanessa, who shifted uncomfortably but didn’t respond. “Hi, Dean. How you doing, sweetie?” Chrystle cooed in her syrupy accent as she continued to invade our space.

I glanced at Melissa, who was making fists with her hands, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits, and her mouth snarling. “Jesus, Jack, I guess it’s true what they say about beer goggles,” Melissa sniped, giving Chrystle the once-over with pure disgust in her eyes.

Chrystle’s jaw dropped slightly and her eyes got huge. “What did you say?”

“I said you’re as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside,” Melissa spat out. For a tiny thing, she sure was ballsy. I fucking loved it. Melissa said everything to Chrystle that I couldn’t say without it potentially being used against me in court.

“And just who the hell are you?” Chrystle braced herself and tried to sound tough but failed, and I noticed Vanessa fighting to hide a grin.

“None of your fucking business,” Melissa shot back before taking a drink from her glass.

“But it is my business. See, you’re sitting with my husband and my brother-in-law. ” Chrystle ran her fingertips down Dean’s arm, and he tensed before swatting her hand away.

“Oh, great. ” Melissa rolled her eyes. “You touched her, Dean. She’s probably pregnant now. ”

With that comment, I couldn’t hold back any longer. Thunderous laughter ripped from my lungs and spilled out into the air.

“Now, why don’t you take your ugly skank ass away from our table so we can enjoy the rest of our night?” Melissa turned to eye me. “Seriously, Jack. How drunk were you to fuck that?” Her tone filled with contempt.

Struggling for a comeback, Chrystle scurried away from our table, almost tripping on an out-of-place chair as Vanessa quickly trailed behind her.

“Holy shit, Funsize. That was awesome. ” I reached out to high five her from across the table.

“The easiest way to get under any girl’s skin is to call her ugly. Especially when she’s not,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Good to know. ” Dean nodded.

“Don’t get any ideas, buster. You pull that shit with me, and I’ll never speak to you again,” Melissa said, with a sassy neck gyration that made me want to laugh.

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, placing the bottle to his lips and chugging.

Pussy.

“Holy shit, that story is amazing!” Cassie’s eyes squinted as she howled with laughter.