Writing A Wrong (Write Stuff 2)

Alec smiled, realizing he was the butt of the joke. Pops had always been a practical joker and never missed an opportunity to razz anyone. "He's harmless. I promise," I said, comforting Alec.

"Just a little initiation. It's a pleasure to meet you, son," Pops said, shaking Alec's hand. "So Alec, are you a betting man?" Pops asked, adding a five-dollar bill to the stack Dad and my brother Riley had dropped on the table.

Alec, who didn't even pause, pulled a five out of his wallet and added it to the pile. "I've been known to dabble a bit. My money's on Zachary."

I raised my eyebrow. "I'd pay close attention to your wallet in this crowd. You might find it empty by the end of the evening and you won't know what hit you." It was common knowledge in our house that among all my brothers, Tony was the scrapper. Zachary always had to work hard to get the best of him and those times were rare.

Alec shot me a grin. "His girl is watching. Guys are different when their ladies are present." He nodded toward Ashley, who ha

d just placed her own five on the table in favor of Tony. "Ouch, that's harsh," he added.

We all laughed as Tony made quick work of pinning Zachary, as usual.

"I've been around them longer, Alec. I know a sucker bet when I see one," Ashley answered, winking at us.

Tony may have gotten the better of Zachary, but both my brothers lay on their backs, breathing heavily. "I let him win," Zachary wheezed.

Ashley stood up, laughing, and reached a hand down to help her knight in shining armor to his feet. "Sure you did, babe." She pecked him on the lips. "And at least you have a girl," she whispered loudly so we could all hear.

Olivia chose that moment to walk through the front door."Yeah, but Tony has two good hands," Riley said as Tony climbed to his feet.

"Riley Donovan Blake," Mom screeched, rapping Riley on the head with a wooden spoon.

Ashley and I exchanged looks of amusement as Tony flushed several shades of red while trying to smooth down his hair.

"Did I miss all the fun?" Olivia asked, taking in the disheveled room.

"Just some one-on-one rolling around—if you're interested in playing," Tony answered, turning on the flirting like a light switch.

"From what I heard, you prefer to play with yourself," Olivia said.

Riley clapped loudly and hollered his appreciation while Zachary attempted to add his two cents, but Ashley clamped a hand over his mouth.

Tony placed a hand over his heart, not wanting to back down in front of my brothers, who continued egging him on. "That doesn't mean I don't like playing with others."

What Tony had never learned in all the years he had been chasing Olivia was that she wasn't the type to back down, nor did she embarrass easily. She took a step forward, closing the gap between them. "You mean skip out on dinner?" She trailed her finger down his chest. From my vantage point, it was clear she was playing Tony like a fiddle. "Sure," he gulped.

"You don't think your mom or grandma would mind?" She breathed heavily into his neck. "After all, your grams probably slaved away all day making that famous pecan pie you're so fond of." She patted his cheek. "Not this time, slick."

Tony finally pulled his attention away from Olivia to see everyone in the room watching him with open amusement. "What's everybody looking at? I was just kidding around."

Zachary and Riley snickered, earning Riley a flick in the ear from Dad. "Hey, damn, Dad. Come on. How are we supposed to not laugh at that? He's got no game," he defended himself.

"Reminds me of your father when he used to come around trying to get your mother to notice him. He didn't have any game either," Pops piped in, earning a round of laughter throughout the room for his juicy revelation.

"Like father like son, hey, Dad?" Zachary laughed, socking Dad in the arm.

"Mom, I didn't know you were a tease," I laughed.

"Not a tease. He just had to work for it," she answered.

"Hey, let me remind everyone that none of you would be standing here if I didn't have any game," he said, defending himself as he strutted off toward the kitchen.

I could see Alec trying to remain polite, unsure whether or not to laugh. He'd been exposed to my family a couple times in the past few months, but we were in rare form during the holidays, and a far cry from his own parents, who we had spent the previous day with for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with his daughter, Lily. It was only the second time I had met Alec's mother and father. They were very welcoming, but much more reserved than my family.

"See what you started. You're positively evil," I said to Olivia when she joined us. She lifted her hand and blew on her nails as she wiggled her fingers. "I have no earthly idea what you're talking about," she answered, blowing a kiss at Tony, who still only had eyes for her.

We linked arms and headed toward the dining room when Mom announced it was time to eat. "Evil, evil, evil."