Outmatched

We’d also never been to a quiz night in a bar in Chelsea, but my oldest friend, Ren, was our quiz finder and he took us wherever the questions were. Usually I didn’t care where we ended up. Moreover, the prize didn’t matter to us. We just loved hanging out, happy to be with fellow nerds, and our bimonthly quiz nights gave us that.

Tonight, the winning team got a crate of beer and a gift card to Yankee Lobster. It wasn’t a bad prize. But I couldn’t care less. What I did care about was that we were in Chelsea. Not only were we in Chelsea, we were in a bar right around the corner from Lights Out. I hadn’t told the guys about Rhys because I couldn’t tell them the truth and I couldn’t lie to them.

“You’re quiet tonight.” Ren nudged me with his elbow before sitting back against the wall. He took a swig from his beer, his eyes on me the whole time.

I tried not to squirm under his gaze. Ren and I met at college orientation and had been friends ever since. Zoe thought I was nuts for not exploring something more with Ren. He had been, and still was, one of those guys who made nerdy sexy. He was tall, lean, with a surprising amount of wiry muscle beneath his shirt, and behind his black-framed glasses was the face of a model.

No joke.

Irish American—dark hair, olive skin, angular features, and bright blue eyes— the man was beautiful. He was also devoid of cliché—a great mix of athleticism and intellectualism, a geek and a jock, friends with extroverts and introverts alike. Ren was a hockey player in high school. He was captain of the math and debate teams. Huge nerd. But he was also kind of an alpha, pain in the ass, overprotective big-brother type.

“I’m tired,” I lied.

Ren narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“I’ve known you for twelve years, so I know when you’re lying.”

“Jesus, leave off, man,” Elijah ordered with an appeasing smile. “So what if she’s lying?” He winked at me. “Parker’s allowed her secrets.”

“Since when do I have secrets?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I had to fight not to flinch. Oops. I absolutely had a secret.

“We all have secrets.” He shrugged and turned to Navin. “Isn’t that right?”

Elijah was Ren’s roommate at MIT but he and I didn’t become good friends until late sophomore year. Navin was Elijah’s lab partner in junior year and soon became a permanent fixture in our group. He also had a permanent crush on Zoe who had, unfortunately, never returned his feelings.

Navin scowled at Elijah. “You’re a dick.”

Glad to have the spotlight off me, I crossed my arms on the table and leaned toward Navin. “Ooh, do tell?”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Navin muttered.

“You’re among friends,” Elijah teased, his dark eyes dancing with laughter. “And if it were me, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops.”

Ooh, now I was intrigued. “Shouting what?”

“Yeah, shouting what?” Ren smirked at Navin.

I knew that smirk. “You know what it is,” I accused and sat back with a huff. “Oh, come on, I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know.”

Navin shot Ren a filthy look. “You’re a dick too.”

Something occurred to me. “Oh, your parents aren’t trying to arrange another marriage, are they?” Navin’s parents lived in Mumbai, both successful lawyers. Their marriage was also arranged, and from what I had gathered from my friend over the years, they’d lucked out and were happy together. Because of that, whenever Navin was single, they tried to convince him to go through with an arranged marriage.

Elijah laughed and shook his head.

“Oh, just tell me, then.”

With a beleaguered sigh, Navin shrugged. “I met someone.”

Why was that a secret? “Okay...?”

Ren snorted. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

Navin curled his lip. “I didn’t want to tell Parker this. It’s not for her delicate ears.”

Ren grinned. “She’s not a virgin, Navin, I think she can handle the fact that you’re screwing around with an older woman. Met someone”—he snorted again—“yeah, one who likes to handcuff you to the bed. Among other kinky, dirty things.”

I choked on a sip of my beer and felt Ren pat my back as I coughed. The knowledge that my friend was into kink was unwelcome.

“Okay,” I wheezed, waving a hand between me and Navin. “I didn’t need to know that. I was happy not knowing that.”

“See?” Navin sat back in his chair, embarrassed. “And thank you very much for airing my private business in public.”

“Parker isn’t public.” Elijah shared an evil grin with Ren.

“You two are mean.” I kicked Elijah under the table and slapped Ren across the head at the same time. Their curses lit up our table and put a giant smile on Navin’s face.

Before I could say another word, an unexpected shiver tickled down my spine and a sudden awareness drew my eyes toward the bar entrance. My breath caught in my throat as my gaze collided with Rhys Morgan’s.