5

41

BODI

“Ican’tbelieveyou threw a party with only mocktails.” Jensen scrunches up his nose, resulting in a scowl and a swat to his arm from Rae.

“Shut it, hockey boy. This is not your party.”

I chuckle, taking another sip of my virgin Mojito. “It seemed a bit cruel to throw a party where she’d be the only one who wasn’t allowed to drink.”

“So instead, you torture me by throwing a party I’m not allowed to drink at.”

“Basically, yeah.”

“I hate you,” Jensen scoffs. “I wish I never helped you get her back.”

“You’re such a shit liar,” Rae titters, planting a kiss on her man’s cheek. “I’m going to dance.”

We watch her take off to the dancefloor of the small bar I rented for Kayla’s twentieth birthday. A Sam Hunt song I can’t remember is blasting from the speakers and Hunter twirls Charlotte around while Kayla and Julie are dancing beside them. When Kayla’s blue eyes lock with mine, I shoot her a wink. Her smile beams, making my heart jump like it does every single time. I’ve been wondering if it will ever stop, but I’d be totally fine if it doesn’t. She whispers something in Julie’s ear, and when she nods, she switches places with Rae before strutting toward me.

I turn my attention back to my glass, waiting for her arms to fall around my neck, and when they do, a warm feeling surges through me. She forcefully grabs my chin, twisting my head, before pressing a crushing kiss on my lips.

I groan, letting go of my glass and dropping my hands to her waist to tug her between my legs. She breaks free, settling between the bar and my chest while I trail kisses down her neck.

“Oh, God, you two are disgusting.” Jensen tears his eyes away, taking a sip from his orange-colored mocktail. “Almost as disgusting as this alcohol free shit.”

Like the little sass ball that she is, she pulls Jensen’s glass out of his hands, pouring the contents down her throat.

“Hey!” he huffs.

“You don’t get to say anything, hockey boy. I had to watch you and my cousin bunny hop around the house like you two had Duracell batteries up your ass.” She pulls a face. “You’re right, though. This is disgusting. What is it?”

“Some kind of Sunny Sunset thing. Probably Sex on the Beach without the sex.” Jensen rolls his eyes, and I chuckle at the two of them bantering at each other, with my hands plastered over Kayla’s stomach. “And you didn’t have to watch shit. You are the one who begged me to let you stay with us, remember?”

“Whatever.” She waves his words away at the same time Jensen’s eyes lock over his shoulder with an amused look written in his features. Entertained, I stare at him with my eyebrows arched until Kayla curiously follows his gaze.

“You cannot scowl at me for some PDA with my boyfriend, if you’re lurking at my cousin like a freaking stalker.”

Jensen shoots her a dull look. “I live with her. I’m allowed, Lockheart. Besides, not what I was looking at.”

Kayla and I both twist our necks again, this time a little farther, so we can see past Rae. The corner of my lips curls as Kayla’s jaw drops a little in surprise when we see how Julie and Jason are dancing together like they’re about to go up in flames.

“Did you know about them?” I ask Kayla.

“Nope.” Her P pops, like she’s as stunned as we are.

The tension between them rises as they completely seem to lose sight of everything else. Heat radiates from them, and I notice the grin forming on Hunter’s cheeks when he glances at his best friend who has his arms wrapped around Julie’s body. He presses a kiss on his wife’s head, then comes to join us with a little shake of his head.

“Did you know about those two?” Jensen’s arm is propped onto the bar, his chin resting in his palm while Hunter mimics his stance on the other side of Kayla and I.

He shakes his head. “I had my suspicions, but they keep saying nothing is going on. They are just friends.” His gaze moves back to his own best friend and his wife’s best friend before he turns it back to us. He gestures to the bartender for another virgin Mojito, pointing at his glass.

“They are fucking liars,” Jensen counters.

“Yeah, that looks totally like just friends,” Kayla chimes in with a smirk, cocking her head a little. “Just as much as Bodi and I. I wonder who of the two is the Bodi of the relationship. You know, the one who’s got their head up their ass.”

“Shut up, little minx.” I tickle her side and she lets out a shriek.

“Probably both,” Hunter pitches in, then takes a sip of his fresh drink. “Kayla, babe. I like you, but I seriously can’t wait until your next birthday because this is shit.” He drops his glass, then points his scowl at me. “Come on, Bodi. Couldn’t we just throw her a house party and pretend she turned twenty-one?”

“That’s what I said!” Jensen yelps, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“You two are acting like fucking teenagers,” I tell them, scolding.

“No, that’s her.” Jensen points at Kayla.

“Hey! Not anymore! I’m twenty now. No longer a teenager.”

“I think she’s old enough for a shot, McKay.” Hunter gives me a pleading look. “You can’t tell me you and Jensen were sober until your twenty-first birthday?”

Kayla snorts. “As if.”

Hunter smiles. “One shot.”

“Yes! One shot!” Jensen doesn’t even wait for my reply before he throws a hundred-dollar bill on the bar and grabs a bottle of tequila from the workstation. “I’m buying a bottle, man!” Without waiting for the bartender’s confirmation, he reaches farther for four glasses, then starts to pour a finger in all of them as I roll my eyes.

Kayla turns around, staring up at me through her thick lashes.

“Can I? It’s my birthday after all.”

I promised the owner of the bar I’d make sure she wouldn’t drink, but when she’s giving me that look, I’m lost for perseverance. She’s got me wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it.

“One shot,” I concede, making her jerk up in excitement. “One, Kayla.”

I try to keep a stern voice, but when she holds up my glass with a glittering smile, I have a feeling she’s not really listening and I feel a smile haunt my face.

“Sure,” she taunts, while her eyes give me a clear no.

“To never drinking a fucking mocktail.” Jensen holds up his glass.

“Amen, brother,” Hunter chimes in before I follow with a; “Happy birthday, baby.”

We all down the glass, faces tense when the burning spirit falls on our tongue.

“God, I forgot how disgusting tequila is,” I complain while my friends join me with a mutter.

“Y’all are crazy! I want another one.” Kayla bounces between my legs, clapping like a seal, and I twist her face, grabbing her chin.

“One, baby. We agreed on one.”