"We're not playing for money, so stop offering up your virginity. Idiots." I took a big bite of my burger and smirked at Clay who rolled his eyes at me.
"You're just pissy because you lost the last three games." He gave me a mischievous look.
Cora glanced over at me, her eyebrow lifted. "You lost to these guys?"
"Yeah, he did." Derek snorted before his smile faded. "Wait... these guys?"
Cora laughed and moved her burger out of her way. "Never mind me watching you. Deal me a hand. I think I can do this. Shouldn't be too hard to take you guys out and teach you a few lessons while I'm doing it."
My cock hardened at her words—and even more so at her confidence.
"Oh hell no, she didn't." Derek pulled the dominoes back over toward him and looked my way. "You in, Brody?"
"Nope. I want to eat and watch my girl school you bastards." I shrugged and took another bite as Cora's hand moved up my thigh and squeezed my dick.
"Watch and learn." She smiled, and I almost thought to warn her. My group of friends had been playing for years together. There was no way she was going to win.
"Okay, baby. I'm looking forward to it." I glanced over at Clay and mouthed for him to go easy on her.
He snorted, and I knew we were in for a really good time—or a serious ass battle. I leaned back and let things progress as they would.
It was three hours later and two games down, and Cora had not only beaten all my boys, but forced each of them to pony up the 20 dollars they'd each bet against her before the start of the second round.
I laughed so hard that my sides hurt as they drug themselves down the hall and proclaimed her as queen of the table.
She stood and turned to me as I finished my beer. "Alright. Queen of the Table wants King of the Bedroom to make the night complete."
I nodded and reached for her. "What my queen wants, she gets."
Chapter Thirty-One
Cora
The time for me to leave was getting closer and closer. I hated the thought of heading back home without my friends. It almost felt like doing so would be the end of the summer affair Brody and I had started. While I knew we could make things work after getting back to life, I didn't know if it was the best answer for either of us. He had dreams and ambitions, and I did, too.
I let my thoughts go and enjoyed the next few days with him, playing on the lake and taking long walks through the city streets together. We promised each other that we would watch a chick-flick a day for fun and so far, we'd gotten through three of his top five.
After a long day of hanging out at the island with our friends, we made our way back to his place and made hot dogs before settling down on the couch together.
"Are you excited about the casework next week? I mean," he licked mustard off his fingers. "It has to be pretty cool to see that stuff from behind the red tape, you know?"
"I'm a little excited about it, but honestly, if you knew my parents, you'd understand why I'm dreading it all the same." I took a big bite of my hot dog and kept my attention on him.
"Overbearing?" He popped a few chips into his mouth.
"My dad is. My mom's just his puppet." I finished my hot dog and stood up. "I'm not sure why she lets him run all over her."
He followed me into the kitchen. "Because she loves him, maybe? People do weird shit for love. My mom stayed with my dad, even though he was a cheating bastard. Crazy. I couldn't do it, you know?"
His words drove a stake of fear down the center of me, but I worked hard to play it off. The last thing I needed to do was ruin our last few nights together thanks to my insecurities.
"Yeah. I couldn't do it, either." I reached for his plate and threw them both away. "How long are you guys renting this place?"
"Through August, but I'm serious about leaving a little early." He licked at his lips as he pulled me close to him. "Come get in the shower with me. I wanna touch you all over."
"Sounds like a good deal to me." I lifted to my toes and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him deeply and melted into the strong frame of his chest. He was everything I'd dreamt a man to be, and yet my fears trapped me in an odd state of mind. His sister was a cheater, and so was his dad. Hell, he was a self-proclaimed whore—or had been a few weeks before.
"Come on, baby." He moved back and surprised me by picking me up.