I actually smile hearing this.
It wouldn’t take much for me to crack with her.
But anyone else?
I’m Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I’ve got this.
“We’ve got this,” I whisper to Ivy.
She pales. “I’m horrible at this game.”
“What?” I pull away. “How?”
“I crack under pressure!”
“Well, that’s not helpful!” I hiss. “You have to keep it together, think about something really sad, like dead puppies, death, a kitten who just got abandoned by its mom!”
She shoots me a glare. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Sorry.” I look away. “I was just trying to make you sad.”
“Yeah, thanks! What I always wanted! To cry!”
“The puppy and kitten aren’t real; that helps, right?”
She takes a deep breath. “We have to watch out for Jude’s eyes. They’re too blue.”
“Look away.” I nod. “And if you start to smile or react, just think about how tiny his dick is.”
She jerks her head in my direction. “When have you ever seen his dick?”
I gazed at him in speculation. “We used to work out together to get rid of the rage from the internship stress. His dick is so small I wonder if he cries himself to sleep at night.”
“You’re lying.”
“If bro got a boner, you’d think that his fly was just undone, trust me on this.”
She angles a glance at Jude.
I elbow her. “Stop it; that’s weird.”
“And you staring at his tiny dick isn’t?”
“I was confused!” I hiss. “I was like, where is it, where’s his dick.”
“Why the hell were you searching, Jack?”
“Don’t make this weird!”
“Too late!”
“…and those are the rules!” Max claps his hands. “Now, you and your partner have ten minutes to plot— Oh, and one final addition. The winning two teams get to have happy hour as a bonus! And if you’re sober, you get a very fancy strawberry lemonade. YUM!”
Ivy suddenly grabs me by my shirt. “We have to win!”
“Because of the lemonade?” I laugh.
“The vodka. Because of the vodka, Jack.”
I nod. “That’s fair; let’s kill these bitches.”
“Word.” She laughs, raises her hand, and I slap it
Suddenly I feel lighter than I did this morning and more resolute.
We have to win.
I have to get the girl whose lips I still taste—her drink.
And I want to be the man sitting across from her watching her drink it.
Chapter Eight
Ivy
It’s ride or die at this point.
I know Jack can do this; just by walking around the small circle, he has every girl on the other teams swooning toward him; they’d probably just hold off so he’d sit on their laps.
Perverts. All of them.
I glare while Jack makes his rounds.
And as I watch him, I think about last night, about our steamy kiss. His eyes fall to mine; no, they simply stare straight through me; a small smirk spreads across his face.
I need to look away.
I can’t.
His walk is smooth as he moves around the small circle of teams, and then he suddenly jumps right on Jude’s lap like a toddler, wraps his arms around him, and leans in like he’s going to kiss him. “Honey, honey, oh baby girl…” He starts smooshing Jude’s cheeks together, earning chuckles from everyone. “If you love me, if you truly”—he touches his forehead against Jude’s, winks—“Truly, love me…” And honest to God, Jack starts to shed a tear. “Love me.” People start dying from laughter. “Will you please, please, please, for the love of God…” He jumps off Jude’s lap and falls to his knees in front of him. “…smile?”
Jude’s lips are quivering.
I’m praying.
I need this happy hour.
And Jack cinches the deal when he does a little spider crawl with his fingertips up Jude’s thighs. “Pretty please, boo?”
Jude bursts out laughing, then shoves Jack away. “That’s cheating.”
“Not cheating that you want me, boo.” Jack winks again and then gives me a thumbs up and joins the seat next to me.
I’m still as Jude takes his turn. He prowls around the circle, tries a few girls and guys, then finally looks over at me, then Jack.
Oh shit.
So far nobody has taken the bait.
I don’t think I will, but I’m worried now.
He stops in front of me and very slowly goes down to one knee; I immediately start to panic, seeing flashbacks of the proposal that happened but was wrecked last year before taking this internship by my stupid ex-boyfriend, who isn’t even worth talking about.
I feel myself shake for entirely different reasons as Jude grabs my hand, the same way that my ex did when he professed all his love and gave me a promise ring out of guilt for cheating on me, which he also drunkenly confessed that same day.
Asshole.
I really liked him. Did I love him yet? No, but it doesn’t help that the girl he cheated with is someone I’d once considered a friend or that the same girl used to always say how lucky I was to have him.
All guys should burn.