TWELVE
BRIAN
As we waited for the cab, Trey and Kendy argued back and forth about my future wife. She would lean into him and slap his shoulder, and huff and puff at him. I didn’t know why, but that familiar jealousy boiled up inside me again. I fisted my hands as I fought a strong desire to yank her away from Trey, take her home, and claim her.
Trey laughed at whatever Kendy had just said, and it made my face steam. I’d never been mad at my best friend over a girl. Probably because he’d been dating my sister for a huge chunk of our time in high school.
I knew he didn’t want Kendy, but I couldn’t help it. This jealousy was an animal all its own.
When he reached out and grabbed her forearm, I stiffened. The next moment, I laughed awkwardly and possessively pulled her closer to me. It was a smooth move, and one I didn’t think she noticed as her giggles continued. But Trey did. I saw his smile falter as he stared at me questioningly.
Trey had never been a cock blocker. That was one of the things I’d never have to worry about him. One quality that oozed out of Trey was loyalty, but still . . . there was something about tonight, or maybe it was just Kendy who brought out this jealous bastard in me.
A moment later, he stepped away from her. Just when a cab pulled in front of us, Trey scratched the top of his head. “Hey, I’m gonna go meet some friends at the Bud Lounge.”
Well, shit. I hadn’t meant to make him feel bad. But I didn’t say anything to stop him either.
Kendy released me and tugged on his shirt. “No, come on. You said drinks at your apartment. It’ll be fun. Let’s go.”
I clenched my jaw and shot him a look, silently telling him to beat it. I’d have to apologize for my caveman behavior later.
“You’re such a party pooper,” she sassed, grabbing my hand and pulling us toward the cab. “Brian and I are about to get crazy wasted. We’re going to play drinking games, right?” She winked back at me before ducking her head to get in the cab.
I glanced back at Trey, who mouthed, “Have fun.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he motioned between Kendy and me. He put his two fingers together in a kissy motion, and then in a more vulgar move, circling his thumb with his index finger.
I gave him the finger before I shut the door behind me, sliding thigh to thigh beside Kendy. In the next second, I recited my address to the cab driver and pulled Kendy into my lap. Both of my hands moved to the bareness of her lower back, shoving her against me, and I kissed her. Hard.
I heard her sharp intake of breath right before her mouth opened to let me in. I needed to tame the beast inside of me, the jealous one that needed to calm the hell down, and I knew the only cure was her.
***
KENDY
Four beers later, I felt pretty damn good. I was sitting cross-legged on the couch, dressed in only Brian’s t-shirt. As soon as we’d stepped into his apartment, Brian had carried me into his room. There was a fierce possessiveness in the way we had sex tonight, but never once had I felt threatened.
It had always been hot and heavy with Brian, but tonight was a notch higher. I didn’t want to read too much into our sexcapade, but it was as though he was claiming me with his body.
Brian was on the living room floor, shirtless and only in his boxers. His chestnut coffee table sat between us. As I rested against the couch in his oversized t-shirt, my body warmed all over from the liquor coursing through me. I swallowed back another swig of Miller Lite as my eyes flickered to his well-defined six-pack. I had to appreciate a guy who took care of his body, and Brian did that well.
We were playing the card game High/Low, and I kept on losing.
“You suck major,” I said, laughing as I said it, a warm flush creeping up my cheeks.
There was no way he was as toasted as me. Still, he had a heavy smile on his face to match mine.
“Go.” I pushed the cards toward him. There was no way. I couldn’t lose four in a row.
He flipped the card, revealing the four of hearts.
I shook my head, my smile widening. “And here is where my losing streak ends.” I grabbed the card on the top of the pile. “The odds are forever in my favor.” I bowed and flipped the card over. “Booyah!”
And then I frowned at my two of clubs. Damn.
“I hate this game,” I pouted, childishly messing up the cards into one pile as I emptied the last of my fourth bottle. “I want to play another game.” I frowned like the sore loser I truly was. No denying it. But who wants to lose all freaking night?
“Can’t play a drinking game without a drink.” He grinned at me and lifted off the floor, strutting over to the fridge to get me another bottle.
“If you’re trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage, know that you already did that thirty minutes ago,” I joked. “Don’t you love our mutual agreement?”
He spun around, holding our beers. His eyes turned unreadable, somehow shifting the mood in the air. He sat next to me on the couch this time, not smiling, just meeting my gaze. I could sense some sort of emotion behind his look, and it had my heart racing.
Shifting in my seat, I averted my eyes and focused on the cards on the table. I didn’t want to read something that wasn’t truly there, or maybe I was refusing to see it.
He handed me my beer, still silent, and I bumped my shoulder into his. “If we were in a relationship, I’d be griping that you were drinking too much. Bitching like a girlfriend does when her man has a little too much fun. We wouldn’t be this carefree, and we wouldn’t be playing these type of games on a Friday night.”
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, his voice off yet gentle. “Want to play another game? I want to play ‘I never’.”
***
BRIAN
I’ve been there before with the controlling girlfriend who didn’t like it when I had too much fun. That had been in college, when I’d had more than enough fun for the both of us.
As I watched Kendy’s blue eyes gloss over, a smile still heavy on her face, it was hard to picture her as the type to go all crazy on her boyfriend.
I decided I wanted to know as much as I could about her, so I picked the game that would give me the inside scoop into that beautiful head of hers. The ‘I Never’ game was a popular drinking game, where one player would give a statement, and if the other players agreed with that statement, they took a drink.
“I’ll go first,” I told her. “I’ve never FTF-ed before you. Not with anyone that I wasn’t seriously dating.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You make me seem like a hooker.” She pretended to push her bottle away, like she wasn’t taking a drink, but then she slammed it back, which didn’t surprise me. “And for your information, I’ve only FTF-ed one other time before you, so there.” She tucked her feet under her ass. “Why so serious? Let’s lighten this up, shall we?” She extended her beer bottle, and I tapped mine against hers. “I’ve never had sweet and sour pork.”
I let out a carefree laugh and guzzled down my beer. “Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised. Out of all the ‘I nevers’ she’d picked that one. While this was a way for me to take a playful game to get to know the real her, she brought this game back to the light side.
She shrugged. “I love Chinese food, but there’s something about sweet and sour. It’s a food contradiction. You can’t be sweet and sour. It’s just not right.” She tried to suppress a giggle. “One more,” she said, raising her index finger. “I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty. I’m afraid of heights.”
I brought the bottle to my lips again. “Heights?” I didn’t know why, but I found this surprising as well. Maybe because Kendy seemed so brave, and there was nothing she was afraid of.
She gave off this tough girl persona, which was sexy as hell, but when I got glimpses of her little insecurities or fears, it only drew me to her even more. As though her insecurities gave me an inside look into Kendy, only fueling my desire to want to know more about her.