“If you say so.” Cash rolled his eyes before focusing back on the road.
Rather than take the freeway straight up to Irvine, Cash had decided to treat them to the scenic route, though Jackson suspected it was just an excuse for the guy to use the new fancy-pants navigation system he’d installed in the SUV last month.
“Anyway, it’s your turn,” Cash told Dylan.
“What letter are we on? K?” Dylan paused. “All right—Kim Cattrall, Kim Kardashian and…shit, who’s another Kim? Um…Kimmy Gibbler from Full House. Texas?”
Jackson mulled it over. “Well, I’d definitely make sweet love to Kim Cattrall. That’s a no-brainer. And…I’d kill the Kardashian.”
Cash and Dylan hooted. “And marry Kimmy Gibbler?” Dylan demanded.
He shrugged. “I always thought she got a bad rap. I bet she wasn’t as annoying as they made her out to be. Is it my turn now?”
“You’re on L,” Cash informed him.
“L…um, Lucy Liu—”
“This sucks,” Seth interrupted. He was sitting next to Dylan in the backseat, and his rugged features had creased in annoyance. “It’s more fun when you actually know the people involved.”
“Fine.” Jackson lifted one eyebrow in challenge. “Here’s one for you, smartass. Jen, Claire and Holly.”
“I swear to God, Masterson,” Cash said in a warning tone, “if you choose to kill my girlfriend, I’ll break your fucking neck.”
“And I’ll choke you out if you pick Claire,” Dylan added ominously. “For any of them.”
“You win, Texas,” Seth said darkly. “I can’t answer that.”
Jackson had to laugh. “Coward.”
“Oh come on, like you’d have the balls to make a choice?”
“I’d marry ’em all,” Jackson said solemnly. “Because they’re all wonderful, upstanding women who deserve to be worshipped.”
Dylan nodded in approval. “Good answer, bro.”
“I thought so.”
“How about this one?” Seth challenged. “Me, Dylan and Cash. Go.”
Jackson twisted around to smirk at the dark-haired SEAL. “Easy. I’d fuck Cash, marry Dylan and kill you.”
“Ha-ha.” Seth flipped up his middle finger. “And FYI, you ungrateful bastard? I would’ve picked you to marry.”
“Who would you have killed then?” Cash asked curiously.
“Sorry, man.”
Cash looked outraged. “Me?”
“What can I say? I suspect Dylan gives really good head,” Seth replied.
“I do,” Dylan confirmed. “Aidan can vouch for that.”
“Wait—what?”
The disruption came from Mia’s brother, whose green eyes had flown open to reveal a look of surprise.
Jackson turned around to glower at the kid. “Ah, for chrissake, you’ve been awake this whole time?”
Danny offered an impish smile. “Kinda.”
Great. Mia would murder him if she knew he’d allowed her brother to eavesdrop on a convo involving fuckin’ and killin’ female celebrities.
Some role model he was.
“Not a word about this to your sister,” he told Danny, shooting him an I-mean-business glare. “And pretend you never heard any swearing.”
“You got it.” The teenager glanced at Dylan, his expression lined with hesitation and undeniable curiosity. “Dude…are you gay?”
Dylan donned a deadly scowl. “So what if I am, homophobe?”
Danny immediately backpedaled. “What? No! I’m not a homophobe! I don’t care about that kind of stuff, seriously, I don’t. I mean, if a guy wants to do another guy, then why shouldn’t—”
“Relax, kid,” Dylan interrupted with a hearty laugh. “I’m just messing with you. And to answer your question, I’m not gay. I’m bi.”
“Oh. Cool, I guess. So that means you—”
Pop!
The loud noise cut Danny off and rocked the SUV, bringing a curse to everyone’s lips.
Panic flooded Danny’s eyes. “What happened?”
“Tire blew,” Seth answered grimly.
Cash effortlessly steered the SUV onto the gravel shoulder of the road, his features glittering with annoyance. “Goddamn it. This is just what we need.”
“Are we gonna miss the kickoff?” Danny sounded even more panicked now.
Jackson glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Naah, we’ll be fine. It’s only six. Kickoff isn’t ’til seven thirty. We’ll make it.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Dylan assured the young quarterback. “We’re only twenty minutes away. We’ll just change the tire quick-fast and be driving again in no time.”
“Come on, let’s do this shit.” Cash flicked on the emergency blinkers, then hopped out of the SUV and slammed the door behind him.
Stifling a sigh, Jackson got out and rounded the vehicle. The other three filed out too, loitering near the trunk as Cash opened the compartment that housed the SUV’s spare tire.
Which meant they were all around to hear the very loud, very angry expletive that roared out of Cash’s mouth.
“What’s up?” Frowning, Seth drifted closer and peered into the trunk. “Aw, shit. Are you fucking kidding me, McCoy?”
As everyone crowded around to sneak a peek, Jackson finally released that sigh. The spare tire was flat.