Chapter 23
“I’ll sweeten the pot with an extra hundred,” Ben offered.
Denver stood up and curled in his lips. His sharp whistle cut through the air and caught the attention of Reno, who was strutting through the automatic doors of the bowling alley.
“Shit, I’d do it for free.” Jericho flipped his hair back, revealing a charismatic smile.
“Don’t,” Denver warned, pointing his finger. “You’re going to get us kicked out of here.”
“Chicken.” Ben sneered as he leaned back in his plastic chair and laced his fingers behind his head.
“Shut it,” Denver snapped.
Jericho stood up, peeled off his shirt, and climbed on top of the table. Denver yanked him so hard by the arm that they both went crashing to the floor.
Three girls at a nearby table stood up and applauded.
Denver sat up with a cocksure grin and jumped to his feet, winking at them.
Jericho slowly rolled over and towered over Denver with his lean body and a lone tattoo of a guitar on his left arm. He didn’t have to wink. The girls were practically losing their virginity all over again watching a sex-laced smile spread across his face.
“Same old drama.” Reno kissed me on the neck. I smiled at him because I loved how a tough guy like Reno wasn’t afraid to show his affection for me in public. “How many rounds have they had?” he asked, taking a seat on my right.
“I lost count at three.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Austin and Lexi are checking if the room is ready. Lynn’s in there with Maizy,” I said, thumbing toward the arcade.
“Well, if these boys get too rowdy, Lynn should head home.”
“She walked by a minute ago and I have a feeling she’s all for that plan. This doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Lynn does for fun, so she’s probably bored. You don’t think this atmosphere is bad for Maizy with all your cussing and wild behavior?”
“Shifter life.” He shrugged it off, taking a sip of my orange soda. “Swearing doesn’t make a child grow up to be dysfunctional—an uncaring family does. Maizy has more love and protection within this pack than she’ll ever know in the human world.”
“But they’re not Shifters.”
He sighed and set down the cup. “Lynn’s brought up the idea a few times about sending her off to a boarding school when she gets older, and Austin said over his dead body. I don’t know that Austin is going to win that battle because she’s Lynn’s daughter, and since she’s unmated, he has no say. Lynn and Ivy homeschool her, but I don’t think that’s working out. She needs to be around kids her age, and most Shifters don’t like their kids playing with humans. Did you eat?”
“I ordered some fries.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you order a meal?”
“Because she’s afraid someone’s going to hock a loogie in her food,” Trevor said from behind me. He sat in the bucket seat to my left and took a bite of his hot dog. “Isn’t that right, babe?”
My cheeks heated and Reno’s lips twitched.
“Don’t laugh at me,” I said, feeling a tad embarrassed. “I saw it on a show once. They had hidden cameras.”
His lips pressed tighter, fighting the urge to laugh.
Jericho pulled his concert shirt over his head and I caught Trevor peering up at him. I’d decided bringing Trevor along would be a good way for him to get to know the guys who had been looking out for me. A weird vibe was going on with all the men that no one addressed, but I noticed the sideways glances at one another.
“Well, you just robbed those lovely ladies of a fucktastic show,” Jericho said, pulling his hair away from his collar. “Never dare a musician to dance naked on a table for fifty dollars, Ben. You’ll lose every time.”
“Show-off,” Ben murmured, taking a swig of beer.
“It’s ready!” Lexi’s bright voice called out from the entranceway that led to the laser-tag room. “We’ve got the room to ourselves for the full hour. So are we all good on teams?”
“I say every man for himself,” Wheeler suggested, walking past her with Denver close behind him.
“Go on, Trevor,” I said in a low voice. “You’ll have fun and you can get out all your aggression in there. Admit it. You want to go Rambo on their ass.”
He shoved the rest of the hot dog in his mouth. “Fuck it. I’m in,” he said with a mouthful before taking a sip of my drink and walking off. I’d spent the better part of an hour talking him into it, and no matter how much he resisted the idea, Trevor couldn’t say no to me.
“Come on, Reno. We need one more,” Lexi yelled out, tying her long hair in a ponytail. “Ivy’s playing too, so that makes an odd number.”