Page 67 of A Taste of Whiskey
“It’ssmallerthan the pink one. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep my hands to myself right now?”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure I stayed on your mind tonight,” she said sassily.
“Woman, I think about you so much, it’s a wonder I can think of anything else.”
HE WAS STILL thinking about her in that damn bikini an hour later. The game was in full swing. The sounds of people running, paintball guns shooting, laughter, and shouts filled the air as Taz shot at Ezra. Ezra dove behind a tower of tires, avoiding being hit. He heard Gus giggling and turned just in time to see him running alongside Dare as they snuck up on Simone. They shot her in the back, and she spun around as Dare picked up Gus like a football under his arm and took off running.
Ezra spotted Alice and Manny kissing in a bunker and ran by, shooting both of them.
“What happened to the brotherhood?” Manny hollered.
“All is fair in love and war!” Ezra laughed as he dove behind a metal barrier. He peered out, spotting Sasha peeking out from behind a stone wall as Bobbie darted across the field. Doc popped out of a bunker and shot Bobbie in the chest.
“Darn it, Doc!” Bobbie complained.
Doc sprinted by, cracking up, and Dwight appeared from behind a barrier and shot him. Doc feigned his death, dramatically falling to the ground. Sasha stepped out from behind the wall, shooting Dwight in the back, and yelled, “Loser!” as she sprinted away.
Attagirl.
A shot rang out from behind a cement cylinder, and Wynnie hollered, “Darn it, Tiny!” Tiny’s deep laughter filled the air, and Cowboy yelled, “Way to go, Dad!”
Ezra saw Sasha crawling G.I. Joe–style out of a bunker and around the side of a stone wall. He stealthily made his way over, slipping behind one obstacle after another. He heard Gus holler, “Gotcha!”
Kenny shouted, “Oh man! Shot by a peewee!”
Ezra sprinted out from behind a tower of tires and ran behind the wall where Sasha was hiding. She spun around, her gun aimed directly at him. Her camouflage pants and vest were covered in dirt, and her hair was trapped beneath her eye mask. She looked fierce and competitive and so fucking sexy he wanted to ravage her right there. He held his finger up in front of his mouth, and they both looked around. His heart raced as he closed the distance between them. “Hey, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I think we’re alone.”
“I didn’t see anyone.”
Adrenaline coursed through him as he pulled her into a kiss, feeling like he needed that connection to feel fully alive—and lately, he did. He wanted to take the kiss deeper but knew he couldn’t risk it and reluctantly drew back. Her sweet smile and lustful eyes nearly took him to his knees. “Come see me tonight after Gus is asleep,” he whispered.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Their eyes remained trained on each other as they walked backward toward opposite ends of the wall. He never even realized she’d lifted her gun until the paintball nailed him in the stomach, and by then she was already gone, her laughter trailing behind her like the wind.
LONG AFTER THEIR epic paintball game, which turned into several epic games with a few stolen kisses, Sasha was sitting by the bonfire playing her guitar, as laughter and conversations went on around her. Her parents were holding hands between their chairs, talking with Alice, Manny, and Dwight. Birdie had wrangled Billie into wearing her bride-to-be sash, and now she was pushing for her to wear the crown. Dare was trying to convince Birdie that his beautiful fiancée didn’t need a crown, and at the same time, he tried to convince Billie that she’d be the hottest crown-wearing bride-to-be ever to exist.
He was going to be a great husband.
Gus had chocolate all over his fingers as he and Ezra made s’mores while they chatted with Doc. Taz and Hyde were flirting with Bobbie and Simone. There was a lot of eye-rolling going on from the girls, and Kenny was having fun teasing Taz and Hyde about that. Cowboy and Sully were talking among themselves, kissing between conversations.Sigh.They were so in love. These were the moments Sasha loved most. When she was surrounded by the people she cared about and love and friendship hung in the air. She only wished she could express her love for Ezra as openly as her siblings were able to for their significant others.
“I’m not wearing a crown,” Billie insisted.
“It’s tradition,” Birdie insisted. “Every bride wears a crown at the bachelorette party.”
“We have no traditions yet. We’re the first to get married in our families,” Billie reminded her. “Our tradition can benocrown.”
“Speak for yourself, sis,” Bobbie interrupted as she roasted a marshmallow. “When I have my bachelorette party, I’m wearing a crown and a sash.”
“So am I,” Birdie said. “We like crowns, right, Sasha?”
If Sasha were marrying Ezra, she wouldn’t care what she wore. “I guess, but I think Billie should wear whatever she wants. It’s her bachelorette party.”
“Birdie, Billie doesn’t have to wear the crown becauseyoulike the tradition,” Dare said. “But I’ll happily wear it on her behalf so your tradition will remain in place.”
“That works for me.” Birdie put the crown on Dare’s head and went back to her seat with a bounce in her step.
“You know, if you’d made her a bedazzled cowgirl hat, she probably would have worn it,” Bobbie said.
