Page 11 of Best Served Cold

Tiny, Bubbles, River, and I all winced.

Zane didn’t even flinch.

“Nah, he’s not gonna cut it off,” I said. Why the hell was I still going on about this? “He wants to play with it. Don’t you, Z.”

His eyes flared with anger at the nickname. I’d noticed he didn’t like it when I called him ‘Z’ but he had zero issues when the rest of the crew did.

“You wish.” He finished his beer and set the empty glass on the bar top.

“Or do you wish?”

“You’re not my type,” he shot back.

“You’re not mine either.” I pantomimed cupping a pair of breasts. “You’re missing a few of my favorite things.”

“You don’t need a chick for that. You can just feel yourself up whenever you’re lonely.”

“Awww, you saying you like my pecs?” I tugged my shirt tighter around them, emphasizing their size.

He dropped his gaze momentarily. Pride rushed through me at the flare of… jealousy?...that flashed in his eyes.

Zane might have perfected the art of the blank face and neutral voice, but his eyes didn’t lie. You had to really look for it, but not even he could fully hide what he was feeling.

“I’m saying your pecs are as big as tits.” He leaned back on his stool and rested his arms over the bar behind him. His posture was casual, but the tight set of his shoulders gave away that he wasn’t as chill as he was pretending to be.

“So now you want to play with my tits, too? You really are obsessed with me.”

“No one wants to play with your tits.”

“You do.”

He smirked. “Sounds like you want me to.”

“You wish.”

“More like you wish.”

“You two should just do it already.”

“Do what?” we asked Bubbles in unison.

He made a circle with one hand and stuck the forefinger of his other hand through the ring, like we were in middle school.

“Yeah, not my thing.” I smirked at Zane. “Besides, Z couldn’t handle me.”

He looked me up and down. “You’re not nearly as special as you seem to think you are.”

Hurt tightened my chest. “You’re not denying it.”

“Denying what?”

“That you couldn’t handle me. I’m not even into guys, and I could rock your world. You wouldn’t know what hit you when I was done.”

Zane threw back his head and laughed.

Everyone, including River, froze.

Holy shit. This was the first time I’d seen Zane laugh. He’d chuckled, and a few times he’d made a sound that could have been a snort-laugh, but nothing like this unrestrained, full-belly cackle.

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