Page 66 of Player For Hire

I wasn’t sure what that meant for me, but I was suddenly very interested in a game of trivia. I shook his hand and a shiver slid up my spine as his thumb slid along the top of my hand before he let me go.

“Nay, get over here,” Iona demanded.

Shaking my head, I rushed over to find our team now consisted of a few more people since I’d been talking to Colder and his brother. I gave up trying to keep the names straight and settled myself beside Iona on the carpet.

“First round is Marvel movies.” Cal stood beside the screen as a familiar logo filled the screen and four boxes came up.

I hid a smile. This was going to be cake. I’d had a very uninterested ex-boyfriend who’d left me to my own devices most of the time. My streaming accounts had been well plundered for my four years in Chicago.

The rounds were lightning fast with a heavy dose of pop culture and Trivia Pursuit-style questions. I’d never actually played in a trivia team, but I found myself shouting out answers far more than I’d expected.

Cal, Eli, and Colder were very competitive, and the sharp insults for wrong answers between them were a little jarring until I realized that’s just how they spoke to one another.

Yet another lesson for me without stripping out of my clothes.

I took mental notes as we went into a tiebreaker for the end of the first round.

“Last question to the girls. If they get it wrong, the guys win it.”

“We haven’t gotten it wrong yet!” Iona was three glasses of wine in and getting cocky with it.

My back was settled against the bottom of the couch and I was sitting with my legs criss-crossed. There was another couch across from us where three of the guys were seated along with three more of them behind the couch. Colder’s smile was a little dangerous as he leaned against the back of the couch and didn’t break eye contact with me.

He dragged his thumb along his lower lip which distracted me from the good-natured ribbing going on between Dahlia and Eli.

Cal cleared his throat. “What actor has a role in a major film franchise as well as stars in a hit television show for a certain red-themed streamer?”

The names flashed up on the screen and I couldn’t pull my attention away from Colder.

“Oh, I know this one.” Amberly clapped. “Definitely Zendaya.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“Yes!” Iona sipped. “Damn right it’s my girl, Zendaya!”

Colder’s smile widened, and I frowned.

I looked up at the screen and knew it was wrong.

“Wait!” I sat up.

“Nope, you said yes.” Cal hit the remote and I saw the correct answer light up.

“Dammit,” I hissed. That was a trick question.

“Who the hell is David Harbour? He’s not more famous than Zendaya.” Ioan stood up. “That’s a lie!”

“David Harbour plays The Red Guardian in Black Widow as well as the Sheriff in the Netflix show Stranger Things. Zendaya’s show is on HBO.”

“That’s bullshit!” Iona plopped back onto the couch. She looked down at me. “Why didn’t you save us, Nay?”

I whipped my gaze to Colder. “I got distracted.”

He shrugged. “We win.”

“I’ll remember that, Colder Banks.”

Cal clapped. “All right, we’ll take a fifteen and go for round two. See if you girls can tie it up.”

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