Page 60 of Shattered

“Here is it.” Dave motions toward the keg. “Mark it off. Get your pretty ass up there.”

I feel my face flush. “I have no idea how to do this.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll help you out.” He gets behind me and pushes me a couple steps closer. “Put each hand on the side of the keg,” he directs.

I’m nervous but do as he tells me.

“River is going to get one leg and I’m going to get the other. The only thing you have to remember is to keep your arms locked. You don’t want to land on your face.”

“What?” I ask just as the guys lift my legs up. I scream, but before I know it, I’m upside down.

“Are you ready, babe?” River ask me as he raises the tap to my mouth.

I nod and open up. He pulls the trigger and beer floods into my mouth quicker than I can swallow it down. I choke and sputter until I get the hang of it.

Just as I feel like I might pass out from the blood rushing my head, the guys let me down, setting me on my feet.

Suddenly, I realize why people do this. The beer I drank feels like it has an instant effect. My head spins and my eyes blur.

River grabs me up in a bear hug and spins me around, cheering. When he puts my feet on the ground, I wander off to the privacy fence and release every last drop of beer from my body.

“Oh,” Dave says. I can tell by his muffled tone that he’s covering his mouth.

When my stomach is emptied, I walk back over to them and hold out my hand. “I’m Jovi.”

“Dave,” he says, shaking my hand.

“Thanks for the use of your keg and I’m sorry about barfing in your yard, but I think I’m going to go. I’m not feeling very well.” Without waiting for a word from him, I walk back through the house and out to the car.

River comes chasing me out. “Are you okay?”

I nod while rubbing my head. “You really shouldn’t have spun me around. I was already dizzy.”

He lets out a small, embarrassed laugh, realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Do you forgive me?”

I pull out the list and mark it off. “I guess. But now you have to tell me something.”

He starts the car and starts off to our next destination. “What?”

"What are your plans when we get back home?" I don't look at him. I can't. I'm too nervous about his answer.

I can feel him watching me. "The first thing I'm going to do is get a driver’s license."

I can't hold in my laugh.

"Then I'm going to drive over to your place and never leave. I hope you're okay with that. You're stuck with me." He grins making his eyes light up.

I feel something flutter in my chest, a feeling I've never felt before. "Okay, but you're going to have to get a job. We can't both be unemployed."

His deep, sexy laugh fills the car. "We’re a fucking mess, you know that?"

I nod with a smile. "I know. But I'd rather be a mess with you than put together with anyone else."

He leans over and kisses me breathless. "Let's go get this list done."

Soon after leaving the run down house, we're pulling up to some kind of amusement park. "What are we doing here? This isn't on the list."

He shuts off the car and removes his seatbelt. "I know, but bungee jump is." His eyes fill with excitement as he flashes me a wicked smile.