Page 115 of Broken Pact

“Not really. I hate beer.” I sound petulant even to my own ears.

“Yeah, someone has to drive us home after this. I’m a few drinks in and my ride ditched me for the dude racing the blacked-out corvette tonight,” Hawke says with a grin, completely unbothered his date left him for another dude.

I waggle my cup in the air. “You trying to get me drunk at The Alley, Hawke?”

He hands Jasper the third red solo cup and says to me, “Wouldn’t dream of it, Carter.”

My brows lift as I look at the way his grin is growing wider as he talks. “You know your mouth says one thing and your face says something different.”

Hawke laughs, a dimple appearing in his cheek. “Never change, Carter. Seriously.”

“Thanks for the permission,” I drawl, rolling my eyes.

Hawke leans forward like he’s telling me a secret. “Ooh, sassy Carter. That’s my favorite Carter.”

Jasper plants his hand on Hawke’s chest, and he pushes him back. “Stop hitting on my girl, Hawke.”

Hawke raises both hands in surrender, but he doesn’t ditch the sly smirk on his face. “Hey, I’m not hittin’ on her. Carter and I are tight, ain’t that right?”

My lips twist to the side, amusement and recklessness fizz inside of me like a shaken soda. “Heard you sent me a dick pic today, Hawke. I’m not sure we’re tight anymore.”

“Baby,” Jasper warns in a low voice. His right hand presses against my lower stomach, and he pushes me back into him further. As if I wasn’t already plastered against his front.

“Bro,” Hawke gasps, hand to his chest like he’s hurt. He glances behind me, at what I’m assuming is Jasper’s dark expression. “It was a selfie. I sweet-talked Mrs. Weatherby into sharing some of her tartlets she ordered from you. That’s it.”

I tsk and lift my shoulder. “Jasper called it a sexy selfie.”

Hawke crosses one ankle over the other and folds his arms across his chest. His mouth hooks into a smug grin as he glances at the man behind me. “Damn, Jagger, sounds like you’re hitting on me.”

I shake my head with a low laugh. I haven’t been around the two of them in a long time. It’s kind of fun to watch their dynamic. Okay, so it’s mostly Hawke giving Jasper shit, but I think he low-key likes it. Otherwise he’d literally walk away.

Jasper grunts, “Fuck off, Hawke.” There’s no heat in it though.

Hawke tosses his head back with a laugh, the sound carrying over the revving engines. “Don’t worry, bro. I can give you some tips for selfies if you need ‘em.”

A vision of Hawke instructing Jasper on how to hold the camera and tips on the best lighting bloom to life, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

“Remind me why you’re here,” Jasper says with a sigh.

“And miss a night with my friends at The Alley?” Hawke asks, head cocked to the side like it’s a no-brainer. “Bro.”

He says the one word like it’s supposed to mean more than its three letters. And I guess to the man behind me it does, because Jasper lets out a huff of a laugh.

“Yeah, alright. But to be clear, I don’t need your help on taking selfies.”

I tip my head back toward him, looking at him upside down. “Wanna trade sexy selfies later?”

He tucks his face against the slope of my neck, his lips brushing my pulse as he says, “I don’t need selfies when I can have the real thing anytime I want.”

I breathe out a quiet laugh, my brows rising. “Any time you want, hm?”

He scrapes the edge of his teeth over my skin. “Yeah, baby. Any time.”

He straightens up, his arms tightening around me and a low growl rumbling in his chest. I lean back into him, my hands coming to rest over his in a silent reassurance. I feel a little guilty for enjoying his possessiveness though, even if there’s no reason he should feel threatened.

The energy of the crowd swells as the cars line up at the starting line, engines revving in anticipation. I lean forward, gripping the chain link fence, my eyes fixed on the row of cars I couldn’t identify if I was at gunpoint. I don’t know shit about cars, but I can’t deny how thrilling this whole thing is.

With Jasper’s comforting presence behind me and Hawke’s easy commentary next to me, I spend the next two hours watching cars race around the track.

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