Page 46 of Cohesion

Peyton chuckled. “No, Will, pizza’s all yours.”

“We need to get proper playing chips,” Quinn said.

“Less fun,” Will said. “I like the look of horror on the cashier’s face when I buy a whole basket of Smarties packets. I’m not sure if they’re horrified thatI’mgoing to eat all of them myself or scared for the class of children I must be buying them for.”

“Definitely both,” Sebastian said. He needed to do that at least once just to see the look. They could go together.

“Add cream, a cucumber, and condoms. Really confuse the fuck out of them,” Jericho suggested.

Quinn spat out the Scotch he’d unfortunately chosen to sip at the same time Jericho had opened his mouth. Rookie mistake. “Please don’t do that,” he said hoarsely as he mopped up the spill with a napkin that Peyton handed him.

Considering the look that passed between Jericho and Will, he was going to do it. Another shopping trip Sebastian wanted to attend. He’d never been in a supermarket that much in his life. Worth it.

“Not playing Texas hold’em?” Jericho asked.

“No,” Peyton replied. “I prefer five-card draw.” He finished shuffling the deck and created five piles of five in the shape of a pentagon. Everyone leaned forward to grab their own pile.

Sebastian and Jericho shifted so that they were on either end of the table, with Peyton on one side, and Quinn and Will on the other. There was no way the two of them couldn’t see each other’s cards. They weren’t even hiding the way they were looking. Their competitiveness didn’t rank as high as the rest of them. Honestly, that was probably for the best. All five of them being highly competitive seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“Wait, they have names?” Will asked.

“Different names for different kinds of play. You might prefer to play Omaha, since you’re an ‘all in’ kind of guy,” Jericho said, with a suggestive smirk.

“I do like being all in,” Will replied, biting his bottom lip. “I haven’t had the pleasure… yet.”

Jericho visibly swallowed. He beckoned Will closer and their lips met in a beautiful clash of hungry eagerness over the table. If Sebastian hadn’t already been hard, he would have been now.Fuck me. Jericho kept Will in place with two hands on either side of his head as he took over the kiss. The whimper from Will was the sweetest fucking sound in the world.

“Is it cheating if we take all our clothes off before the game starts?” Jericho asked hoarsely.

“Yes. Stop it, both of you,” Peyton said. The edge to his tone and hint of thick lust were just as fucking intoxicating. How was Sebastian supposed to concentrate now? This had to be some kind of dirty, underhanded tactic.

“He takes his poker seriously,” Will stage whispered.

“It’s the ultimate test of a person’s strength, William. Now let go and look at your cards so we can play.”

Will sat back with a huff, his red and swollen lips smiling playfully. If Sebastian could see through the table, he knew he’d find a noticeable bulge in his pants. He wanted to run his hands over it. Fuck, he wanted tositon it.

Why were they playing poker again?

“I know Texas and five-card. What are the others?” Quinn asked curiously as he looked at his cards.

“Texas hold’em is the most commonly known,” Jericho said as he took two of his cards from his five and slid them face down in the middle of the table. “Omaha is basically the same, except you get to hold four cards instead of two, but you can onlyusetwo of them—just gives you more to choose from—and everyone has to play until the end, and whoever has the best hand wins. No folding.”

“I want to play that one!” Will said. “Peyton, you fuckingasshole; why didn’t you tell me we could play like that?”

“Because we’re not playing it,” Peyton said shortly, staring intently at his cards.

“Then there’s seven-card stud,” Jericho continued. “That’s what I grew up playing. Texas took over in the early seventies, but one of the guys I hung out with on the streets had strong opinions about the lack of skill required in comparison. Especially for five-card draw, where the simplicity of it gave way to pure dumb luck. Hence its popularity.”

“On the streets?” Quinn put his cards down and focused on his food. He’d only taken a slice of the Margherita and the barbecue chicken and three pieces of garlic bread. Sebastian leaned over and pinched one of them. Quinn raised an eyebrow, and Sebastiandaredhim to try to get it back. Finders keepers, it was his now.

Quinn picked up his own piece of the garlic bread and tore off half with his teeth. He pushed the piece into his mouth, sliding his thumb in with it, and then sucked it clean with an obscene moan.Motherfucker.

Sebastian licked his lips, so fucking turned on he couldn’t think straight. The asshole was doing it on purpose, and Sebastian knew that, but it didn’t stop him from falling for it hook, line, and sinker. They were all trying to make him go insane for them so he played badly, he just knew it.

“Only the winners get to ask questions,” Jericho said. He leaned back, sprawling on his chair with his cards lazily hanging in one hand. He made everything look so effortless, like all of the harsh realities of his life just brushed off him—present ones and what Sebastian was sure were hurts from the past.

“Fuck off, five-card draw involves skill,” Peyton said, scowling. “It’s about reading your opponent and making decisions based on body language, not just the cards. Seven-card is for dinosaurs.”

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