Page 25 of A Little Complicated

“Why not?”

“Might wanna tread lightly,” Maverick suggests, interrupting my rebuttal. “Our girl might look like an innocent fawn, but she isn’t afraid to stab people in the back when she’s been slighted.” My jaw drops, and he adds, “Besides, she only likes it when I call her Opie.”

I’m careful as I turn around so I don’t bump any of us off the table and hold his stare with a quirked brow. “Pretty sure I don’t like it whenanyonecalls me Opie.”

“I could always call you Goose instead.”

The name feels like a knife to the chest as an oblivious Reeves coos, “Aw, likeTop Gun.”

“We’re adorable, I know,” Maverick tells him as his eyes find mine again. “Now, hurry up and take your clothes off so we can finish this game, yeah?”

I roll my eyes but give in, tossing my pants onto the ground and leaving my shirt hanging on the chain between us until I’m in nothing but a pair of boy shorts and a gray cotton bra. It’s nothing too crazy—hell, it covers more than some of my swimsuits—but I make a mental note to follow the rest of Reeves’ orders until the end of the game because there’s no way I’m getting naked in front of these fools no matter how competitive I can be.

No, thank you.

“Not too shabby,” Reeves compliments behind me. I peek over my shoulder for the hundredth time since we started this game, finding him shamelessly checking me out with the same boyish smile.

Maverick spins me around and covers my half-naked body with his, placing himself between me and his best friend. “Are we gonna keep the game going, or am I gonna have to beat your ass on behalf of my brother?”

“Your brother.Right.” Reeves jumps off the table and picks up a few of the pillows, along with Maverick’s jeans and a bunch of coasters from the ground.

“What are you doing?” I ask Reeves.

Maverick answers for him. “The game never ends unless he makes it…harder.”

A few of the girls close by laugh at the innuendo, and Maverick winks at them while Griffin argues, “Ah, come on!” from across the room, thanks to Reeves grabbing the edge of the pillow from beneath Griffin’s feet. Griff jumps onto the couch beside his partner so he doesn’t wind up on his ass, taking the last patch of empty space. The sofa is packed now. So much so I’m kind of surprised Griff was able to fit his broad shoulders on the thing in the first place. There are at least seven people piled on there, each of them standing toe to toe. It’s actually pretty comical. Seeing how tipsy everyone is while playing a childish game like this. One of the girls starts twerking against him playfully but loses her balance and lands on the carpet with a thump, dragging her partner with her. She’s the same girl from the beginning who ran into a friend and landed on her ass.

Reeves shakes his head, telling her she and her partner are out. The girl sticks her bottom lip out but doesn’t argue as Reeves shouts, “Earthquake!”

“Follow my lead this time,” Maverick orders. My pants are still bunched by our feet, and he kicks them onto the floor. He uses them as a stepping stone and jumps to a large pillow about five feet away. He’s careful not to drag me with him, but I bend at the waist anyway, giving him some more slack. Once he’s situated, he motions for me to follow.

“Where do you expect me to land?” I ask.

“Just jump!” he urges. His attention slides to our pseudo-judge for the evening as if he’s counting down the seconds until the inevitable order for us to freeze will ring through the air.

The pillow is barely big enough for Maverick’s feet, let alone mine, but I leap onto it anyway, knowing how little time we have. When my feet hit the edge of the pillow, I lose my balance, but his hands find my waist, keeping me steady. Maverick wraps his free arm around my waist and pulls me closer until I’m plastered against him. I press my palm against his very naked, very tattooed chest while our chained hands hang at our sides. My breathing is chaotic and unsteady as I try to catch my breath, keep my balance, andnotlose my shit, thanks to how close I am to a certain twin I want nothing to do with. This is a precarious position at best. Or maybe it isn’t, and I’m overthinking things. Most of the teams have been in positions like this all night. So why should I care if our fronts are practically glued together? But even with that knowledge, my adrenaline from the jump mixes with fear and anticipation. Anticipation I definitely shouldn’t be feeling right now. Not like this. Not when I’m only in my bra and underwear and I’m squished against my ex’s bare chest.

Reeves must’ve yelled freeze because he’s doling out punishments to anyone touching the ground while Maverick and I stay frozen in place, pressed together from head to freaking toe. I can hear his heart racing in my ear. Or maybe it’s my own.

Okay, it’s definitely my own.

The question is, can he hear it?

Pasting on a fake smile, I peek up at him, desperate to diffuse the tension swirling around me, even if I’m the only one feeling it.

“And you really thought this was better than Spin the Bottle or Truth or Dare?” I ask.

“Count on Reeves to spill all my secrets,” he mutters, staring at the wall behind me.

“Not all of them,” I whisper.

The words hit harder than I anticipate, and his eyes snap to mine before his attention falls to my mouth. I swear I can feel the air crackle around us. The way his arm flexes ever-so-slightly around my waist. The way his eyes heat a fraction. The way his full lips part as if he wants to say something, but he swallows it back.

Shit.

I shouldn’t have said that.

I shouldn’t have hinted…hinted about our secrets and how I was his.

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