Page 25 of Playing for Keeps

“Are you also demanding I avoid kicking West’s balls?”

“Don’t kick the balls of any homestead men.”

“Ever?” I bark. “For any reason? What if I’m in danger?”

“No man on this homestead would ever hurt you. They’re soft-hearted dweebs trapped in the bodies of muscled badasses.”

I size up Val and realize she isn’t wrong. No hard-hearted man would offer me such an unguarded smile.

“Okay,” I say and pat Val’s chest. “I won’t kick any of them in the balls.”

Val stares at where my hand rests on his body. He seems transfixed by my touch. When his gaze meets mine, he reveals a slow, seductive smile. I yank my hand away, feeling as if we’ve shared a wholly inappropriate moment in front of his mom, my dad, and Mother Nature.

“No.”

“Soon,” Val mocks. “When the time comes, you won’t be able to outrun it.”

Poppy asks, “Outrun what?”

“Her orgasm.”

“Goodness,” Poppy says and waves off her son’s words. “I didn’t raise you to be so horny or gross. I blame my sisters.”

Val smiles at how she walks to Journey and Justice and then points at us. His gaze finds its way back to me as I try to sneak away.

“Let’s go look at where our house will be plopped down.”

I consider reminding Val how he needs to live in Basin Rock with his club. However, I silence my demands once I witness a vulnerability about him here at the homestead.

Val must know the reality of the situation, but he’s tight with his family. Even living thirty minutes away will likely gut him.

Taking his outstretched hand, I follow him away from the older houses and check out a quiet piece of land. Val enthusiastically explains how we’ll live between his siblings. He makes the homestead sound like one big family get-together at all times.

I simply nod at everything he says and let him dream of staying close to his family. We can hash out the details once I have a ring on my finger and he’s shadowing Duke in Basin Rock.

VAL, AKA THE SMOOTH OPERATOR

Lola thinks I’m full of shit. Though she nods her head and smiles patiently, she reveals a coldness when she’s lying. When she tells the truth, the woman sparks like a flame.

“I want a chocolate wedding cake,” I announce as we walk toward the rest of the party.

“My sister can’t eat chocolate.”

“How has she not fallen into an eternal depression?”

“What makes you think she hasn’t?”

I glance at her sister nearby with Roxie, Tuesday, and Bullet. My sister has talked the two younger chicks into awkwardly dancing.

“Clover would never make it as a stripper,” I tell Lola who frowns. “Now, you would make a killing if you got naked for a crowd. However, I refuse to share your hot body with anyone else. I’ve changed my mind about you dressing skanky to make men jealous of me. Now, I want you to wear one of those drab dresses like the cult family Oana was born into.”

“Is she weird?” Lola asks, searching the crowd for Oana. “Like twisted from growing up in a cult?”

“No, she’s super cool from having married a sexy biker. She’s a rocker chick now. I hear she’s a wildcat in bed. Ike’s already plowed a baby into her lady oven.”

Lola cocks an eyebrow. “That’s too much information to know about your cousin-in-law.”

“Well, you know about your meemaw’s coochie curse.”

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