Page 63 of Endgame

Tenley’s giggle echoes through the room.

With salt on her tongue, she pulls back on her knees, hands still gripping his thighs, and looks up at Gus like she’s enjoying being the tool to his unraveling. Her head bends toward his navel, and he watches in awe as she wraps her mouth around the glass and throws the tequila back like it’s the best she’s ever tasted. The crowd starts cheering, almost forgetting there’s still one last thing she needs to do. The heavy breathing of Gus’s chest is clearly throwing off his patience. He’s all but pleading for her to come closer and take the lime from his mouth.

Tenley, however, always does the unexpected. I almost tumble to the floor in laughter as I watch her move her legs over his hips to straddle his waist and slowly lean forward. Gus looks like a desperate fool, his body growing feverish in anticipation of her mouth.

Except, she changes course and stops a few inches away from him, turning in a quick motion. Her body is headed towards King as he gets to her side in seconds with a lime in his mouth for her taking. As soon as Tenley’s mouth meets King, Gus spits the lime out, the crowd watching as it shoots upwards and hits him back in the face on the way down.

Laughter envelopes the room, and it’s the freest sound.Callaway is also caught off guard because tears are pouring down his face in hysterics; hell, even Bodhi is chuckling at it.

“Man, that’s fucked up.”

It’s clear Gus’s pride just took a beating. It must be a first for him because shocked is a light term to describe the look on his handsome face.

What a queen.

It’s time to take care of my girl’s tab for that free entertainment.

The last couple of months have shown me how much I’ve been lacking female friendships like Tenley’s in my life.

It feels good to have a village.

“Aww, Gus, you don’t do it for me. But thanks for the bingo win.”

With that, Tenley struts confidently towards the bingo table, secures her win, and yells at the top of her lungs, “Dirty Bingo!”

It’snights like these that put life into perspective for me.

I’ve been lost for the last year and a half; Trevor’s presence was partial but not worth including. I can count the number of times I have laughed on one hand—genuinelybelly laughed. Of all the laughs I’ve experienced recently, most have been with this group of people. Almost all of them have been shared with Callaway.

There’s still so much more I want to know about him. His challenging and positive exterior is one of the best parts of him, but I’m craving a deeper connection. I’ve been lying to myself, thinking playing hard to get is what’s best for us since he refuses to sleep with me. I see now it’s onlybringing a feeling of torture and giving us an uneven playing field.

It’s unfair to him and unfair to me.

The conversation we had on the phone this morning felt like the next step. Unintentionally, I shared more with Callaway than I have with anyone else. Deep down, I think, since meeting him, I’ve known my truths would be safe with him, which led to my comfort in sharing them with him.

A part of me is fearful it may be too late to give my heart over to him, leaving me indefinitely in the friendzone.

Appreciating his closeness, Callaway is seated on the other side of me, and his large, tattooed hand has yet to leave my upper thigh; I can’t find it in me to ask him to move it. He’s openly showing me affection around his friends, and it’s throwing off my thoughts. My eyes read the room, searching for Navy’s eyes on us. Thankfully, I find her in heavy conversation with Tenley, not sparing us a second glance.

I am typically good at playing hard to get and keeping Cal on his toes, but lately, I’ve done nothing but turn into a pile of melted mush around the man. It’s not the feeling you get when desire takes over, although that feeling is still very much there. It’s more like an infatuation of the heart.He’s so good. My mind is constantly fading off into this unknown fantasy of what a future with him would look like.

What would our home look like?

What kind of lover would he be?

Would he fill up my gas tank for me every week to make sure I never go without?

Would our son be like him and our daughter like me?

Would he make sure our pantry is filled to the brim with my favorite cookies?

Would he tell me lame funny facts every day?

I have all the reasons to believe Cal would make me sodamn happy. He’s made his feelings known to me more times than not, butwhyam I still so hesitant? If anything, his affirmations in the bathroom should have had me running to the courthouse for a name change.

This is my favorite version of Callaway, when he’s relaxed and playful. His carefree spirit and energy are addicting.

Tenley won two more rounds with Gus battling her to the fittest; their bickering played out more like a lover's quarrel ending in a good night in the sheets. Minus the sheets, at least as of now. The majority of us decide to hang back and watch other groups play their rounds. People watching Dirty Bingo is an underrated sport. If you’re not cheering, they’re not winning.

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