Page 40 of Play Pretend

“Poor Tommy!” Brynne laughed. “One day he’s going to shut these game nights down.”

“He’d never do that,” Ronan said. “He pretends like it’s a nightmare, but he loves this shit.”

“Alright, and we have Ash Kickers?” Tommy said, and the Blackrock Bay crowd cheered and clapped. “Great. And our last team…The Beavers They Eat. Seriously?” He turned his attention toward a group of older women cackling in the opposite corner from Beaver Eaters.

“This is insane,” I muttered to Ronan, and he grunted his agreement.

“The Beavers They Eat are Beaver Eaters wives,” he explained, and another laugh bubbled up my throat. I had never seen anything like this before.

Tommy walked us through the rules as a waitress passed out dry erase boards to each team. Trinity snatched it up, immediately writing our team’s name along the top.

“Have you ever played trivia before?” Brynne asked, sipping her drink.

“No.” I pressed my lips into an apologetic smile. “Sorry if I make you lose.” She waved dismissively.

“We’ll win. Don’t worry.” She winked. Confidence oozed from her, and I straightened my shoulders, trying to gain just a tiny bit of what she had.

Tommy dragged a barstool up to the mic and slid onto it, clutching the paper in his hand. “Remember, you have onlytwenty seconds to answer,” he said, and everyone made some type of agreement sound.

For some reason, nerves twisted my stomach. I didn’t know what I was so anxious about. This was just a fun game—it meant nothing. But a part of me wanted to win.

Okay, a massive part of me wanted to win. Every fiber of my being wanted to wipe the floor with the other teams.

I took another sip of my drink, letting the cool, sweet liquid slide down my throat and settle in my belly. Resting my forearms on the table, I leaned forward as Tommy cleared his throat.

“Let’s start easy,” he said. “How many time zones are in Russia?”

I snapped my head toward Ronan. “That’s easy?” I blurted, and he chuckled.

“I take it you don’t know the answer?” Trinity asked, and I shook my head. She turned toward Ronan.

“Eleven,” he declared.

“What?” I shook my head. “How do you know that? You made that up.”

“It’s eleven.” He spoke with so much confidence, I almost believed him.

“No way,” I said. Trinity’s narrowed eyes flicked between us.

“I don’t know, big bro. She’s making me second-guess your answer.”

“Time’s up!” Tommy called. Trinity cursed under her breath as she jotted an answer down and turned toward the stage. “Let’s see your boards.” She held up the dry erase board as Ronan took a sip of his beer. “The answer is eleven.” He gave me a smug look as I gawked at him. “First point to Ash Kickers!”

Trinity groaned as she fell over the table. “What did you put?” Ronan asked.

“Four,” she grumbled.

“Should’ve listened to me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I breathed, but she waved me off as she erased the words.

“Next question,” Tommy said, and we all turned our attention toward him. “What was the first Disney movie?”

Trinity immediately began writing. “What is it?” Ronan asked.

“Snow White,” Trinity and I said together. He glanced at me, a silent question in his eyes.

“I like Disney movies.” I shrugged. “Sue me.”

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