Page 29 of Knot His Reality

Teddy hands each of us a tablet before standing beside his omega. “If you’ve ever been to a trivia night before, this first round will be about how you expect it. We’ll read questions out loud to you, and whoever hits the buzzer on their tablet first will get to answer. If they’re wrong, then no one gets points, and we’ll move on to the next question. Each round will last about fifteen minutes, and then you’ll have a twenty-minute break before the next round, where you can talk, use the bathroom, dance—whatever you want. At about one, we’ll serve your lunch, which you can choose on your tablet now.”

“That’s just so we can make sure it’s ready for you,” Nathaniel says with a grin. “We’ll be trying out a speed round today where you’ll answer as many questions as you can during that time. The app will keep track of your scores and then we’ll announce the winners.” He continues to explain a few different options they’re going to try, which are interesting, but I’m so ready to get the first round started.

“Wow, Remy, you really like trivia, don’t you?” Quinn asks with a bemused smile. “Your leg has been shaking since we sat down.”

I shrug. “Yeah, I do really like it.”

Lee nods. “Then I think we should all choose our lunch so we can get the first round started. We don’t want to leave Remy hanging.”

I put my order in and glance at the door, wondering where Lorenzo is. They should’ve gotten him awake and on his way by now, shouldn’t they?

“Okay, let’s get the first round started. Our first topic is movies!”

Well, this is going to be a hard one for me, but I’m still determined to win.

I might be a little competitive. Who am I kidding? I’mverycompetitive.

Time flies by as we do the first four rounds, my eyes finding the door each break we have. When Lorenzo still hasn’t arrived by lunchtime, I’m getting really worried.

“What do you think is going on?” I ask the others as we eat the amazing lunch prepared for us. “He should’ve been here by now.”

Quinn nods. “Maybe I should go ask Lucas and Mike if they know anything?”

“Would you mind?” I hate asking him to walk away from his lunch, but I just feel like something isn’t right.

“Of course. Especially if it’ll make you feel better. Keep eating.” Quinn points to the pasta I stopped eating, picking up my fork and continuing to eat as he makes his way over to our security.

I watch them talk for a few minutes before Quinn returns. “Lucas says the only thing he knows is that Bree and Tessa are coming to talk to us. They should be here in about an hour.”

Biting my lip, I push away what’s left of my pasta. I no longer have an appetite.

I almost wish Quinn hadn’t gone over there because now I know something is wrong, and I have no idea what. Even worse, I have to wait to find out.

Everyone picks at their food before pushing it aside, and I leave them to find Nathaniel.

“Hey, Remington, is everything okay?” he asks with a frown.

“We’re not sure. One of my suitors didn’t make it downstairs this morning in time for our date.” I fill him in on the rest of what we know before shaking my head. “We kind of lost our appetite, which sucks because the food is amazing. I was kind of hoping we could go back to doing trivia? I think it could be a much-needed distraction.”

The smile he gives me is soft and a little sad. “Of course. If there’s anything you need, you’ll let me know, won’t you?”

“I will. Thank you.”

Making my way back to the table, I let them know we’re going to restart trivia. As excited as I was for today, I’m too anxious to enjoy myself overly much after that. The others seem to have the same issue, and we end up calling it after one more round.

With nothing else to do, I make my way to the jukebox and flip through the music. I’m not really paying it any attention, it’s just something to do as a heavy cloud of worry settles over me. I lay my head on the glass and sigh.

Hands land on my shoulders, and I jump. I was so lost in thought, I hadn’t heard anyone approach.

With a twist of my head, I see Quinn has joined me. His strong fingers dig into my tense shoulders and an unbidden moan slips free.

“You looked upset and stressed out,” Quinn says, continuing to massage my shoulders. “Not to mention, a little lost in your head. I swear your shoulders were getting closer and closer to your ears with each passing minute. I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, so I figured a shoulder rub was in order.”

“You won’t hear me complaining,” I tell him, eyes falling shut as I lean back into his touch. “That feels amazing.”

I don’t know how long we stand there like this, but every moment feels like heaven. We only break apart when the front door opens.

My eyes pop open and as soon as they land on the showrunners, I’m rushing across the bar toward them. “What’s going on?”

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