Page 29 of Stick Handled

“Just warming up,” I lie again. I didn’t want to answer, so I drank instead. Rules are rules. “You don’t have to drink one. I took one for you.”

“Breaking the rules already?” She raises a brow.

I huff out a laugh. “Did you expect anything else of me?” I raise a brow back. She purses her lips in an attempt to stop her smile, which makes me grin even more. She’s loosening up. Good.

We start slow with small, harmless questions to ease her into it. She asks about anything that’s safe territory. I tease her back, throwing in a few flirty jabs here and there, watching her squirm as the tension between us builds with every question. Before I know it, I’m refilling our shots, though I don’t put any alcohol in hers this time. My little liar’s had enough for tonight. I don’t tell her that as I come back with the second tray.

She’s loosening up. I can see it in the way her shoulders relax, in the way her laughter spills out a little more easily.

But then, I ask her something different.

“Why are you hiding our skating lessons from Rowan?” I ask casually, leaning forward slightly to catch every flicker of her reaction.

Her face freezes for a moment. She glances at her shot and considers taking it, but then sighs, lifting her gaze to meet mine. “Because he forbade it,” she says quietly.

“He did?” I raise both eyebrows.Well, fuck me.I knew Rowan didn’t want Avery back on the ice, but I didn’t think he went as far as to actually forbid her from doing it. Yeah, this is getting worse. I’m in deep shit.

She bites her lip, looking down at her drink. “Yeah… and I guess I didn’t want him to worry. He already thinks I’m too fragile.”

Too fragile? That’s not what I see when I look at her.

“Drink,” she reminds me, pointing at the shot. I chuckle, throwing the liquid back and feeling the burn down my throat. “My turn,” she announces. “What’s the most reckless thing you’ve done?”

Her question catches me off-guard. She’s sliding into a grey area, neither safe nor dangerous, but it’s still progress that I welcome. What’s the most reckless thing I’ve done?

Fell in love with my best friend’s little sister.

“Probably that time I assaulted a police officer and flipped his car sideways,” I reply. It’s one of the most reckless things I’ve done, though I don’t know if it should be at the top. Suddenly, tens of other answers flash through my mind, each more scandalous than the rest.

Damn, how am I not in prison?

“You what?” Her eyes are threatening to pop out of her skull. “What happened?”

“I was out with the boys. Saw a girl get groped by a creep, smashed a bottle on his head, cracked a few of his ribs. Got arrested for it.” I shake my head, the memory feeling like a lifetime ago. “While he drove me back to the police station, he made a comment about the girl begging for it because of her clothes. That specific police car had no partition in the back, so—” I inhale deeply, recalling the drunken rage I’d felt and the moment I realized what I was doing. “Before I knew it, I was strangling the cop from behind with my handcuffs, and he lost control of the car. Tipped us over. The ambulance came, more police, I got arrested all over again, Rowan and Ares came to bail me out, and here I am.” I shrug, holding my hands out in ata-dagesture. “I have a scar on the side of my torso from the crash as a reminder not to strangle people while they’re driving. Not particularly exciting, just… reckless.”

I look at Avery whose eyes are wide, her lips slightly parted, as she stares at me in shock.

It was all over the news about a year ago. I’m surprised she didn’t hear about it.

The look on her face doesn’t change. She’s staring at me in pure shock.

“Damn, too much?” I wince. I should have probably kept this to myself.

“That,” she finally speaks, “is. So. Frickin. Badass.”

I scowl in confusion. Avery just cursed. Well, sort of.

“You think so?” I smile, though my confused scowl is still in place.

“Are you kidding me?” She sets her drink back on the table in front of us and turns back to me enthusiastically. “This sounds like a scene from a movie. That guy got what he deserved. Both of them. And now, you have a badass scar to remember it.”

Now, it’s my turn to stare in shock. I got too drunk, and now I’m hallucinating. Sweet, shy, nervous Avery is telling me that I’m badass for strangling a cop and causing a car crash. Looks like there’s a whole different person under there, hidden away beneath layers. And I can’t wait to dig her out, the real her.

“Well, drink up.” I point my chin at her shots that contain absolutely zero alcohol. She takes her shot and sets the glass back down.

“This is yummy,” she comments, and I fight back a laugh.Yummy?“What is it?”

Orange juice and a pump of strawberry syrup for you, sweet cheeks.

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