Page 86 of Tourist Trap

"And what happens if I win?" I mumble low enough so only she can hear.

"If you win? You're not going to, so that's no problem." Her grin is wide and cocky, but I continue to look at her. She rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll give you the parking spot." I nod, accepting her offer. "But if I do?"

I raise an eyebrow, and her cheeks go a bit pink. She bites her lip, and I have to fight my dick getting hard in this.

"You know what you'll get," I whisper, pulling her closer, my lips moving to her ear. "Lifeguard chair."

Her cheeks grow even pinker. "Really? But you said it would be too dangerous," she says, suddenly seeming excited.

I have no desire to fuck my little daredevil in the lifeguard stand, but there's also no chance she's going to win trivia today. It happens once a month, and the whole town comes out, hence the packed room. Her team consists of a few women I recognize, my motherand Helen, neither of whom are even the slightest bit decent at trivia.

We have Grant, who is alarmingly good at all history trivia, and Deck, who, for some reason no one quite understands, can recite all celebrity trivia starting in 1980 and on, though if you ask him about the ’50s, ’60s, or ’70s, he's a lost cause. When I look over the rest of our team, I see a pretty even spread, so I know there's a solid chance we're going to win.

"You're not going to win, so I'm not worried," I say with a smile, then step back from her.

"Oh, Miles, baby, I don't think you know what you just did," she whispers before she turns to her team, who bring her in, all of them whispering and giggling.

"We're Team Trebek’s Rejects," Deck says with a laugh when Benny, our moderator, asks for the team name. Benny rolls his eyes but writes the name at the top of the giant chalkboard. Usually, it's a few smaller teams playing, but it seems we're really leaning into this boys versus girls thing.

"And you ladies?"

"Team WAP," Lainey says. My mother bursts out laughing, and I look at Claire, who seems far too pleased with herself. I can almost guarantee it was her idea because she gives me a sassy wink, and I shake my head.

"WAP?" Benny asks, clearly confused.

"It's a song," Claire says with an angelic smile.

Benny, clearly sensing her mischief, just shakes his head.

"Okay, tonight we only have two teams, but the rules are the same. I ask a question, and the first to raise their paddle gets to answer. If you answer wrong, you lose a point, and the other team can steal. If you answer right, you get one point. I got some fresh questions, so be ready to be stumped!" Benny says, and we all look at one another, both intrigued because Benny rarely adds new questions to the roster.

"Edie Falco and James Gandolfini star in what series about the life of a New Jersey mob boss?" Benny asks, and Deck, our resident guido’s hand, shoots out, slamming the table.

"The Sopranos!"

"Don't look so happy with yourself, Deck," June says, rolling her eyes. "Literally everyone knows that."

"Crazy, because you didn't even raise your paddle."

"Neither did you, so wouldn't that disqualify you?" June asks, her paddle in the air.

We all glare at Deck, whose smile starts to fall.

Benny lets out a loud laugh. "Girl’s got you there, Jagger. Yes, Team WAP?"

There is something so fucking wrong with Benny saying WAP, but here we are.

"That would beTheSopranos," June says, batting her eyes at Benny.

An hour later, the crowd is getting rowdy. The score is just about tied at thirty-five to thirty-four, with our team one point down. It's so close and so heated that Benny even took his pipe out, setting it to the side for the night.

"All right, this one is for the win, five points to whoever gets it," he says. "So I've gotta make it a good one."

Looking over to the girls, I see them giggling and whispering, but as always, my eyes are on Claire, who gives me a small smile and a wink before pulling out her phone.

The room quiets as Benny shuffles through his papers, looking for his next question.

My phone buzzes in my hand, and considering almost everyone who texts me is in this room, my brow furrows as I reach for the device. Upon lifting it, my brow furrows deeper, seeing Claire's name on my screen. I look up and see her head tipped back with laughter at something June said.

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