Page 2 of Scrimmage

“Alright. Ladies first." He rolls the balls across the table.

Penny wets hers in her cup, and she tosses it, feigning a pose like this is her first time. The ball rolls around the rim and slips out, bouncing into the sand. She pouts and steps back. We should be fucking actresses.

I toss the ball, making it into a cup.

“Beginner’s luck.” Fox winks, drinking his and pulling off his shirt. The girls practically faint at the sight of his abs. He grabs the ball and does a throw as if he’s Michael Jordan. Before it sinks into the cup, I snatch it out of the air.

“What the fuck?” His question is confused, gentle, and unaware that something is off.

Penny and I squeal excitedly. What luck we’re having tonight. The Cunts of the Century strike again.

Golden Boy tosses the ball lazily and makes it. I drink the cup quickly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

Cole comes up to the table with a smirk accompanied by a red solo cup. “So you two convinced them to play?”

“They were begging for it,” Fox snorts.

“Oh, no. The question was for them,” Cole snickers.

The ball sails through the air smacking into the beer across the table. Fox stares at it in disbelief. Before he can even grab it, I make a toss, and my ball lands in the cup next to it.

I yawn. “They were begging for it.”

Golden Boy pushes the girls that have been hanging around him away, and they roll the balls back to us. Penny makes a trick shot, just to rub it in their face. It’s over before it even began. Fox snaps his fingers, amusement in his eyes, and some guys come over and refill the cups. More people have crowded around to attend their funeral.

“We took it easy on you,” Golden Boy finally says.

I tilt my head. “Oh, the caveman speaks? I didn’t know it was possible. I figured he was Frankenstein, and you were his creation."

He mumbles something under his breath. The irritation vibrates off of him. I let it simmer as the two get their game faces on. They sort of look like gorillas in Planet of the Apes getting ready for war, and it makes me laugh.

“We should give this one to them,” Penny says to me under her breath.

I sigh. “You’re right. It’s no fun if it’s too easy."

The way the two focus, sticking their tongues into the corners of their mouths in concentration, is adorable. If beer pong was won by effort, they would take home the trophy, but it isn’t. Penny and I cheers every drink, only doing enough to make it look like we had a lucky game the first time round. They bump chests after they make the last cup. I feel fucking good. Penny and I are great at holding our booze.

She gives them that sweet restrained smile. “So, final game, huh?”

“You can still back out now. We’ll call it a tie,” Fox offers.

“Fuck no,” Golden Boy growls, glaring at me like he has a personal vendetta.

“Why don’t we make this really interesting,” I say.

Golden Boy takes a deep frustrated breath through his nose. “How so?”

“Liquor?” I suggest.

He crosses his arms, looking down at me. “You won’t make it through the game."

“I guess that’s a risk I’ll have to take.”

We opt for vodka. Light and basically water without the water. They let us throw first, and tie breakers are where we shine. Penny makes a cup, but Golden Boy catches the one I throw. They’re here to win, and we’ll play dirty. Penny leans down onto the table, her boobs spilling over the top of her bikini. Fox tries to use them as a backboard, but Penny catches the ball instead.

Golden Boy grits his teeth and gives Fox an angry look before glaring at me like his entire existence is just to spite me. I don’t even look away from his stare as I catch the ball just before it goes into the cup. I tilt my head and give him a smile, throwing it back. The swish of it landing is music to my ears. He grabs it and drinks, not even flinching at the burn.

Penny lets out a moan the next time Fox plays. Instead of getting angry like Golden Boy, Fox starts to rise to the occasion. He puts on a show. With a bottle of water in hand, he pours it over the top of his head causing his muscles to glisten in the firelight. He puts up two fingers and sticks his tongue between them, wiggling it in our direction. It doesn’t work.

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