Page 61 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

"So, what are we playing today?" Reed asks and cracks his fingers, seemingly very motivated to show off his skills to Zoey.

"Car racing?" I suggest, gaining some enthusiastic nods from all the screens. "Do you know how the game works, Zoey?" I ask as we start to pull up the game, and she glares at the camera.

"Please, Tanner. I grew up with you lot." She rolls her shoulders. "Also, Adam let me practice for the last two days.”

“Oh, we're going to wipe the floor with you," Reed teases her with a chuckle and I shake my head at him as we all pick out our characters for the race.

Pretty soon, it's clear that Zoey is indeed not the best at this game, blaming it on her limited motion in one arm. But I’ve got to hand it to her, she's definitely the best shit talker of this round.

"I'm going to kick your ass so hard you can taste the dirt from under my shoe!" she curses when she drives right into a trap Jackson left on the racetrack.

"Damn," I chuckle right before crossing the line as the winner. "Good thing we're not doing the swear jar anymore."

"Please, Tanner. It would have been full before I even opened my mouth." She rolls her eyes. “I’m just blending in here.”

Jackson chuckles and shakes his head at her. "You're not completely wrong."

"Of course I'm not." She grins. She might have pulled back, but she still knows us very well.

Once the race is done, she lowers her controller with a theatrical sigh. "I'm calling it. It's because my arm is in a cast."

A mischievous twinkle appears in her eye as she fixates every one of us with a hard stare on her screen. "I'm telling you, as soon as this thing is off, I'll want a rematch. And then I'm going to wipe the floor with you until you shit gravel."

"Zoey!"

Adam scolds her, and she rolls her eyes at him. "Say it with me, everyone. I am a grown woman, and I can curse if I want to." She grins and shoots Adam a knowing look, which he returnswith a sheepish smile. And even Jackson's face softens, just the slightest bit.

Looks like they’ve talked. Thank God. Who would have thought this whole clusterfuck of a situation would actually work out like this? I sure didn’t.

"And if you can curse, I can curse," Zoey adds, and I give her a proud nod.

Reed, Adam, and Jackson fall into a heated discussion on whether that means they will stop swearing during our weekly game calls—Reed masterfully defending his use of curse words while Adam tries to convince him to go without.

Another discussion I'm not keen on involving myself in. So I reach for my phone, my eyebrow lifting almost to my hairline when I see a message from Zoey.

Zoey: How's mission win-her-back going?

I look at her on the screen to find her studying me curiously.

Tanner: So-so. Ambushed her to explain myself, and now I'm laying low for a bit. How are things on your end?

Once she's read the message, she looks straight at the camera and rolls her eyes, making me bite my cheeks to keep from laughing as she types her answer.

Zoey:I'm going up the walls.

I can't help but let a chuckle burst free, which I quickly disguise as a cough.

Adam is staying with Zoey for now—at least until we can think of something else or rotate. Thankfully, her broken arm is not her dominant one, but leaving her to live alone isn’t exactly the best choice right now. She can’t really cook for herself, or carry anything, much less wash her hair.

And while she'd all but begged Adam to go home and let one of her friends stay over instead, he wasn't deterred. In a group call we had he mentioned not wanting to entrust our currently defenseless sister to strangers we’ve never met and I hate admitting it, but he might have a point. Especially considering what happened to Summer, even with two mobile arms.

Honestly, I think he also enjoys the fact that it's pissing her off. Maybe that’s the punishment he came up with for her as a payback for lying.

Zoey: I think Adam's still angry with me.

Zoey: He's barely talking to me. Only if necessary.

Tanner: Well, did you apologize?

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