Page 37 of Flirty Dancing

“Erect.” Dominik snickered.

Mateo ignored him and continued. “‘—as many houses as your judgment and financial standing will allow.’”

“Well, that’s stupid. You should build when it’s your turn,” Caleb grumbled.

“That may be the case, however…” Mateo put the rules back in the box and smiled sweetly.

Archer had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

Caleb sulked and took another sip of his beer.

Later on, with their Leia piece in jail and their beverages freshly drained, Mateo was quietly explaining to Archer how sometimes it was okay to be stuck in jail for a bit because then you didn’t land on anyone else’s property and have to pay them rent, when Caleb’s voice grabbed Archer’s attention.

“Archer? Hello?”

“Sorry?” Archer’s cheeks flared, aware he was staring at Mateo’s thigh again. He tore his gaze away and looked over at Caleb.

“I said, can I get you another drink?”

“Oh, that’s fine, I’ll get them.” Archer hopped up, feeling the need for fresh air. He wandered over to the fridge,pausing for a moment to admire the view of the lake out the window. It was late now, the only people in sight a couple strolling along the curve of the shore. Then he dug three drinks out of the fridge—a beer each for him and Caleb, and one of Mateo’s nonalcoholic beers. When he climbed over Mateo’s legs and plopped back onto the couch, Caleb leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek as he took his bottle.

“Thanks, babe,” he said. “You’re the best.”

“No problem,” Archer mumbled, cheeks heating at the attention. He handed Mateo’s drink to him.

“Thanks, babe,” Mateo said with crinkled eyes. “You’re the best.”

Caleb rolled his eyes as Archer’s cheeks flushed even hotter. “You’re welcome,” Archer muttered.

“We’re out of jail,” Mateo nodded at the board. “But I had to pay rent to the Bs.”

“I’ll allow it,” Archer said with a mock frown. “But try not to let it happen again.”

Mateo’s eyes crinkled further as he popped the top of his drink. “I’ll do my best.”

Archer turned his attention back to the game. His thigh was still against Mateo’s.

“We want to build a house on—” Seta announced.

Dominik interrupted. “Sorry, the bank is out of houses.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Mateo and Archer have them all.”

“Do we?” Mateo was utterly nonplussed, taking another sip.

Archer had noticed that Mateo built all the houses they could, and almost all of their properties had four houses on them. They hadn’t built a single hotel yet.

“Build some fucking hotels, man!” Caleb chirped. “Other people need houses, too.”

“Hmm.” Mateo studied the board with fake concentration. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“Well, Archer can decide to. You want to build some hotels, don’t you, Archer?” Caleb turned to him. “You get to make everyone else drink.”

“Um.” Archer looked between Caleb’s furrowed eyebrows and Mateo’s barely contained smirk. “Sorry, I’m going to let Mateo be in charge. He knows what he’s doing and I’m a rookie.”

That was the beginning of the end. Caleb got sulkier and sulkier as he and Betty lost all their money, and the stack of bills in front of Mateo and Archer grew and grew. Most of the others were too drunk or busy making illegal trades to notice or care about Caleb’s sulking. But when he had to mortgage his last property, he quit.

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