Page 12 of Don't Game Me
“You sure? I could bring you dinner, give you some company.”
“You aunt’s here. Noah already stopped by. I think it best you stay at the hotel and we’ll visit in the morning at the house. They plan to release him soon.”
“Has he been remembering things okay? Did this accident have to do with that?” Her dad’s early signs of dementia broke her heart. It killed all of them to see such a vibrant spirit go through bouts of utter disorientation.
“He might’ve forgotten about the step down into the den since that’s where he fell. I don’t know. Getting old is awful. I’ve got to go. Doctor just came in. Love you.” Her mom hung up.
Becca texted Noah:You already checked on Mom and Dad?
Noah dinged back almost immediately:Yeah. He’ll be ok. Jake said he gave you a ride. That your date bailed.
Becca:Yeah both our dates bailed.
Noah:Sucks. I’m meeting Michael at 6 at Shanks. You in?
Becca:Sure.
She hoped it’d only be her two brothers, not Jake. He was like another brother… Well, to the boys. Not to her. Never to her. Especially not now.
4
What had he been thinking to kiss Becca?
Oh, right. He hadn’t been thinking, at least not with anything above his waist.
Jake was having one hell of a time paying attention to whatever the Harrison brothers were discussing. Noah’s mouth moved. Jake nodded but didn’t register what he’d said, partly because Shank’s was dim and noisy, even sitting a room away from the live band. And partly because Noah would castrate him for kissing Becca. Or for imagining what she’d done tofinishafter he left.
Noah ran a hand through his dirty-blond hair for the umpteenth time in the past few minutes. That meant he was upset about something. Time to tune in. Jake picked up the topic: Noah’s mom mandated a no-sleeping-together-until-the-wedding decree for the three days before the wedding. The rule sounded stupid but came from a Harrison family belief doing so gave the marriage luck. The Harrison family observed all kinds of odd little good luck rituals all the time, like Noah’s mom’s insistence everyone kiss her grandmother’s locket on New Year’s Eve to ensure a year of luck, and Noah swearing by his green tie. He wore it before any business meeting when they needed things to go their way.
Noah, ever the Boy Scout, would follow his mom’s edict, but his fiancée, Tori, wouldn’t. She’d do whatever the hell she wanted. Jake should probably point that out, but Noah’s sex life wasn’t high on Jake’s list of problems he needed to solve.
What topped his personal list was figuring out how to act around Becca tomorrow.
“You think I should do something special for the wedding night?” Noah asked Jake.
Jake grunted noncommittally.
“Like shave my chest or my balls or something?”
Michael, Noah’s older brother, choked on his beer before dissolving into a fit of laughter.
“I’m not having a ball-shaving discussion with you, man.” Jake glared at Noah, wondering if Noah had sucked down too much of Shank’s famous margaritas in the past twenty minutes. “Seriously not going there. Especially here. Hell, I’m not having that discussion with you anywhere.”
“Women like it, don’t they? Do you get waxed or actually use a razor?” Noah wasn’t joking. The man legit seemed to want to do right by his girl.
“You think I shave my balls?” Jake yelled to be heard over the rowdy group that had moved in next to them.
“Hey, guys,” said a far too familiar feminine voice behind them.
Maybe she hadn’t overheard.
Noah’s face pinched tight like he’d sucked an entire lime slice up the straw that came with his margarita.
Becca settled on the open barstool between Michael and Jake. The floral scent of her hair teased Jake’s nose. He could smell that all day. His thigh tingled where hers now pressed tight against his.
“You wax your balls, Jake?” Her eyes glittered with amusement.
Michael snort-laughed so hard that he sucked in air and lost the ability to make any sound.
