Page 57 of Play Your Part

Going to a wedding with her had sounded like a chore before. Instead of hooking up with a hot friend of Gemma’s who lived nowhere near me, I would be saddled with Kennedy Cole, who hated my guts. But now…

“I’ll need to match you.”

“Oh. Right.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll, um, let you know.”

“You look good in dark green.” Later, I could blame the alcohol, but all I wanted was to tell her something true, even if the words sliced a hole in my chest to reveal my rapidly beating heart.

Kennedy huffed a nervous laugh. “What?”

“I like you in anything, but something about that color on you… it’s stunning.”

“No one is listening. You don’t need to say things you don’t mean.”

“I mean everything I say to you, Kennedy.”

She swallowed audibly. “Oh. Okay.”

I could read nothing in those two words.

“This is the part where you tell me what I look good in,” I said, steering us clear of discomfort. We could say anything we wanted as long as we were joking. It didn’t count.

“Oh myGod.” She rewarded my efforts with a self-conscious chortle.

I could mentally see her expression again, the way this would cause her to blush and her eyes would roll. My breath caught, imagining it.

“On that note, I’m going to go.”

I laughed, deep and unrestrained, soaking in the perfection of this conversation. “I’ll see you when I’m back.”

Only two more days; it couldn’t come soon enough.

24

ALEXEI

Itwasalmostmidnightwhen our plane landed in Palmer City.

The warm air hit me as soon as I stepped onto the tarmac, making me regret not removing the coat I’d needed in Boston before exiting the plane. We walked silently toward our cars, all the adrenaline from winning our last game on this road trip earlier tonight drained from us.

Except for Briggsy, of course. I wished I could bottle his energy in moments like this. If I weren’t worried he’d be distracted by a squirrel and run us off the road, I would ask him to drive us the twenty-minute trip home.

“Can we stop at McDonald’s?” Briggsy asked when we reached the car. He bounced on his feet, waiting for me to unlock the doors.Christ.This must be what parents go through on a daily basis.

“You want to eat now?” I asked, fully realizing I sounded like an old man, but it had been a long trip. I dreamed of collapsing in my bed as soon as I walked in the door. The first night back from a trip felt so incredible, I usually slept several more hours than usual.

“I’m hungry.”

I fired up the car and waited for Zach to secure his seatbelt. He fussed with the music, having already synced his phone.

“Won’t you sleep when we’re home?”

“I’m not tired.”

Translation: Briggsy would spend half the night playing video games, dirtying up my living room and yelling at the TV. I took a moment to get my grumpy tendencies under control before responding. When I opened my doors to Zach, I knew it would shake my routine. That was half the reason I did it. As much as I complained about him being sloppy and loud, my house felt less like a museum with him there.

“Sure, we can go,” I said finally, stifling a yawn. “But maybe stop taking so many naps so you can sleep at a normal hour.”

Thirty minutes later, I drove into my driveway. “Did you leave the light on again?” I grumbled as I pulled the car into the garage.

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