Page 117 of Knot That Serious

“Cool, cool, cool,” Jack said, shuffling his feet, and Eli smothered a laugh.

He wasn’t any less awkward about this situation than she felt, and Eli found a bit of comfort in the realization.

“I’ve, uh, never been here,” Beckett said, smoothing a hand down his suit. The style actually fit him very nicely. She was getting sexy librarian vibes, and Jack… looked like he’d just left the disco. In a cute way. And his ass looked good in those pants, she noticed as he turned to look around the room at all the glowing decor.

“Have you ever done this before?” Eli asked him.

Beckett pulled his bottom lip between his teeth briefly. “I… don’t think so, actually. If I have, I don’t remember it.”

“Really?” Jack asked, mouth dropping open. “It’s a staple for every childhood.”

Beckett shrugged. “Not mine.”

“There was one close to where we grew up,” Eli said, nodding to Jack. “We spent a lot of weekends at one of these places.”

“We sure did,” Jack agreed, smiling softly.

“So what you’re saying is, you’re gonna kick our asses?” Raj asked.

“Aw, of course not,” Eli said, taking his hand. “We’re gonna kick their asses.”

“I beg to differ,” Jack interjected, wrapping an arm around Beckett’s waist. “It’s your asses that are gonna get kicked.”

Eli grinned. “Guess we’ll see about that.”

The metal door at the back of the room opened and the beta peeked his head in.

“You’re here,” he said, smiling at Beckett and Jack. “If you’ll all just follow me, I’ll explain the rules.”

Raj motioned her forward, and Eli followed the beta through the black-lit door, stepping into a darker room.

Every other tile glowed, as well as a few swirls on the walls, but the only other light was from the racks that displayed the colored vests.

“I figured you guys wanted to play in teams?” the beta guessed.

Once they agreed, he nodded. “Great, so if you don’t care to choose a blue- or purple-lit vest, those are the ones I’ve activated.”

Eli directed Raj to the purple rack with a smile, and Beckett and Jack crossed to the other.

She pulled on one of the medium vests, and Raj had to sort through and find a vest stamped XXL.

“Maybe we are too old to be here,” he muttered.

Eli chuckled and buckled herself into her vest, grabbing the gun hanging from her hip so it would stop banging against her knee.

She turned to face Jack and Beckett, and watched Beckett spin Jack around to check that his vest was all properly velcroed.

“Oh, hey, Beckett?” Raj asked.

Beckett turned toward him, eyes wide. “Yes?”

“One of your buckles is twisted, hold on—” Raj said, and stepped closer before motioning Beckett back toward her and Jack. His face was so red.

Eli snickered. Yeah, Raj had that effect.

Beckett was jostled about as Raj fixed the straps on his vest, and then patted Beckett on both shoulders. “There we go. You’re all set.”

“Great, thank you,” Beckett said, and fumbled for the plastic gun at his side. “Now, someone please explain this to me. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

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