Page 22 of Their Favorite Game

"Hey, Mal. Rex told me you decided to go. Ready for the weekend?" he asked, grinning.

I smiled back at him. "Yeah, just finishing up packing. How did you know I got the time off?"

"Sammy texted me. She wanted to know if any hot single guys would be there. Excluding me, Rex, and Matty. She made it very clear she had no interest in us." Jake laughed and walked into the living room.

I shook my head. "That sounds like her."

Frankie stepped into the living room. "Hey Jake, I didn't know you were coming by."

Jake's eyes shifted from mine to Frankie’s. "Uh, yeah. I figured you and I could do last-minute details. Ya know, who is riding with who, food, sleeping arrangements."

Frankie nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go into the dining room to discuss it."

I watched them walk away, wishing it wouldn't be so awkward if I went with them. I knew I couldn't. Frankie would have a fit. He always got annoyed with me.

I finished packing my bag and walked into the dining room, where Jake and Frankie were deep in discussion. They looked up as I entered.

"Hey, Mal," Jake said with a smile.

"Hey," I replied, chewing my lip.

"Okay, so we've got the food covered. We can stop at the grocery store on the way there," Frankie said, clicking on his laptop.

"I can drive my truck," Jake offered. "It's big enough to fit all our stuff."

Frankie nodded. "That works. And we'll take my car as well."

"Sounds good." I grabbed a bottle of water to stop myself from chewing off the inside of my lip.

"Mal, you can ride with me." Jake flashed me a grin.

Heat rose to my cheeks. "Okay, sure."

We went over some more details, and then Jake left.

"Don't get any ideas." Frankie pointed a finger at me.

"Excuse me?" I gasped.

"Jake is off limits. So are Rex and Matty, for that matter." He closed his laptop.

"No, shit." I rolled my eyes. Frankie had told me that multiple times.

"Just making sure you know the rules." Frankie stood up and stretched. "Are you excited about the weekend?"

I nodded and shrugged. I didn't want him to get the idea that I was overly excited and risk him uninviting me. "Yeah, I think it'll be fun."

"Good, because we're gonna have a blast." Frankie grinned at me. "Now, let's grab some dinner before we finish packing."

We stepped into the kitchen, the smell of spices and herbs adding warmth to the room. I started chopping vegetables for the stir-fry while Frankie grabbed drinks from the fridge. As I sprinkled garlic over the pan, my heart raced as I remembered that I'd be sharing a place with the guys all weekend.

"Do you want carrots in yours?" I tossed the water chestnuts in the pan.

"And risk any getting on your plate?" Frankie scoffed. "I don't feel like taking you to the hospital tonight.”

I shrugged and continued adding veggies. I was cautious about keeping carrots away from my food. One trip to the E.R. when I was seven, was all I needed to learn that lesson.

After dinner, we finished packing and headed to bed early. We had an early morning start and needed to be well-rested.