I turn grateful eyes toward Zheng. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that,” I mutter.
He shrugs. “Yeah. I did. I invited you. Georgia’s not always this bad. We have a few classes together, but she can be a real bitch when she wants to be.
Tell me about it.
“Well, thanks.” I worry my lower lip watching as Zheng’s eyes follow her retreating form. “Are you into her?” I ask, not wanting to cock block him because, yes, he did invite me and I’m grateful he came to my defense, but if he wants to carpe diem and all that, I won’t stop him. I know how guys can be sometimes. If he were Kai, he’d have gone with her, had his fun, and apologized to me later.
But Zheng only shakes his head. “No. Not really. I know the kind of girl she is and that’s not what I’m after. I think between the vodka I’ve had and her boobs, I got a little confused.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help my grin. Zheng has a sheepish expression on his face as he says, “So, any chance I can change your mind and convince you to be my partner after all?”
I start to shake my head but then I spot Jordy, Des, and Rafael as they crowd into the space. Jordy’s smile is wicked as he looks at me and says, “Come on, vanilla. Let’s play. We can make things interesting.”
Great. Vanilla again. I scowl, but my ears perk up, curious now. “What sort of interesting?”
“If we win,” he points to the three of them. “You wear a bikini the rest of the weekend. Day and night. No exceptions.”
I snort. Typical and not something I mind. As a shifter you get really comfortable with your body really fast. “And if I win?”
He shrugs. “What do you want?”
I consider this. I don’t know if they’re any good and I don’t know if Zheng is either, but I do know that I am. As long as Zheng isn’t god-awful, there’s a decent chance we can win. I’ve always been one of the guys and beer pong is a party go-to even if beer isn’t strong enough to accomplish much. Josué and I used to make off at parties like thieves. We’d make things interesting with cash on the table, but this is my first party with this crowd, and I don’t know what the expectations are here. They don’t really seem like the gambling type.
I’ve already lost my buzz, so I decide to go for it and turn things around tonight despite my ex’s call and Rafael’s strange behavior.
“If I win, you three wear bikinis all weekend. Day and night. No exceptions, either.” The crowd cheers on the idea and Jordy’s grin widens while Des and Rafael’s matching scowls deepen. I don’t even bother trying to hold back my laugh.
“Alright. Alright. I can get behind that.”
“No,” Des says. “You fuckers have at it. My black ass is not wearing a bikini.”
Jordy chuckles. “But Des, you’d look fine as fuck in one and you know it.”
His scowl darkens even more, silver rolling over his eyes, and I clutch my stomach, laughing, as I picture Desmond in a bikini. “Alright. You get a pass,” I say when I can catch my breath again. “But only because teams need to be equal. Two on two.”
I turn to Zheng and he gives me a reassuring smile. He’s in, even though I’m pretty sure if we lose, the guys only care if I’m the one in a bikini. Good thing I bought one today.
I turn to Rafael and lift a single brow. I’m almost positive he’ll bow out like Desmond did, but he surprises me when he grabs a ping pong ball and says, “I’m not one to ever walk away from a challenge.”
10 Rafael
I’m going to murder my best friend for getting me into this. Isa and Liu are kicking our asses. They’re two cups away from handing me my ass and a fucking bikini is not going to be enough to cover it.
Isa’s eyes are glassy. The vodka we added to the cups is hitting her hard and fast, but with a grin on her face she raises her hand, shoots, and lands the damn thing in my cup.
Fuck.
She jumps up and down, her tits bouncing with the motion, and Liu high-fives her.
Jordy grabs the cup. Downs it in one swallow and then takes aim.
The fucker misses and I bite back a snarl. How the hell did he miss that? Shifters have great hand-eye coordination. I swear he’s doing it on purpose.
“I’m going to kill you,” I tell him, low enough that only he should hear but I don’t miss Desmond’s dark chuckles behind us. He’s enjoying this shit. He’s probably hoping we lose, too.
“Nah, man. You won’t,” Jordy tells me. “Because I’m helping a brother out by putting you front and center for her. You might hate losing but you want that she-wolf’s attention.”
“No. I don’t,” I mutter. “She’s no one to me. A lone fucking wolf.”
Jordy ignores my comment and now it’s Liu’s shot. He takes aim for the last cup on our side and at the last second, his eyes flick up to mine and I stare him down turning on the headlights for added effect. He falters under the weight of my stare and I let a wolfish grin curl my lips, exposing a flash of teeth. My vision tunnels and all I see is him. His nearly black eyes darken, pupils dilating and I know his surroundings are fading away from him. The crowd around us cheers him on.
“Shoot.”
“Shoot.”
“Shoot.”
I narrow my eyes further. His jaw tightens, sweat glistening on his brow. He shoots but the fucker isn’t looking at the cups. He’s
