“You sure are.”
“You should do it.” He slaps my chest as he sits up suddenly.
“Marry Jade? I think she only has eyes for you, Stone.”
“Of course she does,” he scoffs, hitting me on the arm this time.I’ll be covered in bruises at this rate.“No, I mean you deserve to find someone and get married. I want to be your best man.” He jabs his finger into my chest.
“No one would have me, man,” I joke.
“Yeah, they would; you’re amazing.” He goes to take another drink of his scotch but frowns when he realizes his glass is empty. He definitely needs to go home soon.
“I appreciate that, brother.”
“Why haven’t you ever had a girlfriend?”
“Getting a bit deep, aren’t you?” But before he has a chance to answer me, Kai motions from the stage for us to get over to him. I down my scotch quickly, glad I don’t need to evaluate my single status right now because my mind has once again wandered to my best friend’s older sister. “Looks like we’re up for the final number.”
“I thought Deeks said he was out?” He frowns, swaying as he searches the bar.
“That man is all talk.” I scoff, bumping his shoulder with mine. “He loves this shit, really.”
“Is Dad doing it?”
“Papa Stone picked the song,” I admit as I pull his drunk ass up. “Come on, lover boy.”
We all take our place behind the microphones, looking like a misfit boy band from the ’90s. Hunter is front and center, stumbling before he eventually falls into his dad who props him back up just as the first beat of “Bohemian Rhapsody” kicks in. “Love you, Dad,” he shouts into the microphone, and the bar roars out a cheer.
“We need to get you home, son.” Thomas laughs as the guys start to try and sing along with the crowd joining in.
“Not yet. I need to sing with my boys.” He bursts into song along with the rest of them, but he’s singing every other word wrong, and I can’t help but laugh as I grab my microphone to join in.
The whole bar is invested in our performance as we belt out our out-of-tune rendition, the customers jumping in and joining with us.
As we come to the final parts of the song, I catch a flash of red.
Ria.
I’m struck dumb at the vision. Her tight, scarlet dress hugs every inch of her beautiful curves and is cut short on her tanned thighs. Gliding my eyes up, I look at her face that is bright with humor as she watches us make fools of ourselves. It’s that look that shakes me out of my stupor. Playing the character I do so well, I give the performance of my life, ramping up the clown antics. Passing a confused Noah my microphone, I hook my arms underneath Hunter and pick him up bridal style, making him yelp with shock, before I lean in and sing into his microphone. He joins back in for the big finale to rapturous applause. All the boys gather around us, their glazed drunken eyes trained on the group of women who are staring at their significant others in shock. I’m certain Ada and Olivia have seen Thomas and Henry in worse states, but Lily and Jade give each other a look of pure confusion.
As we all stumble off the stage, we head straight toward the girls. “Tink!” Hunter shouts as he embraces a shocked Jade with a less-than-PG kiss. “You found me again.” He pulls away, a lopsided grin on his face.
“I didn’t realize you were missing?” she quips and it’s then I realize they are definitely not as drunk as we are. She looks at me as Hunter buries his face in her neck. “I thought you were looking after him?”
“I’m not the adult in this situation, Jade; you know that. Aim that question to Papa Stone.” I point toward Thomas who is dipping a giggling Ada in a very swoon-worthy position.
“I don’t think any of you are the adults tonight.” Ria gives me lopsided grin, and I love how relaxed she looks now. Vegas is looking good on her.
“You following me, Ri Ri?”
“We were on our way to a club when we heard what sounded like someone in actual physical pain. Imagine our horror when it was only you lot murdering a classic.”
“I believe the crowd was behind us; they wanted more.” I move into her space slightly.
“You leaving people unsatisfied, Leo? You may want to reevaluate your technique.” The mischief bouncing in her eyes has my heart hammering in my chest. I love it when she’s like this—free, happy, playful.
“My technique is flawless, Ri Ri.”
“Is anyone else turned on from watching these two?” Lily grins from where she’s tucked into Marcus’s side, the whole group watching our interaction. Ria’s cheeks flush slightly as she ducks her head and moves away from me.
