Page 18 of Play The Game

Avery’s screeching cuts through the air, and we both laugh at Blaise’s pissy reply. Harley’s hands smooth over my ass as he leans down to kiss me. I think he was only planning for it to be a quick peck, but I open my lips to his the second they touch and I swallow his groan. Footsteps in the living room pull us apart.

“Are we still going to dinner, or are we leaving Morrison here as a sacrifice to distract Avery and finding something better to do with our evening?” Ash drawls with a snarky edge but, though tempted, I smirk back at him.

“I’m not wasting this dress. Let’s go.”

Pulling away from Harley, I walk to the door without looking back and the gasps and curses that follow me have me smiling like an idiot. Avery steps over to me, and her smug face tells me everything I need to know about their reaction to the back of my dress.

She links her arm in mine as she leans in close to murmur to me, “Pretty sure you could get any of them to bend you over something right now if you wanted.”

I smirk back at the guys. Blaise has joined them and paused in buttoning up his dress shirt to stare at me, his eyes ravenous, but I shrug at them all. “We should get a move on; I’m pretty hungry.”

That gets them moving.

Blaise drives us in the Maserati, declaring without a shred of shame, that he needs the distraction to keep his hands off of me, so I end up wedged between Ash and Harley in the back. Harley tucks his hand into mine and lets his head drop back against the headrest with his eyes closed. Ash scowls out of the window and traces patterns into the exposed skin on my thigh. When I shift in my seat, he looks over at me and smirks.

“Black?” he whispers and I know exactly what he’s asking.

“Nothing. I didn’t want there to be lines.”

Ash sucks in a breath, and Harley’s hand spasms in mine. I grin at Avery when she glances back at me, satisfied I’ve finally one-upped them in their own game.

The restaurant is ridiculously ritzy, the type of place I imagine Ash and Avery frequent because they fit right in. Blaise is at ease but he still looks around with thinly veiled disgust. Harley is the only one who shares my outraged look when we see the prices of the dishes.

“Is the lobster going to serve itself to me for that fucking price? I haven’t spent that much on groceries for the entire fucking break.”

Avery smirks at me, but Ash looks confused. “How much do groceries cost in the slums?”

Blaise cackles like a madman at the look I throw the spoiled asshole. “I’m no longer feeding you. Also, you’re on the couch tonight.”

“Snap, motherfucker,” Avery murmurs under her breath, mocking me the way only she can get away with.

Ash glares at her, and Harley slings a smug arm around the back of my chair. I’m tempted to order the mango chicken, as a threat to Ash because I know he’s allergic, but I decide not to play with fire and order a pasta dish to eat my feelings. Plus, it’s the only dish under a hundred dollars on the menu that isn’t a salad.

“So, how are we all feeling about Hannaford tomorrow?” Avery asks sweetly, and Blaise throws a linen napkin at her.

“I’m glad we don’t have to worry about Joey breaking down your door,” Ash says and drinks his bourbon. Yep, the spoiled, eighteen-year-old asshole ordered a bourbon, and no one questioned him.

“I’m going to join the state team for swimming, and I’m applying for some scholarships for college, to see if that gives me a better chance,” Harley mutters. Avery meets my gaze, and I give her a tiny shake of my head. I haven’t told him my plans yet and I’m not going to.

“I’m getting my neck tattooed. And my hands. Oh, and I’ve signed up for the same classes as you guys this year because I’m clearly fucking insane, but the Mounty has promised me she’ll get me through. She’s also been campaigning for me to not only go to college but to apply to whichever one you all do, so I guess I’ll have to earn the marks to get in,” Blaise says cheerfully.

I smile at him, but the other three all stare at him with various degrees of shock on their faces. Ash recovers first. “Your father will disown you if you tattoo your hands and neck.”

Oh. So, he hasn’t told them all yet. Shit.

Blaise pulls a face. “Too late, he already has.”

When everyone freezes in their seats, he uses the opportunity to grab Ash’s drink, downing it in one go like he needs something to take the edge off before he gets the rest of it out. “Turns out I was right; my parents only put up with me because they didn’t have any other options… until now. My mom’s pregnant. It’s a boy. I’ve been cut out of the family now there’s a replacement son on the way. Oh, perfect timing; dinner’s here.”

The stunned silence continues until the waiters have left. Blaise shoots me a smile like he’s reassuring me he’s fine, and I send him one back that I’m certain is calling him out on that bullshit, but we both tuck into our dinner happily. It takes the others a solid minute to start in on theirs.

“Congrats, I guess?” Harley says, and Ash snorts at him.

“He’s not the one who’s fucking pregnant, and who the hell said that this is a good thing?”

Harley rolls his eyes at him. “Whatever, fuckwit. At least he’s free from them both now.”

Avery cocks her head, ignoring them both as she stabs at her meal viciously. “Did your dad definitely disown you? Can I start ruining his life now?”