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He narrowed his watery eyes at me. Then he gunned it. Becca barely got out of the way. We watched him part the crowd until he disappeared around the pool house.

“Someone needs to get him a horn,” Becca mumbled.

“Like he’d use it?” Jesse said.

Larissa stared after him. “Is he always like that?”

“As long as I’ve known him,” I said.

“He taught all of us to drive,” Jesse said. “He’d use us to take him to the gas station to buy cigarettes so Aunt Joy wouldn’t catch him.”

I laughed. “Hey, we got our behind-the-wheel hours in.”

Mike came back ten minutes later with a mai tai. “Grandpa’s all set up in the gazebo,” he said, taking a swallow from the side of his glass. “We’ll all be safe for about ten minutes.”

I eyed the drink. “What happened to training?”

“What? This? I wanted to try it, just one,” he said.

Larissa turned around from her conversation with Becca and saw the cocktail in his hand. “Oh. I thought you were driving. It’s why I got the piña colada.”

He laughed. “Babe, I’m six three and two hundred and ten pounds. This won’t even give me a buzz.”

She didn’t look sure.

“Last one,” he said. “I promise.”

“Okay.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.

The karaoke started. Larissa lit up. “You want to sing a duet with me?” she said, turning to Mike.

“Nah.”

“Pleeease?” she begged. “It’ll be so fun!”

“I don’t sing, babe.”

She gave him the same puppy dog eyes that got me to keep Woofarine. “I don’t want to go up alone.”

“Take Chris.” He nodded at me.

I froze. “I… What?”

“Oh, Chris, please?” She peered at me.

“Go,” Mike said. “Help me out so I don’t have to do it.” He nudged his girlfriend and winked at her. She rolled her eyes and then looked at me hopefully.

“Uh… okay,” I said.

“Really?”

“Sure.”

She bounced. “What do you want to sing?”

“You pick. It’s gonna be bad though. I don’t have a good voice.”

“I’m so recording this,” Mike said, pulling out his phone.