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“Agreed,” Graham said. “In.” His tone was firm when he cast his vote. But he almost always voted “in.”
“Out,” Jasper said, ever the extrovert to Graham’s introvert. “Definitely out.”
I sighed and stood, starting to pace. My team had lost the game in the final seconds, and the only place I wanted to be wasinbed. Asleep. Preferably after another glass of whiskey and a long, hot shower.
Nate tapped a finger to his lips. “You know…” He circled me, evaluating. These guys were getting on my last fucking nerve. I’d already told them I wasn’t going out, yet they persisted with this game. “I’m going to go with ‘out.’”
Jasper fist-pumped the air. “We have a majority.”
Graham glowered at the floor, and I let out a heavy sigh, dragging my hand through my hair for the thousandth time that night. It wasn’t that I minded going out, but I wasn’t in the mood.
“It’s tied,” I said.
Jasper waved a hand through the air. “You know the rules.”
If one of us was having a bad night, the others chose whether we’d go out or stay in. But whoever was struggling didn’t get to cast a vote. In this case—me. Thus preventing a tie.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. We’d been playing this game since we’d been old enough to sneak into clubs. A lot had changed in the years since, but we’d always been close, especially after our parents’ plane crash.
That was the night that everything had changed. That…
“Come on,” Jasper said, patting me on the shoulder. “Put on some jeans and a shirt, and then we’ll go.”
“But I already took off my shoes.”
“Good. One step taken care of,” Nate said, using the same tone he would with his eleven-year-old daughter, Brooklyn.
“I’m really not in the mood. Can’t we just…” I surveyed the room, searching for another idea. Something that might mollify them without forcing me to leave the comfort of my suite. “Play poker and drink here?”
“Sounds good to me,” Graham said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.
“No,” Nate said, tugging me toward the bedroom.
“What about the bottle you brought?” I asked Jasper in a last-ditch attempt to persuade them to stay in.
Jasper shrugged. “It’ll keep. Unless…” He smirked at Nate, mischievousness painted across his features. “You’d rather have a party here.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket as if searching through his contacts forallthe people he wanted to invite.
“No. Absolutely not.” Graham practically leaped out of his chair. “Get dressed, Knox.”
“Guys.” I massaged my temples. “Seriously?”
Nate and Jasper huddled together, not even trying to keep their voices down. “We could invite Samantha and Trish.”
“Absolutely. Oh and—”
Graham’s scowl deepened the longer they schemed.
“Is that what you would prefer?” Jasper asked, glancing up from his phone. “We can send out a text blast right now.” He looked at the screen again. “Got it ready to go. Just need to push—” his finger hovered over the phone, taunting us “—send.”
“Don’t you dare,” Graham said, snatching the device out of Jasper’s hand.
While Jasper struggled to get it back, Graham said to me, “You know these fuckers won’t relent. It’s better to just get on with it so we can all go to bed at a semi-reasonable hour.”
Nate chuckled. “Who said anything about reasonable? Brooklyn’s spending the night at her friend Sophia’s.”
“This better not be a repeat of the last time we went out together,” I said, giving Jasper and Nate a pointed look.
“What?” Nate lifted a shoulder. “It’s not my fault the paparazzi swarmed us.”
