I take a bite of my pizza, eyeing my friend, then swallow. “Thought you don't feel pain.”
“Oh, he feels pain in certain places.” Merci grins wickedly. “He was so confident Viktor would behave at the wedding.”
Eli rolls his eyes, a soft crease between his brows. “Yeah, thanks, you two, for ruining the cake. Before anyone even got a slice.”
Viktor shifts his weight and tosses a hand out, like he’s physically batting away the blame. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Merci glares. “Riiight. Blame it on your sister.” He turns back to the rest of us. “Anyway, Zach told me he’d give me whatever I want for winning our bet.”
“And what did you ask for?”
Zach drums his fingers on the armrest. “Made me tattoo my dick.”
“Holy shit.” Viktor leans forward in his chair, a smirk on his face as he winks at Zach. “Come on, show us. Bet it’s hot.”
“Hell, no!” Merci launches himself at Viktor like a rabid wolverine, and they go down. “He’s mine! You don’t get to look at him.”
Viktor's cackling as Merci rains down slaps. “OW! FUCK! Worth it—OW! Just to see you—SHIT!—lose your mind!”
“I'll end you, Fungus.” Merci grabs Viktor's hair, yanking hard.
“Promises, promises.” Viktor wheezes between laughter. “You say the sweetest things when you're jealous.”
“I’m not jealous of you!”
Alexei taps Eli's thigh and jerks his chin toward the chaos. “Go, Solnyshko. Show them what you learnedover the summer.”
Eli's eyes light up, and he scrambles off Alexei's lap, sneaking up behind Merci before wrapping an arm around his neck.
Merci yelps. “What the fuck!”
Eli's laughing too hard to properly secure the rear naked choke, and Merci's flailing pulls them both down onto Viktor.
Viktor cackles from the bottom. “Feisty Mouse, your technique is terrible. We need to schedule remedial wrestling lessons immediately.”
Eli gasps between giggles. “I'm . . . trying my . . . best!”
“Get off me!” Merci's voice is muffled. “This is assault. Zach. Control your fucking friend.”
The corner of Zach’s mouth twitches as he quirks a brow. “Which one?”
“The annoying blond.”
“That doesn't narrow it down.” I chuckle, unsure why I’m poking the little devil.
Viktor extracts himself from the pile, his hair completely disheveled, and blows Merci a kiss. “Love you too, bestie.”
“WE ARE NOT BESTIES!”
When Merci lunges again, Zach hooks an arm around his waist and lifts him off the ground. “Enough.”
“Denial is just the first step toward acceptance,” Viktor says, as he sits back down in the chair. “One day you'll admit you actually like me.”
“One day I'll successfully murder you.” Merci’s still squirming in Zach's grip.
“I told my mother was useless to teach him self-defense.” Alexei shakes his head, a lopsided smirk on his face as he watches Eli sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath between giggles. “He's too soft for violence. Is why he has me.”
Eli props himself up on his elbows. “Hey, I held my own for at least five seconds. That's progress, right?”
