He introduces me to the guys sitting at the table. I give a small wave and smile.
He leads me over to the end of the table and pulls out a chair for me. I sit down and start to pull out the face paint from the kit I brought with me.
He nods at his friend, who looks like a lumberjack. Ryker, I think his name is.
“This guy’s wedding is next weekend,” Camden says.
“Congratulations,” I say to Ryker.
He nods and says thanks. Camden gestures for him to sit down in the chair in front of me. Ryker exhales sharply, like he doesn’t want to, but then I catch him fighting a smile.
“What would you like painted on your face?” I ask.
“Make him look like a bunny,” Camden says.
Ryker glares at him, but Camden just chuckles. “Come on. It’ll be fun. We’ll all get our faces painted,” Camden says.
“With bunnies?” Ryker mutters.
Camden shakes his head. “Nah, we’ll do different animals. I’ll take pics at the end and send them to your fiancées. They’ll love it.”
The guys chuckle.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Xander says.
“Fine.” Ryker turns back to me, and I start to brush white face paint along his cheeks and forehead.
The rest of the guys go back to their poker game. While dealing out the cards, Camden tells them that we were childhood best friends who lost touch.
“No way,” Xander says, looking between us. “And you just randomly run into each other after all these years?”
I smile as I draw a bunny nose on Ryker’s nose. “Yup. Crazy, right?” I put the finishing touches on Ryker’s face. “All done.”
He turns to his friends. When they look at him, they all burst out laughing. I laugh too.
Ryker exhales sharply, but I can tell by the way the corner of his mouth is twitching that he’s fighting a smile.
“That’s it. Laugh it up,” he grumbles.
Camden takes a photo of Ryker on his phone. “Just sent that to your fiancée.”
“Great,” Ryker mutters as he stands up. He points to Camden. “You’re up next.”
Camden hops up and sits in the chair in front of me. “I wanna be a unicorn.”
I burst out laughing. So do the rest of his friends.
“You got it.” I swipe bright pink paint onto Camden’s brow and cheeks.
I glance up at the guys, who are all taking photos of Ryker while he gulps water from a glass.
“Hold still,” Xander says as he aims his phone at him.
“If you send that to anyone, I’m gonna murder you,” Ryker says.
“Oh come on, Georgie. You know the Bashers fans would love to see you like this, looking like a cute little bunny.”
Ryker tosses a pretzel at Xander’s face. Xander just laughs.
