Rishi: “God, you’re ancient.”
Nolan: “I’m thirty-four, not ninety-four.”
Round Two begins: “Which member of 98 Degrees is related to a former boy band rival’s wife?”
Jeremy aggressively taps the buzzer and yells, “Nick Lachey, married to Jessica Simpson, sister to Ashlee Simpson who dated Ryan Cabrera who looked like a poodle in distress.”
“You need help.” I laugh.
Jeremy celebrates. “I want fanfare, I want confetti, and I want someone licking salt off someone else’s collarbone. Let’s make memories, people.”
More questions fly: “Which boy band member famously left his group to start a solo career in 2005?”
Jeremy: “Zayn Malik?”
Maya: “2005, not 2015.”
Me: “It was Robbie Williams. From Take That.”
Jeremy: “Nerd.”
Rishi: “This is educational trauma.”
“In what city did The Backstreet Boys officially form?”
Nolan: “Orlando.”
I squint at him. “You answered that suspiciously fast. Did you study?”
He shrugs. “I came prepared to battle. I won the last time we came here and played, so I have a rep to uphold.”
“What was the topic? Hogwarts for smug bastards?”
Nolan chuckles under his breath. “Keep talking, Adams. That second-place energy is loud.”
That voice could belong in my future regrets folder.
Next: “Which boy band appeared in a 2001 episode of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch?’”
Jeremy and I high-five. “NSYNC.Duh.”
Rishi groans. “Rigged. It’s alwaysNSYNC.”
By the final round, we’re neck-and-neck. The screen flashes. The final question lights up: “Name the members of O-Town.”
Jeremy clutches his chest. “My moment has come.”
He slams his hand down on the buzzer and rattles off: “Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Dan Miller, Trevor Penick, and Jacob Underwood.”
Nolan grumbles, “We’re doomed.”
The quizmaster shouts: “And tonight’s winners, by one aggressively niche fact… CTRL+ALT+DEFEAT!”
Jeremy shrieks like he’s just been knighted. I toss Nolan a slow, smug smile.
“Let’s review,” I say, sauntering over to him. “I’ve outwitted you at the rooftop, outscored you at trivia. What’s next? Arm wrestling? Strip poker?”
Nolan steps closer, eyes glittering. “Definitely strip poker.”
