Alex bumps her shoulder into mine and giggles. “Cool, huh?”
I nod as she grabs the bottle and takes a drink.
“How come we were able to bring the tequila in with us?” I ask.
Alex chuckles. “Because you were holding it. Augie was too distracted with me to notice that you had it. He would’ve noticed if I’d been holding it, and it would have been confiscated.” She grins like the Cheshire cat. “Like I said, I’m crazy irresistible to all man and fairy kind.”
“And Simpson characters, apparently,” I tease.
She scoffs out a laugh, slapping the back of my head, and hands me back the bottle. “Be nice. But yes, he does resemble a certain evil clown. But don’t tell him that. He gets antsy about it.”
I half-laugh, pick up a rubbery, weighted red ball, and throw it toward a hoop. It circles the hoop, falling straight through the center. The goal lights up, the back of the board explodes in firework lighting, and the ball falls to the ground, sending another cascade of water ripples.
Smiling, I shake my head as Alex grabs my hand and pulls me toward a wall where a green exit sign is lit. I smile, knowing there’s more cool shit beyond the door, and I can’t wait to see what else Alex has in store to help me forget about Ria, if only for now.
My chest tightens just a little as Alex pulls me through the doorway into a giant open expanse.
Taking in the sight before me, my eyes open wide.
Holy fucking shit!
Chapter Twenty-Three
NATE
The room is massive. I mean the size of half a football field, and from one end to the other, the floor is lined with an obstacle course of inflatable products. My mouth drops open as laughter and cheers filter through the air from the college boys currently residing on the field.
Alex steps up to me, places her hand under my chin, and lifts my jaw closed as she chuckles. “It’s cool, huh? The kids’ room is big. But the adults’ area is massive.” She gestures with her hands. “This arena is so much fun, and the games are epic, Nate.” Her hand goes to her hip. “Oh… and I’m gonna whoop your ass,sexy boy.”
I raise an eyebrow as she tugs me over to a massive barrel. She plunges her hands inside, fishing out a pair of bright red socks and tossing them at me. I catch them, nearly dropping our precious tequila bottle in the process. She stifles a grin, eyes sparkling as she watches me fumble, and I can only blame the alcohol for my clumsiness.
“Careful now, no dropping the liquid courage. Put the socks on. We gotta obeysomerules,” she says, pulling off her pixie flats and sliding on the red socks.
I place the bottle on the floor, kick off my boots, and pull on the red socks. They’re a tiny bit small, but as Alex said, we have to obeysomerules, I suppose.
“Okay, you ready?” she asks, bouncing up and down on her toes.
“How many times have you been here?”
“A lot. C’mon, race ya to the top.” She takes off to where the first inflatable is bright yellow, with a blow-up arch over theentrance reading ‘START’ in big, bold green letters. Alex jumps onto the inflatable cushion and races inside the arena. I chuckle at her enthusiasm.
What have I got to lose?
I run with the tequila bottle in hand, ensuring the lid is on tight, then jump onto the cushion. It’s squishy beneath my feet, causing me to wobble from side to side. I let out a small laugh and carefully walk further inside the inflatable.
Once inside, there’s what looks like a rock climbing wall—all inflatable, of course—and I notice Alex is already nearly at the top.
She looks down and grins. “Gonna have to move quicker if you’re even going to consider yourself a competitor, boss.”
“I’m at a disadvantage, Alex. I have a bottle,” I call back.
She grins. “I would call that anadvantage, but hey, I might be a closet alcoholic. However, you’ll never know unless you catch up to me,” she says, climbing higher.
I chuckle, shove the bottle halfway down the front of my jeans, and climb the wall. It’s actually quite challenging, and I’m super fit—I work out, lift weights, and train hard—but fuck, this shit is awkward.
Alex looks down and lets out a loud laugh as she scales the wall and stands at the top. “Ha ha, sucker, see you at the next inflatable,” she jeers and rushes off.
I chuckle as I climb, dig in, and pick up the pace. Alex’s igniting the fighter in me, and I want to compete with her and not be left behind like fucking always. So I race to the top and stand to view two slides on the other side, leading me down to the next inflatable. Grabbing the bottle from my pants, I hold onto it and slide down. A smile creeps onto my face, and I must admit, this is actually pretty fun for a childish place.
