“So, are we going to stay here or move on to somewhere else?” Ace pops over to us, and it’s pretty clear he’s hammered.
“I’m not going anywhere else. If I leave, it’s going back to my room. With my girl.” Casey swings his arm around Noelle.
“Hey, Ace. Where did Archie and Emma go? I thought they were going to come out with us tonight,” Charlie asks.
Ace shakes his head. “Had to take off. Something with Lainey. I’m sure she’s fine since she’s staying in my parents’ room. They probably just wanted to take advantage of a kid-free night. I swear they still can’t keep their hands off each other. Kinda surprised she’s not pregnant again.” He chuckles.
“Can’t say I blame him. I’m ready to head back to our room as soon as the boss here says the word.” Beck wraps his arms around Charlie from behind.
She leans her head on his shoulder and twists her head to look at him. “We can go whenever you’re ready.”
“Wait! Y’all are leaving? You can’t leave yet.” Brooke walks over to Charlie. “You told me we were going to live it up tonight. And you,” she says, pointing to her brother, “told me to let loose this weekend while I was in Vegas. And now y’all are bailing on me?”
Charlie wraps her arms around Brooke. “Sorry, B. You should totally stay out all night if you want. I fully support that. And honestly, you shouldn’t waste a dress like that. You’re a total baddie.”
Now, wait a second. Over my dead body will Brooke be going out without me at this point. In my mind, she absolutely wore that dress for me.
“Urgh, you suck.” Brooke wiggles out of Charlie’s hold and turns to Noelle. “I guess you guys are leaving too?”
Noelle starts to shake her head, but Casey covers her mouth with his hand.
“Sorry, babe.” He looks at Noelle, then back to Brooke. “But, yes, we’ll be heading back too. I’m ready to fuck my beautiful girlfriend into next week. We’ve been apart now for a few days, and I can’t wait another minute.”
“Casey, ewww!” Charlie screeches while Beck belts out a laugh.
Noelle pulls his hand away from her mouth. “Oh my God, Casey King! I cannot believe you just said that.” She hits him in the stomach with the back of her hand.
He leans in and takes her mouth with his.
When he pulls back, Noelle looks at us, glassy-eyed. “See you all tomorrow!”
“Sucker,” Brooke grumbles.
“All right, well, I’m out. If y’all are leaving, I’m gonna go find Aston and see if he’s up for sticking around or maybe hopping to a few other places. We need to spread the Griffith love all around. Equal opportunity and shit.” He taps fists with us guys and then quickly hugs the girls.
When he gets to Brooke, he holds on to her a little longer than I’d like. “If you want to hang out with us, let me know. You don’t have to leave because they are.”
Oh, fuck no.
“I got her.” I step in behind her, glaring at him.
He gives me a shit-eating grin and runs his hand down her bare back. It’s like he wants to be punched. “Let me know if you change your mind, darlin’.”
She laughs and pushes him away. “I’m not sure I’m ready for the kind of fun you guys get into.”
Bo picks Chelsea up in his arms. “We’re gonna head out too. We’ll see you guys in the morning. Maybe.”
As he walks away, Chelsea leans her head back. “Bye, everyone!” She waves, laughing.
“I have an idea. Why don’t you and Silas go hang out for awhile? Or stay here and dance some more.” Charlie grabs Brooke’s hand and lays, I assume, Brooke’s phone in her palm.
Brooke looks over her shoulder at me, the confident girl I danced with fading just a little. “Do you feel like staying?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’ll stay here with you.”
I wouldn’t dream of leaving yet. And if I have my way, she’ll be coming back to my room with me tonight. I won’t say that in front of everyone though.
“That’s a great idea. Arbuckle can keep an eye on you and make sure no one tries to spike your drink or something,” Beck says, handing her a credit card and her ID, wrapping her in a hug.
