Melanie blows him a kiss from across the table.
Nora leans in close, whispering, “I’m having so much fun. Your family is a hoot.”
A soft warmth settles deep inside me. “Don’t tell them that,” I whisper back.
The round continues until it’s Melanie’s turn. She drops her cards on the pile. “Two twos.”
I glance at her face—the tiniest twitch of her lips gives her away. “Bullshit.”
She gasps. “Are you bullshitting me right now?”
“Yes. I absolutely am.”
She groans and collects the pile. “See? He reads people. It’s creepy.”
On Mallory’s turn, she lays down her cards. “Three eights.”
Randy immediately points. “Bullshit.”
Mallory flips them—three eights. Randy curses under his breath while everyone laughs.
Then on Nora’s turn, she sets down a card. “One four.”
Melanie points at the pile. “Bullshit.”
Nora smiles and flips the card. It’s a four.
Melanie stares at her like she’s been betrayed. “No fair. You two,” she points at me and Nora, “are sharing a brain or something.”
The room fills with laughter.
Randy drops two cards into the pile with too much confidence. “Two jacks.”
“Bullshit,” I mutter.
Randy leans back. “Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
“Dammit.” Randy reaches for the pile and flips over the cards. A four and a seven.
“Too easy.” I smirk.
Randy laughs and pulls the entire pile toward himself. Just as Ben lays down his cards, Nora’s hand slides onto my thigh beneath the table.
My brain immediately forgets numbers. And rules. And what month it is.
“Two kings,” Ben says.
Nora’s thumb traces the smallest circle on my leg, destroying my ability to function.
“Bull—” I start.
Mallory leans forward. “What was that?”
“…Bullshit?” I finish, with absolutely zero confidence.
Ben flips his cards. A king and a seven. “He has to have some kind of superpower. X-ray vision. Maybe it’s the glasses.”
