“What are we doing here?” The first stretch after getting out of the cramped van feels fantastic, all my muscles crying out in joy.
“If Felix is in charge, we’re probably going for a run,” Avery says glumly.
Felix chuckles and kisses his forehead as he moves past him. “We’re going this way. Hope you brought your walking shoes.”
Not ominous at all.
Lake slips his hand into mine and nudges me. Zach and Avery carry an Esky together as we head further into the park. There aren’t as many people this time of the evening, with the sun disappearing beyond the horizon. Mostly keen joggers who like to torture themselves with cardio.
Avery better not be right. I draw the line at going for a run as a form of entertainment, especially for a buck’s night.
The giant human-sized chess board also isn’t on my bingo card for the night. If I had a bingo card. The chess pieces that reach my knees—the pawns—and higher are lined up neatly beside the board.
I know the board exists. I’ve even arrested someone not far from here. But not once have I ever had the desire to use the damn thing.
“I thought they put those away at night?” Sebastian muses. He scratches his ear, knocking his glasses askew.
It’s nice to know that Lake and I aren’t the only ones in the dark here. And that the other person is Sebastian. Satisfying.
“I called in a favour,” Felix says.
That doesn’t surprise me at all. I doubt there’s anything he can’t do in this city. Probably even the entirety of Australia.
Felix sits on the bench beside the board, spreads his legs, and rests his elbows on his knees. “Welcome to Lake and Grady’s joint bachelor party. As you can see, we’re in public, so we can’t have any alcohol…” He trails off and then grins from the side of his mouth. “For now.”
I should have stayed home.
“Before we begin, we need to go over some ground rules.” Felix rubs his hands together in a kind of psychotic glee that doesn’t worry me at all.
“Why do we need ground rules for a game of chess?” The size of the pieces doesn’t matter; we all know how to play chess.
Felix holds up a finger, ignoring my question. “One: no biting.” Two fingers. “Two: no kicking. And three: no punching.”
Lake snickers.
Are we back in kindergarten suddenly, where we haven’t yet learned how to keep our hands to ourselves? Am I going to have to arrest someone on my night off? It’d be a fun way to end the night.
“Why do we need these kinds of rules?” Quinn asks curiously.
“Not for you.” Zach points. “For him.”
Avery scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t need rules,” he growls. “I know how to play chess, and I don’tbitepeople.” He hesitates. “When I play chess.”
It’s disturbing that he had to put a qualifier on that.
“You don’t play chess,” Lake says, tilting his head. “So doesn’t that mean youdobite?”
“If we were playing regular chess, I could almost trust you without needing rules,” Felix says, standing. “But we’re playing human chess.”
We’re what?
“Each of us is going to replace a piece on the board. Lake and Grady are team captains, which means they get final say on where pieces move during the game.” Avery opens his mouth, and Felix interrupts. “Yes, Avery, you’re now a piece, and you have to listen to your brother if you’re on his team.”
“A sexy piece,” Zach adds.
Lake sticks his fingers in his ears. “La la la la la, I can't hear you.”
“Teams are Grady, Sebastian, and Zach. Lake gets me, Avery, and Quinn,” Felix says, staying on task.
