“Don’t worry,” he said, grinning like a man with nothing left to lose. “I’ll be your banana, Matty.”
I ignored the clear innuendo in that statement as I set up the supplies like I’d been doing this for years: wipes in a neat row, gloves ready, paper towels fluffed, alcohol on hand.
“I would just like to state for the record that this qualifies me for bestilicious friend number one today,” he announced confidently.
I glanced up at him and then over at Parker. “Last I checked, Parker didn’t make me go on a date with someone who wantedto use my bones to flavor her soup. It might take awhile for you to slip back into that number one role, buddy.”
Jace scowled, looking offended. “It’s just aper seranking anyway,” he muttered. “And that seems like a compliment by the way, that she would wantyourbones inhersoup. I bet not everyone would qualify for that. So, I still don’t know what the big deal is anyway.”
I shivered just thinking about my dinner with Emma, ignoring the weird thought I’d just had that I’d be okay with Ophelia saying something like that to me.
I pressed the pedal again to distract myself from whatever weirdness had taken over my brain.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Born ready,” Jace said, which is Jace-speak forI will do this and then pretend it hurt a lot on purpose. It’s exactly the kind of bravado that makes him lovable and mildly terrifying.
I stared at the little sheet of stencils that came with the kit. “Too bad there’s not a llama,” I mused.
“Um, you know what? It might be better to start off with something simpler. Although, I do appreciate you finally acknowledging our group name,” Jace commented, rifling through the paper.
“But also, if you think I’m letting you do a face or anything larger than a quarter, you are out of your mind,” Parker said, sounding very serious.
“Relax,” I said, continuing to pick through the stencils. “I’m not about to etch your senior portrait on your arm, Parker. I’m thinking something classy. Timeless. Like…a lightning bolt. Or a tiny football. Or, ooh—” I grinned. “A heart with my initials.”
Jace cackled at that one. “Hell yes, brand me, Daddy.”
My smirk fell. “Never say that again.”
There was only one person who was allowed to call meDaddy…and she was unavailable right now.
Jace just waggled his eyebrows like he was going to think it even if he couldn’t say it.
Parker sank farther into the couch. “What about a dot…or an invisible line?”
Jace snorted as he rummaged through the stencil pile. “A minimalist piece. Very avant-garde. We can call itThe Absence of Pain.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not even going to ask where you learned the wordavant-garde.”
“It’s probably some weird sex thing,” Parker muttered, glancing at his live stream again like he was thinking of a weird sex thing right then as he stared at Casey.
Ugh.Don’t think about sex.
“I’ve got it!” Jace suddenly announced, his eyes lighting up like he’d just solved world peace. “NDL!”
Parker blinked. “What’s an NDL?”
Jace shot him a look. “TheNo Drama Llamas,of course…Where’s that big brain of yours, Parkie-poo?” he asked sarcastically.
I shook my head. “We still have never agreed on that name,” I reminded him.
Jace waved me off like that was a minor technicality. “Yeah, well, I’m the leader of the group, so my vote counts more. It’s catchy, it’s ours, and it’s gonna look badass in all caps.”
Parker and I both snorted at the same time.
He glared between us. “What?”
Parker lifted a brow. “Leader of what, exactly?”
