Seeing my expression, he pulls her arms away from his neck and takes a step back. “Sorry, Georgia. Isa’s my friend. I’m not cool with you talking to her like that.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth hangs open for a second before she snaps it closed. “Excuse me?”
He shrugs and runs a hand over the back of his neck. “Look. It’s a shifter thing. I know— “
“Screw you! It’s your loss. Don’t expect to get a second chance.” She brushes past me to leave the room, shoulder checking me along the way. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out at her, reminding myself that despite her harsh words, her bones are easily broken.
I turn grateful eyes toward Zheng. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that,” I mutter.
He shrugs. “Yeah. I did. I invited you. Georgia’s not always this bad. We have a few classes together, but she can be a real bitch when she wants to be.
Tell me about it.
“Well, thanks.” I worry my lower lip watching as Zheng’s eyes follow her retreating form. “Are you into her?” I ask, not wanting to cock block him because, yes, he did invite me and I’m grateful he came to my defense, but if he wants tocarpe diemand all that, I won’t stop him. I know how guys can be sometimes. If he were Kai, he’d have gone with her, had his fun, and apologized to me later.
But Zheng only shakes his head. “No. Not really. I know the kind of girl she is and that’s not what I’m after. I think between the vodka I’ve had and her boobs, I got a little confused.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help my grin. Zheng has a sheepish expression on his face as he says, “So, any chance I can change your mind and convince you to be my partner after all?”
I start to shake my head but then I spot Jordy, Des, and Rafael as they crowd into the space. Jordy’s smile is wicked as he looks at me and says, “Come on, vanilla. Let’s play. We can make things interesting.”
Great.Vanilla again. I scowl, but my ears perk up, curious now. “What sort of interesting?”
“If we win,” he points to the three of them. “You wear a bikini the rest of the weekend. Day and night. No exceptions.”
I snort. Typical and not something I mind. As a shifter you getreallycomfortable with your bodyreallyfast. “And if I win?”
He shrugs. “What do you want?”
I consider this. I don’t know if they’re any good and I don’t know if Zheng is either, but I do know that I am. As long as Zheng isn’t god-awful, there’s a decent chance we can win. I’ve always been one of the guys and beer pong is a party go-to even if beer isn’t strong enough to accomplish much. Josué and I used to make off at parties like thieves. We’d make things interesting with cash on the table, but this is my first party with this crowd, and I don’t know what the expectations are here. They don’t really seem like the gambling type.
I’ve already lost my buzz, so I decide to go for it and turn things around tonight despite my ex’s call and Rafael’s strange behavior.
“If I win, you three wear bikinis all weekend. Day and night. No exceptions, either.” The crowd cheers on the idea and Jordy’s grin widens while Des and Rafael’s matching scowls deepen. I don’t even bother trying to hold back my laugh.
“Alright. Alright. I can get behind that.”
“No,” Des says. “You fuckers have at it. My black ass is not wearing a bikini.”
Jordy chuckles. “But Des, you’d look fine as fuck in one and you know it.”
His scowl darkens even more, silver rolling over his eyes, and I clutch my stomach, laughing, as I picture Desmond in a bikini. “Alright. You get a pass,” I say when I can catch my breath again. “But only because teams need to be equal. Two on two.”
I turn to Zheng and he gives me a reassuring smile. He’s in, even though I’m pretty sure if we lose, the guys only care if I’m the one in a bikini. Good thing I bought one today.
I turn to Rafael and lift a single brow. I’m almost positive he’ll bow out like Desmond did, but he surprises me when he grabs a ping pong ball and says, “I’m not one to ever walk away from a challenge.”
10
Rafael
I’m going to murder my best friend for getting me into this. Isa and Liu are kicking our asses. They’re two cups away from handing me my ass and a fucking bikini is not going to be enough to cover it.
Isa’s eyes are glassy. The vodka we added to the cups is hitting her hard and fast, but with a grin on her face she raises her hand, shoots, and lands the damn thing in my cup.
Fuck.
She jumps up and down, her tits bouncing with the motion, and Liu high-fives her.
