“It’s been a while since I punched someone.” Tek takes another drink, and I watch as his eyes widen, then the smirk that had just formed falls off his face completely.
I look in the direction of his gaze to see Brooklyn strutting towards a table in a dress that might as well be spray paint. She spots Tek instantly, but acts like she doesn’t care as she joins an already full table of women.
Anaise leans over to Austin. “Did you tell her we were coming?”
“What makes you think I talk to her?”
“Well I didn’t say anything.”
“Maybe she has spies,” I add with a shrug, still completely clueless to any kind of history between her and Tek, or Austin, or maybe even my brother. But I know there’s something there. At the very least I know she’s desperate for Tek’s attention, and that alone makes my blood boil. I can’t compete with that. Even in a best case scenario where Tek is bi, he'd never pick me over her. I mean, her personality might be total dog shit, but if we’re talking about just a hook-up, she’d win ninety-nine times out of every hundred.
The trivia host jumps back on the stage and runs through the full list of rules.
Anaise snatches at the pen and pulls the paper in front of her. “Quick, what’s our team name?”
Tek smirks. “You already know the answer.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.” Austin backs him up, and I watch her write,Quiz In My Pants,at the top of the paper.
The quizmaster starts; “Who was the third astronaut on Apollo 11 that didn’t walk on the moon?”
“Michael Collins,” Tek says without hesitation then lays his head back in his arms.
Anaise rolls her eyes and writes it down.
“For two points, what country has the northernmost capital city, and what’s the name of that city?”
Austin leans in. “What’s the capital of Greenland?”
Without moving, Tek quietly says, “Greenland is a territory, not a country. The answer is Iceland, and Reykjavík.”
“Showoff.” Anaise smiles.
The third question is about literature, and Austin gets in before Tek.
Then; “In what year were the first X Games held?”
“Holy shit,” I say out loud and look at the rest of my team. I wait several seconds then look straight to Tek. “Do you know? You look kinda annoyed, so I think maybe you don’t.”
“Quit being a smart ass.”
“No thanks.” I turn to Anaise. “It’s 1995.”
We settle into a rhythm of drinking, answering questions, and arguing about the dumbest shit. It’s a fucking blast.
Every now and then I catch Brooklyn staring.
At Tek.
At our table.
At me.
At one point she walks past us on her way to the bathroom and, without a word, drags her fingertips across Tek’s back. He doesn’t react, but my skin crawls anyway.
After the fourth round of trivia, the bar is buzzing. And the only sober person is Tek.
