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I let out a ragged breath.

“Well, fuck.”

CHAPTER FOUR

GABE

“Oh, hell no,” Marcus growls out and I slowly bang my head on the table.

“Well. Looks like we have more in common than we thought,” Cole says, as if it’s funny.

It’s not fucking funny.

I spent the last five years celibate because I couldn’t bring myself to touch anyone that wasn’t my late wife Lois, and now that I’ve decided to take the plunge…

My two best friends picked the same girl I did.

“This doesn’t have to be so bad,” Cole insists.

“It’s bad,” Marcus mutters.

I bang my head on the table again.

“I’ll back out. I’m not ready, anyway.”

“You can back out,” Cole says. “But I don’t know if they’ll find someone else before Halloween.”

I pick up my phone, then put it down again.

I could ask. That would be the sensible thing to do.

Apparently, I’m not feeling sensible.

“Well, I’m not going to back out,” Marcus says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cole blinks at him. “You’re not?”

I’m not drunk enough for this. Why did I agree to be designated driver?

I look up at Marcus.

“I already claimed her wish. I’m not going to disappoint her by not fulfilling it.”

Thunder cracks outside. Rain starts hammering the roof of the club.

People are running inside to get out of the storm, cramming in.

I glance over at Marcus.

There’s no panic in his blue eyes, just determination, almost like he for once hasn’t noticed his surroundings.

“So we don’t actually know what happens if someone withdraws?” I ask.

“No,” Cole admits.

“Then ask them,” Marcus says. “I’m keeping my claim.”

He sounds irritated, but he’s still not reacting to the crowd getting bigger.