24

Ryan

Headbanded (Ryan's Version)

Only a few of the couples remained for the playoffs and I didn't blame them. Nobody wanted to face June and King. Except for my art girl, beaming as she took one of the only seats left. The second I sat next to her, she leaned over. "Ready for this?"

"Ready to lose?" I snorted. "It's a new sensation."

She shot me a look. "If you throw in the towel, I'm keying your car."

"We're not losing on purpose," I promised, the first time I'd ever strung those words together in my life.

The main table was pulled to the middle, and everyone grimaced at each other. Every action was a formality. June was fun but when she dug down into the games, the fun went away, and she was out for blood. She took her seat next to King and picked up the hand-sized hourglass. With a little smile to everybody around the circle, she flipped one of her cards.

"Your sister wants to do this when she grows up?"

King's answer was automatic. "President."

"Your mom's dog's name?" June asked.

"Boxer."

"Your high school mascot?"

"Which one?"

"Fourth one."

"Roadrunners."

"Mm." June stopped. "Fifth one."

"Wolf."

Question after question, June and King dominated. It was an off-the-field drill, and I knew without a doubt, there was no way we could beat that.

They ended their turn with fifteen cards, which was great considering their round only lasted a minute. Each of the couples took their turns. Nobody came close.

Kassie's going to be wearing my jersey.

The thought put a grin on my face.

"Are you having fun?" I dipped down to Kassie, grinning as much as I was. "I have an extra jersey in the car. I want to see you put it on in front of me."

"Still don't think we're going to win?" Kassie asked out of the corner of her lips.

"I know we're not going to win."

At the end of the line, everybody's eyes swiveled to us. Kassie's smug smile didn't budge. She picked up a stack of cards and carefully patted them down in her hands. With a single swipe, she had the hourglass prepared.

"You ready, Cross?"

I shrugged. "Always ready, Ragar."

With a thump against the table, the hourglass's sand sprinkled down. Kassie twisted the first card so fast it snapped in the air. Her words flew out. "What do I call your choice of breakfast?"

The answer was automatic. "Kitchen ingredients. Ingredients."

It took me exactly two seconds of precious sand to realize she'd tossed the card to the table without another glance and yanked up the next one. We aced the card.

We aced the card?

I was still stuck on the kitchen ingredients question when Kassie furrowed her eyebrows.

"Something you won't let me touch in your car?"

"Volume. Dial." Each word shot out of me. "Radio."

"Bingo." She flicked the card away. "You don't take this off for practice."

"Holidays. Birthdays."

The card flew out of her hand. "You busted two of the frat guy—?"

"Ribs."

"You thought Grindr was—?"

"Coffee app. Coffee."

"D-T-F?"

"Directing the fact. Fact."

Kassie thumbs-upped me. "Bird?"

"Pants."

If I had been paying attention, I would've seen everybody else's mouths falling open and June dropping her cards. But I didn't notice either one. My whole concentration was on the woman sitting up in her lawn chair, twirling the cards between her fingers, chucking one after another to the table. She shot me a smile that didn't help with the stunned feeling that sank somewhere deep in my stomach.

"Time!" June shot out of her chair. "TIME!"

The hourglass finished and I took a slow look at the cards. Birthday, radio, ingredient, all of them popped into view, more than twenty fucking cards. There was no way. I'd placed all my money on a team to win the Superbowl and they'd fumbled, hard. I couldn't believe it.

A smile split across Kassie's face in a way I'd never seen before. "Ryan."

I stared at her. "We won."

"We won." She repeated my words in a completely different tone, hurrying to pull her knees up to her chest. "We won ."

"We…holy shit."

"Fucking right!" Kassie sat up in her chair and threw her hand in the air.

For a couple of seconds, I forgot how small Kassie was, and she almost flew back when I met her for a high five. I had to grab her chair to keep her toppling to the grass.

"Shit." I gripped her chair. "Are you okay?"

"We fucking won!" she belted out, bursting into laughter.

Coming back to the game meant acknowledging the shock around us. With a sheepish smile, Kassie settled back in her chair. Everybody started congratulating us. Their words faded into the background.

It wasn't just the questions, it was the fact that Kassie knew exactly how to phrase everything. She knew what I would respond to.

Am I that easy to read?

Maybe, maybe not. But nobody else could've done that like Kassie did. Someone clapped me on the shoulder, and I nodded without taking my eyes off her.

Leaning back in her chair, she patted my thigh. "Ryan, I hate to say I told you so, but let me say it once. Wait, let me say it again."

Her hand's on my thigh.

"I told you so . Actually, let me repeat, I told you so!"

Her fingernails grazed the fabric.

She had green nails and I couldn't think of a nicer nail color. That was the most I'd ever thought about nail polish in my entire life. And it might've been because all the blood had just rushed to my cock.

My cock bulged against the fabric of my shorts, aching to be free. I had to take a moment to lean back in the chair, shifting uncomfortably. There was no fucking way. I wasn't fourteen years old. I was a grown man, sitting at an adult party, turning away so Kassie couldn't see the way those green nails made me clench the side of the chair, giving me the kind of hard-on that made my head pound.

I finally relaxed when Kassie drew away from my chair.

Oh…fuck.