Chapter 15

Charlie

What the actual fuck?

I loved Shenanigans. Give people a few drinks, a piece of paper, and a pen and the pricks stopped pretending and became who they really were. I just didn’t expect this Noah, this Millie, to make an appearance. All the stories I got about Millie were delivered in drunken rambles, often with Noah stalking her social media profiles. I figured it was a teenage romance gone wrong, the girl that got away or something.

Not a girl he didn’t even try to kiss.

That hurt Millie. She was cool and fun and was prepared to go where angels fear to tread, playing this game with a bunch of men she barely knew, but still. I knew the sound of pain when I heard it. It was like their voice was twisted tight like fence wire and the pain had it vibrating, changing their tone. She covered it with a smile, waving people’s belated calls for more information.

“I land on ‘hot seat’ again, you can ask me for the deets,” she replied firmly. “But I’m done. Knox?”

Did she know what she was doing? I saw nothing studied, nothing deliberate in her. Her focus returned to Sally, the two of them gossiping about something, so she missed it, the way Knox looked at her. We were informed about the psychological nature of our job. Rescuing people from fires, that could have an intense effect on members of the public, especially pretty girls, but this time, my very big, very surly team lead was the one who caught feelings. He tossed the coin negligently, which was 100% Knox. He never gave a shit about anything.

Except he did now.

I grinned as I watched the coin fall, somehow knowing exactly where it was going to go. Sally’s eyes widened as it landed on her dare.

Sing a song in your underwear.

I’d fallen victim to it many a time, having done a fairly convincing rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time in the past. People hummed it for weeks later at work, so I couldn’t help but grin right now. Knoxy usually noped out when the Shenanigans got real. Instead, he stood up, unzipped his fly with a theatrical air, which forced me to look away. We’d all had to shower together at some point, so I knew what he was working with. It was the ladies’ gasps that caught my attention, but not theirs. They stared openly as Knox stood up and sang Twinkle, Twinkle.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star…”

Knox’s voice was rusty and off key, but that didn’t bother the guys. Mick had his phone out, ready to film this moment, when I knocked it out of his hand.

“The fuck…?”

“What happens in Shenanigans stays in Shenanigans,” I told him.

“And we aren’t staying.” Jase got to his feet and then slung his wife over his shoulder, her shriek one of amusement not alarm. “You want to look at some bloke’s dick while he’s singing? I’ll sing the national anthem naked and you can see if you can ‘raise the flagpole.’”

“That what gets you going, mate?” Dave cackled, him and his team pegging plastic cups at the couple. Their uproar almost drowned out Knox’s song, not that Millie noticed. She watched him like he was some famous rock star or something, and Noah? He watched her, taking in the way she stared at our teammate.

Shit.

That was the problem with this kind of thing. Just as much as I relished the chaos, there was always a possibility someone would get hurt. Usually it was just us blokes mucking around. Things might get a bit feisty, but the next day cooler heads would prevail and we’d all build a bridge and get over it.

I wasn’t so sure we’d ever get over this.

Was I watching my team fracture in real time? Only the coin would decide. Because Jase and Sally were now out, it was my turn. I picked it up and tossed it the moment Knox zipped himself back up. Land on something, anything to break the tension.

‘Stay silent until someone lands on your name.’

Shit, it was like Knox had written that down just for me, and my lips locked tight even as I mutely pleaded for someone to throw the coin on my name. Brian just cackled as he took his go. It landed in a blank spot and he was there scribbling down his dare. ‘Remove a piece of clothing.’ Fuck, he was predictable. Mick leered at Millie, no doubt imagining her doing just that, only a nudge to the ribs getting him to take his turn.

I was betting he wished he hadn’t.

I stifled a snort as it landed on ‘kiss someone next to you.’

These stupid pricks, they thought they were going to have some fun with Millie, but statistically they were much more likely to be getting nakey or doing body shots off each other. Mick shoved himself back from the table, looking at Dave then Brian before shaking his head.

“Rules are rules.” Noah fixed them with a steady stare. “Who’s it gonna be, Mick? Dave or Brian?”

“Don’t fucking look at me,” Brian spluttered. “This game is bloody stupid. I tell you this every damn time, Head.” I just blinked as I stared up at him. He did indeed tell me it was dumb, whenever he landed on a dare he didn’t want to go, and just like the other times, he picked up his keys and made for the door. “I’m out.”

“Pussy.”

Dave shook his head as two of his team members went to leave, and that had Knox getting to his feet. I held out a hand, mutely telling him I’d look after it, make sure they got in a cab or an Uber, not their own cars. Dave had a dangerous gleam in his eyes, and I wanted everyone else making sure he didn’t get his hands on Millie.

“Guess it’s my turn then.”

Noah was a dark horse, quiet but strangely determined when he wanted to be, and when he picked up the coin, I knew what he was aiming for. My dare. I had no interest in changing places, but Noah? He wanted to get as close to Millie as possible. He could thank me later, I mused, as I trailed the guys outside. They were still grumbling, the crankiness only getting louder when I took their keys off them.

“Look, Head Job?—”

Brian was always an angry drunk, but I faced him down without blinking, making clear what was going to happen.

“You need to get home in one piece to fight fires another day,” I told him before looking at Mick. “Both of you. I’m ringing you a cab.”

“You’re also talking, breaking the rules of the game.”

Brian seemed to think this was some big gotcha moment, but it wasn’t. This wasn’t about me. Would I like to be the one kissing Millie? More and more with each moment, but Noah, he’d been waiting for that honour for far longer. He needed to make his damn move and either live happily ever after with her or crash and burn.

Then I could shoot my shot.

For a second I saw it, her naked, underneath me, those beautiful red lacquered fingertips raking across my shoulders as I drove myself deeper. I allowed myself one hot little fantasy, right as the cab pulled up.

“Go home, drink lots of water, and take some painkillers,” I instructed.

“Fuck you, Charlie,” Mick grumbled.

“Fuck you, Irish,” I shot back without any real heat, opening the door for them and then giving the address to the cab driver, right as another car pulled up.

“Katie…”

Why did I sound so guilty? She knew the deal with Dave, and yet she kept on turning up here for him and I couldn’t think why. She was smart, gorgeous, but had toxic taste in men.

“Is Dave inside?” she asked, forcing herself to smile. “Sally sent me a text, let me know that Dave might… need a ride home.”

Or end up sucking face with another woman. The girl code was strong with the wives and girlfriends of the station.

“He probably does. Everyone’s been drinking a fair bit.”

She didn’t need me leading the way, knowing where the conference room was. In the early days of their… whatever their relationship was, he’d brought her to events like that, proud to show off a pretty girl like her. The invites had fallen off, and we’d all thought she’d broken up with him, but then she’d turn up like this. Picking up drunk dudes like a bouncer at the end of the night, she deserved more. I was about to say something to that effect as we walked back in the door, but apparently everyone had kept playing.

“Kiss the person next to you.” Dave crowed, leaning closer to Millie. “With tongue. Time to pucker up, Dazza.”

“What the…?”

Katie’s voice was small, yet I heard the pain there, and that’s when I really regretted starting all this. I hadn’t thought this through, something everyone from my parents to my teachers and bosses said to me at some point, and that same flush of regret hit me hard right now.

“Kiss someone next to you?”

Millie read the dare aloud again, then rose up, and Dave watched her every move. So did Noah and Knox.

“Throw the coin,” Noah urged. “Land on veto.”

“But I’ve already had my turn.”

Millie’s voice was as hot and silken as that damn red dress she had worn, feeling like it was slipping over my skin, but Knox got to feel the body underneath for real. She slid onto his lap and then turned, running a single finger down the side of his face. I felt it like it was happening to me, like it was my cock she was grinding into as she wiggled into place. My lips pursed, burning in anticipation for a kiss that would never happen, yet somehow that didn’t matter.

I’d aimed to get Noah kissing Millie tonight, but that’s not how Shenanigans worked. Lady Luck decided, not me. My hands went to the doorframe, the wood feeling like it was imprinted with my fingerprints as I watched her lean closer. She hovered over Knox, watching his every move, and that could be put down to a boldness brought on by wine, but not him. His hands clasped the arms of his chair so hard I was sure they were about to buckle, right as she darted close and kissed him.