Page 19 (1/2)

“There they are,” I whisper more to myself than him

Lia ball into a red cup on a plastic table at the center of the patio He shoots his fists into the air then grabs Corah’s face and pulls it to his My stoether I’ve never seen how Liairl because the few tiether, he ditched me Theme all of these years

“Who’s next?” Lia a can of beer

“We are” Asher takes my hand and pullsmy feet, not ready to face Liae, and asks, “What do you say, Ellie? Do you wanna bepartner?”

“She doesn’t play beer pong” Lia at his lips “Do you? Lainey?” He emphasizes my name and stares me down

I force

I shrug my shoulders and hope I look lass of chane every New Year and a White Claw every once in a while when boating, but this is different Inti”

“That’s irl” Asher drapes his arm over my shoulders, pulls me close, and presses his lips toinside h my peripheral vision

“Whatever” Liam tosses his first ball and sinks it into a water filled cup on our side of the table

Asher drops his arm and reaches across the table for the cup Someone hands Asher a can of beer from a cooler under the table He finishes it before the next ball sinks into its home Asher reaches for that cup too but, of course, Lia to say “She wants to play, she can drink”

Asher scowls at Liam I lift the top of the cooler and dip my hand into the ice “It’s fine”

My fingers wrap around a skinny can I pop the tab and sniff the opening Beer has a unique, pungent s I tip the can back, squeezingas I choke it down It takes like hell, but at least it’s cold I think it would taste worse warm Thankfully, the beers are mini cans, so I finish it in four quick ss

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and open my eyes Liam looks murderous, but that seems to be his expression whenever I’m around these days I set aze to him

He’s s, almost proudly, and says, “That was hot”

I ignore the co balls that have found their way into a cup of water on our side of the table “Is it our turn?”