Crap.
“What’s up, buddy?” I scooped up Logan as I made my way up the porch.
“I got a new PS3 Lego game, wanna come see?” he asked excitedly.
“You know what? Let me say hi to your dad and I’ll be right there, okay?”
Andy was in the kitchen, taking pizza out of the oven when I walked in. “Hey, glad you made it.”
“Me too, I guess.”
“Have you talked to her?”
I glared at him. “No, and I’m not talking about it tonight.”
“Okay, okay.” He put his hands up in front of him. “I won’t ask anymore.”
“Where should I put this?” I held up the bottle of tequila and rum I’d bought on my way over.
“Uh-oh, tequila? Someone means business tonight, huh?” Andy raised an eyebrow at me and sighed. “Why don’t you put them in the blast chiller down in the basement?”
By the time I came back upstairs, the unmistakable sound of Viper’s bellow sounded throughout the house. “The party can now begin, the king is here!” He went through the kitchen with one arm up in the air, a case of beer tucked under the other.
“The King?” I teased, coming up behind him. “You sure do like yourself, huh, V?”
“I do, I do.” We shook hands and he set his beer on the table.
“Big Mike, how are ya?” I went over and shook the giant paw of one of our defensemen. Andy represented both Viper and Big Mike, so it came as no surprise that they both came over too.
“I’m awesome,” he said with a big, goofy grin on his face. “Guess what? Michelle is pregnant.”
“That’s excellent. Congratulations!” I said as sincerely as I could, though right now I don’t think I could truly be happy for anyone about anything. Selfish, yes, but it was the truth.
Before we even got the night started, there was more commotion at the front door, except this time it was the devil’s voice I heard.
“What are you guys doing back here?” Andy’s mouth hung open, his face frozen in shock at Blaire and her friends standing in the doorway.
“Our flight was canceled because of storms over the Valley, so we’re all gonna have a giant sleepover here. The limo is coming back super early in the morning and we’ll be on the first flight out.” She looked around the room, turning up her nose as she went. “What’s going on here, Andrew?”
If there was one person in this world Blaire hated more than me, it was Viper.
“What does it look like? I had the guys over for dinner and drinks,” Andy responded defensively.
“Hi, Brody.”
A head peeked out from behind Blaire.
Shit, Kendall.
“Hey, Kendall,” I said dryly, suddenly wishing I were a tiny girl in a blue dress from Kansas and I could just click my heels together and be home. Actually, anywhere other than this kitchen would be just fine with me.
There we stood, Blaire’s group and ours, the East and the West, the Crips and the Bloods, staring each other down to see who was going to head where.
“We’re gonna head to the basement and watch some baseball. You guys do whatever you want.” Andy finally broke the silence.
“Ok, Andrew.” She slid over and kissed him on the cheek, almost making me hurl in the process.
Kendall walked over and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I leaned down and embraced her back as loosely as I could. She smelled good. Pulling back, she looked up at me from under long, fake lashes, a suggestive little grin playing on her lips. For a moment I wondered if I could lose myself in her, at least for one night. Lord knows I needed a distraction.
“I need to talk to you, but I want us to be alone. Too many people here,” she purred.
“Come on, Murphy,” Viper called as they headed out of the kitchen.
“I’ll catch you later, okay?” I pulled away as Kendall pouted.
“Thanks, bro.” I patted his back as I caught up to the rest of them.
“Dude, she almost had you. The claws were out, she just hadn’t implanted them yet,” he joked.
We migrated downstairs to Andy’s theater room and claimed our couches for the evening while Andy put the Twins/Cubs game on the big screen and passed cigars out to everyone. Before I got too comfortable, I wanted a drink. A strong one.
“I’ll be right back, anyone want anything?”
Viper and Big Mike didn’t turn around, they just held their beers up. Andy shook his head.
I walked across the basement to the bar and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet before heading into their enormous wine room with the blast chiller inside. If I was gonna drink tonight, might as well go big, right? I grabbed the tequila out of the fridge and turned to leave, freezing when I heard Kendall’s voice in the hall. I backed up against the wine rack, not wanting to be seen.