I don’t know what “that” was, but blood shoots out of Zander’s character like a garden hose. There are entrails everywhere, yet somehow both fighters are still standing. I study the chipped blue polish on my fingernails. When Trevor lets out a victorious hoot, I look back up at the TV. Zander’s warrior’s large intestine dangles from Trevor’s vampire’s fist.
I groan.
Zander squeezes my knee. “It’s just pixels, babe.”
It’s savage, is what it is.
I notice it’s 7:15. Leo and his friends have gathered by now and I’m welcome to come by anytime.
Liv hands me a drink and flops into an overstuffed chair. I take one small sip and feel the burn all the way down to my stomach. Grimacing, I give her a thumbs-up.
She laughs. “Disgusting, isn’t it?”
A big hand shoots in front of my face. “I’ll take it.” I pass the glass to Braden who swallows a huge gulp with asatisfied “ahhh.”
“You’ve got mad skills,” he tells Liv. “This is a shit-ton better than what Cole makes.”
She admits, “I didn’t have much to work with.”
Braden’s mouth curls and his eyes get all bedroom-y. “Trust me, you’ve got everything you need.”
Okay, that was a bit more than the usual base-level Braden flirt. Until now, he hasn’t paid much attention to Liv. To him, she’s always been Zander’s girlfriend’s best friend. Just one of several sister-like girls who routinely hang out at the frat house. So why, all of a sudden, is she on his radar?
He must be getting bored with whomever he’s sleeping with.
Liv smiles at him and wriggles in her chair like a little girl on Christmas morning. It’s cute, but too obvious. Since her parents wouldn’t let her date until she was seventeen, she still has a lot to learn about guys. Especially guys like Braden. Sure, he’s as hot as a Hemsworth and dangerously charming. Hell, evenIfind him lovable. But he’s a scoundrel.
I don’t realize I’m squirming until Zander reprimands me. “Whoa, watch the drink.”
“Sorry.”
As the minutes tick by, I get more and more restless. My skin feels tight and my muscles itch.
More spinal cords, more blood, more decapitations. It’s nearly eight o’clock. What’s going on at Avery Bauer’s? Are they having drinks, too? With more than a splash of juice? Trevor and Braden are talking trash as they beat the crap out of each other on screen. Even if Leo and his friends are playing Dungeons and Dragons, there has to be less…viscerathan I’m seeing right now.
I must be pouting because Zander asks me what’s wrong.
“I dunno. I don’t feel very good.” Not a complete lie.
He rearranges me so I can rest my head on his shoulder. But only a few minutes later, when it’s his turn to play again, I have to sit up so he can use both arms.
What would I miss if I left? Several more rounds of MortalKombat? Some drinking games? Scattered on the coffee table are the remains of the three pizzas we attacked like hyenas. I can picture myself an hour from now, still sitting on the couch, mindlessly nibbling on one of those stale pieces of crust. Leo’s “something different” has to be more interesting than this. All I’m doing is hanging around, waiting until Zander decides he wants to go to bed. And although I’m loath to give up time alone with him, we’ll have tomorrow night, too.
It’s not until after eight thirty that I make the decision. If I don’t go meet Leo and his friends, I’ll forever torture myself with the “what if.” I’m too curious, too intrigued, too taken in by the mystery that is Leo Hawthorn. He’s like a detective novel I’m reading late at night. I know I should stop and go to sleep, but I can’t resist turning the next page.
“I think I’m gonna go back to my room,” I say. It’s a safe excuse. Liv will pass out here like she does most Friday nights. Just hopefully not with Braden.
Zander’s brow furrows. “Really? Why?”
“Headache.”
His eyes light up with understanding. “You want us to play something less violent?”
Ugh. Why does he have to go and be sweet? “No. I really just don’t feel good.”
“Then go to bed.” He gestures upstairs. “I’ll be up in a little bit.”
“No, I want my own bed. You know how it is.” Honestly, a Friday night without sleeping beside Zander feels all kinds of weird. I wish I could go to Avery’s and then come back to him, but there’s no way to finagle it.
