“Which is basically what they do,” I insert. “The dads hang out outside, and the moms gossip inside. Before we came along, before the kids overtook their lives, it’s important to remember the moms were best friends. Legit best friends, so motherhood isn’t the foundation of their friendships.”
“Anywho,” Emma singsongs. “That stupid prick – Gage – thought study group was code for ‘touch Alexi under the table’. They were working on their stuff for class, Gage made his move, Alexi decked him, then Tink picked him up and tossed that stupid ass on the street.”
“She picked him—” Allyson’s eyes bulge. “But she’s– she’s only—”
“Don’t mention her height,” Rob says ominously. “She doesn’t like it.”
“The other moms were busy holding Uncle Aiden back,” Emma says with a wicked grin. “He heard Alexi’s squeak, he felt Gage fall like a log, then he was in extermination mode. It took all the moms, Daddy, and Aunt Tina monkey-climbing onto his front to stop him from killing an eighth grader.”
“And so, the moral of the story is,” Rob picks up his part. “While the others were busy with Uncle Aiden, Mom tossed Gage’s ass out and clocked him a second time. He was a kid, so she couldn’t kill him or anything, but Mom’s reputation precedes her, and not one boy ever fucked with Alexi or her sisters ever again.”
“So Mom calling you a harlot means you provide a real threat to her,” I say. “As in, she knows I could actually, truly like you, and that scares her because she has attachment issues with her babies. But she didn’t physically assault you, which means she knows you’re a good person. It makes you important.”
“Fucking hell.” Surprising me, Ally grabs her shot glass and tosses it back with a gasp. “I’m terrified of your mother.”
“Don’t be.” Emma stands again and refills Ally’s glass. “The hardest part is over. You’ve met her, and you survived.”
“I met your mom too,” Ally replies. “Tall, blonde, badass.”
“It’s like you’re describing me,” Emma preens. “Though my mom is taller than me. Was she nice to you?”
“Yeah. She was fixing to hold Luke’s mom down. She warned her to cool it.”
“She does that. Rest assured, as long as you don’t purposely hurt Luke, my mom will defend you from her bestie. She’s got it down to a fine science now where they can be spitting fire and beating each other up, only to then be giggling on the couch, sipping something fruity and boozy within minutes.”
“Comforting,” Ally drawls. “So your moms are best friends?” She looks between Emma and Rob. “Before kids?”
“Yep,” Emma answers. “The Kit and Tink Show lives on in infamy. They were a couple before my parents were a couple.”
“But our dads were also best friends,” Rob says. “Bobby – her dad,” he tilts his head toward Emma. “And Jon, our dad. They’ve been best friends since kindergarten. They basically lived together for a massive portion of their lives.”
“Then one day,” I say, “these friends happened to go out on the town, one set of friends met another set of friends…”
“And the rest, as they say, is history.” Emma finally picks up her cards and studies what she has. “Aw, shit. This ain’t gonna end well for me.”
Four hands of cards, five shots of Hennessy, and Emma remaining fully clothed while the rest of us work our way down to our underwear, I stand from the table with a hard cock – don’t judge me – and a belly swirling with good liquor.
Smiling, I take Ally’s hand and pull her up to stand. She’s stripped down to a lacy black bra and jeans, seeing as how she stalled as she lost games, tossed her shoes and socks first, and eventually had to concede on the top, but since I have no desire for my brother to see her bra, I call the end of this stupid game and pull her away from the table.
“We’re going to my room for a bit.” I look out the window and nod my approval at the lack of sun. “Then it’s time for our anti-crime crime. Ally…” I pull her along, and when we’re far enough away, drag her under my arm and try my fucking hardest not to touch her boob. It’s right there, exposed but for a scrap of lace, and her skin is so soft under my hand, silky smooth, and warm as a summer day.
She’s not in doctor mode when she’s like this; rather, she’s just Ally, fun and silly. She’s flirty, and a little less uptight. It’s interesting how her natural inclination is to be wound tight, but give her a shot or two, and she can meet me on my level all the way down here in the land of immaturity.
“You wanna sleep over at my house tonight?” I pull her toward my room and grin when she swings through the doorway with a roll of her eyes. “We could stay up all night long and tell scary stories. I’m fairly certain we have marshmallows, so we could make s’mores. And if you ask really nice, I’ll let you touch my belly button. It’s an outie.”
She snorts, loud and unladylike. “Well, jinkees, Luke Hart. You drive a hard bargain.” Then she stops and turns back to meet my eyes. Her cheeks are pink and splotchy, her eyes large and unfocused. “But still,” she adds with a playful grin, “I think I’ll pass.”
Since she’s already moving, and not drunk, but not sober either, I steer her toward my bed, and chuckle when she drops down with a huff so her hair puffs out from the movement. Now she’s half-naked on my bed, and hell, but I’m only a man. A mortal. So I follow her down, rest my knees between her legs, and my elbows beside her head.
In this space, in the quiet where her eyes search mine and her breath tastes of sex and liquor, it’s hard to remember the part where she said no to us sleeping together. It’s hard to keep my hands to myself in my quest for all of her.
“I swear it would be the best night of your life.” I lower, come closer, and slide the tip of my nose along hers until her breath catches and stops. “Just one night where you say yes, and you won’t ever want to leave again.”
“You’re so arrogant.” She reaches up and slides the pad of her finger over my top lip, not so far from where it split that time I was whacked with a bat. “Perhaps you wouldn’t get hurt so often if you were a little more cautious, a little less arrogant.”
“Didn’t someone famous once say something about life happening while we’re busy being careful?”
Ally bursts out laughing and incidentally pushes her chest up to press against mine. “You just completely butchered a Beatles song.”
“No, sweet Allyson.” And now it’s my turn to be the intellectual genius. “I butchered Allen Saunders’ quote.” I smile when she stills, and bite my lip when her eyes come down to them. “Not just an uneducated small-town hick, am I?”
“I never said anything about education,” she breathes out. “Just the small-town thing.”
“There was also some saying about not judging books by their covers, and Harts having the biggest dicks.”
“I’ve heard the first…”