Maddy
My head pounded as if someone was building a house in my brain. I winced as I touched my temples and then opened my eyes.
People were spread out everywhere, lying on the grass, snoring, puking. Good times.
Well, we went out to relive high school. This looks like senior year all over again. I would laugh, but I feel like puking.
A bottle of water appeared in my line of vision, and then Jason was kneeling in front of me with a small container whose label indicated it was for said hangover.
Wait. I’d been so angry. And then there’d been shots.
More shots.
The pool…
My eyes lowered to the jeans he was wearing and what he was hiding behind that zipper.
I felt my face heat as I suddenly recalled all the naughty things we’d done in the water, in public, mere feet from everyone we’d graduated with.
“Tell me nobody saw,” I whispered hoarsely.
“They were too drunk. Besides, we were under the rock alcove,” Jason said softly. “Now, drink everything.”
My stomach heaved as I chugged half of the water down, grabbed the pills from the tiny bottle that claimed to heal all hangovers, and chased them with more water.
“Give it ten minutes.” He peeled off his shirt and handed it to me.
I looked down and groaned. “Did I pass out in this tiny bikini?”
He licked his lips. “Yeah. Trust me, it was torture.”
“So, you’re covering me for your sake?”
“That…” he put the shirt over my head, “…and if I see one more married man check you out, I’m grabbing my gun.”
“Oh.” My cheeks warmed. That was sweet, in its own way.
“You’re beautiful, Maddy,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I leaned into the warmth of his lips, closed my eyes, and just breathed him in, right about the same time I heard a horn go off.
It was loud.
Like something you’d hear at a basketball game.
Three gorgeous women — including Jason’s sister — stood, arms crossed, surveying the damage.
It was obvious what they saw — barely dressed twenty-seven-year-olds lying around in disarray, beer cans, liquor, straws floating in the pool, not to mention the naked classmate still grasping the floating unicorn and sobbing about his divorce.
“MAX!” The one with dark hair stepped forward. “WHAT IN THE HELL!?”
Max stumbled forward and then gave his head a shake, as if he was trying to sober up but lacked the ability to follow through without the physical cue. “Becca? You’re…” he swayed so hard to the right, I was afraid he was going to slam his head against the side of the pool house, “…here! Now we can celebrate!”
“Of course I’m here!” Becca smacked him on the arm. “You drunk-dialed me three hours ago and said you were drowning!”
“In alcohol,” he mumbled. “But now, perfectly fine.” He shrugged then tried leaning against the pool house, missed it by a solid foot, and collided with a lawn chair and a pink flamingo. He quickly got to his feet, clutching the neon bird to his chest, with a guilty look on his face.
Reid emerged from the house, weaving back and forth, and then used a person for support as he eyed the crowd. He sobered quickly as a gorgeous, curvy woman stepped forward. “I expected this of Max, not you.”
Reid gulped and then pointed a finger in Max’s direction. “Jordan?” he sputtered and then yelled, “He made me!”
The woman sighed and looked back at Milo.
“Tequisha.” A slurred voice sounded as Colt rounded the corner with a bottle of Jack in hand.
“Colt?” Milo gasped.
“To be fair, I think he means tequila. I know nothing of this Tequisha bitch.” Max nodded encouragingly and then narrowed his eyes at Colt and did an “I’m watching you” sort of thing with his hands that basically made him look even more drunk.
Colt dropped the bottle onto the grass and then hid behind Milo and whispered, “He’s the devil.”
“Okay!” Milo clapped her hands and shouted loudly. “Party’s over! Please call an Uber. If you need to sleep it off, feel free to keep using the lawn, and using the lawn does not mean you are allowed to hump the garden gnomes.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, you in the blue shirt? Keep doing that, and I’m shoving the gnome up your ass. See how good it feels then!”
“You feel me!” Max shouted as if he was somehow in on it.
Milo shot him a glare and warned, “Not now, Max. Not now.”
“Not now, Max,” he repeated in a soprano-pitched voice then held up his hand for a high-five from Colton.
“Slap his hand and never get laid again,” Milo said when Colt had his hand mid-air.
He jerked it back and shook his head, while Max sent an evil look to Milo.
People moaned around us. Only about a dozen pulled out their phones and sloppily typed in their apps to get a ride.
I found my feet, thanks to Jason, and was starting to walk over to the girls when a pizza truck pulled up.
And suddenly, everyone was on their feet and running toward it as if it was a reunion concert for Pearl Jam.
Max crossed his arms. “Works every time.”
“Evil genius,” Reid scoffed then slowly stumbled toward the truck. He grabbed two boxes and motioned toward the house.
Jason pressed his hand on my back, guiding me toward the patio door, as Reid dodged inside just ahead of us and placed the boxes on the kitchen table.
Things were a little blurry after that.
We all sat down.
Max tossed paper plates.
And then it was just all of us moaning while the sober ones gave us looks of pure judgment.
Cheese draped down my chin. I sucked it in, wiped my face with a nearby napkin, and pointed at Max. “He called everyone.”
“Bought the booze,” Colt added.
“Forced tequila.” Reid looked ready to puke as his wife tried to force him to take another bite in an effort to sober him up.
“His fault,” Jason agreed, sounding the least drunk of us all, which had me wondering just how sober he’d been a few hours before when we’d been in the pool.
I felt my body tingle just thinking about it.
His hand moved to my thigh.
And the tingles just kept coming.
“I’m very disappointed in you.” Becca pointed her cheese-laden pizza at Max. “I mean, what kind of father are you going to be if you just lead everyone astray?”
Reid choked on his swallow, while Colt stared straight at Becca and said clear as day, “Take it back!”
“Take what back?” Becca grabbed her water with one hand then placed her other hand on her flat stomach. “Are you still drunk?”
Reid gasped.
And Jason made a cross motion, muttering, “God save us — or it.”
“You’re pregnant?” Milo gasped, then pulled Becca into her arms.
“Yes!” Becca started to tear up while Jordan — who I assumed belonged to Reid, since the other two were taken — gave him a sly smile and winked.
Okay…
“You too?” I blurted out toward Jordan.
Max took a look at his brother, shrugged, and said, “Those Emory swimmers work fast.”
Milo gagged.
Colt patted her on the back soothingly, as if he, too, understood the visual depravity it gave.
“What?” Max shrugged. “It’s true. I bet mine even beat Reid’s. If there was a race between my sperm and his, his would just give up and die while mine would hit—” He slammed his hands together. “—home—” Another slam. “—every—” Slam. “—damn—” Slam. “—time.”
Jason moved his hand from my thigh and covered my eyes. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
Everyone burst out laughing while I tugged his hand down and smirked.
Max just shrugged and said, “Slam,” again, earning a few tossed napkins in his direction and a full water bottle from Reid.
Nice.
“You’re full of shit,” Reid sneered. “But also, congrats. That’s awesome, man.”
“Thanks, bro.” Max grinned. “You too.”
“Aw, guys…” Becca wiped under her eyes, “…I love it when you get al—”
World peace between Max and Reid had lasted about five seconds, and then suddenly, the earlier thrown water bottle was chucked back toward Reid’s head by Max.
He dodged it, and it went soaring…
Into Jason’s face.
The plastic bottle slammed into his perfect nose and then sprayed all over the table.
“Son of a bitch!” he roared, as blood ran out of his nose. “Seriously, guys? Can we not have at least one normal meal where someone’s not trying to kill me?”
Max reached across the table to grab him napkins but, no doubt because of his drunken state, instead knocked over my Diet Coke and created a brown trail of bubbly, all the way to Jason’s crotch.
Jason didn’t retaliate, or even make a noise, just sat there and stared daggers at the man responsible for it, as the entire thing emptied on the front of his shorts and blood trickled from his chin.
Becca jerked Max back while I grabbed the napkins and held them out to Jason, his eyes still on Max as he took them and patted his chin.
“You missed a little.” Max pointed, but Becca slapped his hand down.
“Thanks,” Jason said in a tense voice.
“Anytime, man. What are friends for?” Max said all casual-like, as if he wasn’t the reason for global warming or, at least, for Jason’s chaotic state.
“So…” Milo cleared her throat, “…you four need to go clean up the back yard.”
“Four?” Max crossed his arms. “There were five of us.”
I shook my head. “Traitor.”
“That rock alcove looked mighty fun…” Max grinned while I let out a horrified gasp.
Before I knew it, a fork was flying toward Max’s face. He ducked, just before it stuck into the wall behind him. “Jason Caro!” Max yelled. “You nearly beheaded me!”
“It slipped.”
“MY ASS!” Max surged to his feet.
“Let’s use all this energy for clean up,” Becca said cheerfully, slapping Max on the ass and pointing him toward the back door. “Off you go, or I’m canceling naked time.”
Max pouted. “But—”
“One, two—”
“I’M NOT A CHILD, BECCA!” Max roared, then stomped out of the house.
The rest of the guys begrudgingly followed.
“Huh,” I wondered aloud. “Does that work on all men?”
“Oh, the countdown?” Milo answered for Becca. “Colt says it gives him anxiety in his balls.”
“Reid likes it when I’m dominant like that.” Jordan just sighed into her bottled water.
“You never know though,” Becca piped up. “Jason might be all over that. I used it once on Max. One time, and he did the dishes for a week naked because he was afraid of what happened after three.”
We all fell into a fit of laughter as the back door opened and Max poked his head around the corner. “I HEARD THAT!”
“THREE!” Becca yelled.
Complete silence.