Page 23 of Before Dawn

They exchanged a look, clearly not buying it but letting it go. For now.

“You know what I think about often?” Arnoldo blurted.

“What?” we asked in unison.

“Mara,” he said, lifting his glass for a slow sip. “I fee—”

Alex straightened, eyes narrowing. “Should I be concerned that you’re thinking aboutmy pregnant wife?”

Arnoldo sighed, waving off his concern. “You didn’t let me finish, dumbass. I was saying I think about how you married her.”

I tilted my head. “I’m not following.”

Arnoldo exhaled sharply. “Idiotas.5 I mean, wasn’t there a rule about best friends and their sisters?”

“There is,” Dillon said, swirling his drink. “But this is Alex. As annoyed as I was, he met Mara when he was celibate in his twenties. Not much to worry about.”

Arnoldo and I burst into laughter as Alex’s face turned slightly pink. “And yet, here I am—happily married to the most gorgeous woman on the planet, with a baby on the way.”

“Would it weird you out?” Dillon asked suddenly, shifting the conversation with a glance in my direction.

I frowned. “What?”

“If one of your best friends dated your sister,” he clarified.

A shudder ran through me. “I don’t even want to think about Emilia with Arnoldo.” The thought alone made my skin crawl.

Arnoldo raised his hands in mock surrender, but the mention of my sister clearly unsettled him. “Why me—oh, right. Everyone else is taken.” He leaned back with a smirk.

There was a beat of silence before we all crackedup.

Alex shook his head, exasperation laced with amusement. “You guys are ridiculous.”

“Anyway,” I said, steering the conversation away. “What are we playing?”

“Poker. You in?” Alex asked, mischief glinting in his eyes.

I shrugged, settling back in my chair. “Why not?”

Dillon shuffled the deck with practiced ease. “Alright, ante up—one grand, winner takes all.”

Arnoldo scoffed. “What if I’m broke?”

Laughter erupted.

“Then you wouldn’t be Arnoldo Reyes,” I shot back.

Arnoldo grinned. “Fair enough. Let’s make it two grand. I’m feeling lucky.”

“Deal.” We all tossed in our money, and the game began.

As the night wore on, the stakes climbed, and tension rose and fell with each hand.

“Maldita sea,6” Arnoldo muttered, glaring at his dwindling stack of chips. His frustration was palpable and hilarious. “I’m getting slaughtered here.”

“Luck running out?” I teased, earning a sharp glare from Arnoldo.

Across the table, Dillon smirked, his chip stack growing. “Looks like Lady Luck’s on my side tonight.”

---