Page 94 of Limbo

“Hey,” he says. “How’s everyone doin’ tonight?”

I push him away. Rather than going to bother someone else, he doubles down on the unwanted love. He hooks his arm around my neck and shoves my face into his armpit. I pinch at his sides until he lets me go.

He laughs, nodding at Jordan. “Good to see you again.”

“You too, man,” Jordan says.

They have a bro moment, slapping hands and then the other’s back.

Trey goes to say hi to a few people and squeezes my shoulders on the way by. “Welcome back, Cal.”

I smile. I am back this time. For good, I think.

After a tour of the school, which turns into a chance for Tony to brag about his numerous hook-ups, someone gets the bright idea to use the moonshine to breathe fire over the barrel. Something I would have been all about at one point, but now, I shake my head.

“Idiots,” I say to Tony.

And he proves my point thirty seconds later when he lights his sleeve on fire. He hops around, yelping, until Pete calmly dumps the rest of his beer on the flames.

His head tilts, looking at the singed sleeve of his sweatshirt. “Maybe we should move on to the sword-swallowing portion of the evening.”

Jordan laughs. “It might be safer.”

To avoid arson charges or an ER visit, Trey comes up with a better idea. He grabs a spotlight out of his cruiser, and we all migrate to the gym.

Shayna and I settle in on a relatively clean and stable spot on the wood bleachers and watch the guys play basketball with an underinflated ball they found somewhere. With Pete and Trey drunk, Jordan easily takes the lead despite a giggly Tony being on his team. Every time Tony catches the ball, his mouth drops open, and I laugh.

Jordan sets up to take his last shot when Connor sprints onto the court and knocks the ball out of his hands. Jordan spins around, surprised to see my brother.

“Stick to lacrosse, Lover Boy.”

Connor chases after the ball and effortlessly sinks a three-pointer in the netless hoop. His friends standing at the end of the bleachers cheer, and my friends converge on him, excited to see him.

He would tag along with us on our less crazy adventures. They consider him as much a part of their family as they do me, but other than Trey, he hasn’t seen them much over the past year.

After a few minutes of catching up, Tony tries to sneak him the moonshine. I grab the bottle before it connects with Connor’s lips. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask, handing it to Tony.

Connor glances at his friends with a smirk. “Not drinking?”

A lie, given his red cheeks and unfocused gaze.

Even though I’m not the poster child for those against underage drinking, I glare at him and plant my hands on my hips. “No, Connor.”

“Whatever,” he says, walking to his friends. “We’re leaving anyway. You guys are lame.”

The group behind me laughs at the intended insult, and I have to fight like hell not to join them.

“Go home and text me when you get there.”

As soon as he and his friends disappear out of the gym, Tony, Pete, and Shayna fall to the floor in hysterics. Trey juts out his hip and purses his lips, imitating me, and I flip him off.

“Don’t make me kick your ass.”

He drops low to the ground like a wrestler. “I’m ready for you this time.”

But he’s not ready for Pete, who attacks him from the other side. They battle it out, burning off the never-ending supply of energy they have when drunk. A glimpse of Jordan’s sexy hair distracts me from them. I lean into him, and he dips his head down to kiss my temple.

Connor texts around midnight.

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