Page 41 of Untouchable

“Hey, Mikey. Go put some fucking clothes on. We have company.” Ace throws Mikey’s duffle bag to him, causing a loud thud as it hits his chest.

“I don’t hear her complaining.” He looks at me and winks and I give him a playful look.

“And you won’t,” I tease as Mikey disappears into the bathroom again.

“Ow ow. You hear that Mikey? Kat thinks you’re hot,” Bodine yells after him, causing me to laugh so hard my stomach hurts.

“So, I know everyone loves to ignore my questions,” Mikey yells from inside the bathroom. “But what is Kat doing in here?”

“Sleepover!” I yell, snickering as I await his response.

“Fat chance with Captain Grumpy in charge.” Mikey comes out of the bathroom in a pair of black sweatpants and a slightly cropped-looking track shirt.

“Is that your track shirt from kindergarten?” I ask, trying to contain my laughter.

“It’s called style, Kat. Cropped shirts arein.” Bodine and I share a look before our laughter practically spews out of us.

“You look so cute, Mikey. You wear the cropped shirt well.” He really does, but teasing and joking with the guys is all I’m used to. I almost don’t know how to pay them a straightforward compliment without it feeling like I’m hitting on them. Which they know better but still, don’t want to be handing out mixed signals or anything.

“It is my high school track shirt though, I cropped it myself.” He flexes in it before plopping down on the bed beside me.

“Maybe you can help me crop some of mine. I should get with the times and try the cropped look.”

“Totally, you’d look bangin’ in one of those old band tees you love so much cut off right at your waist.” Bodine shoves a handful of chips in his mouth, no hint of flirtatiousness to his tone, but his comment still makes me blush.

“Are we going to play a game or are we going to talk about clothes all night?” We all turn to face Ace, who seems to be fed up with all things fashion.

“What? You think I wouldn’t lookbangin’in a cropped T-shirt?” I laugh.

“I wouldn’t know, I’m trying not to think about it at all.” His answer is sobering, taking all of the confidence I was just feeling, and dragging it back down into a self-consciousness I despise.

“What are we playing?” Mikey asks, still unaware of the actual reason I came in here.

“Blackjack or Go-Fish. Ladies choice.” Bodine holds out the deck of cards, and I smile.

“Blackjack.”

After an hour of playing what feels like endless rounds of Blackjack, and one round of Go-Fish, we toss the cards to the side and call it quits.

“Who’s up for a round of truth or dare?” Bodine claps his hands together, wagging his eyebrows.

I laugh, falling back on my pillow. “There’s not nearly enough alcohol in this motel for me to agree to that.”

“We can fix that.” Mikey winks at me, slapping Bodine’s leg.

“Yeah, no.” Ace stands up disagreeing with him, tono one’ssurprise.

“Don’t be a party pooper, join us. Let’sbond.” Bodine and Mikey throw their arms around each other’s shoulders and my laughter turns into a yawn.

“Let’s save that for another game night, boys. I’m wiped.” I stand up, sliding my sneakers back on before heading to the door. I stop with my hand on the knob and face them again.

“Zoo tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’m always down to visit Bodine’s family.” Mikey pulls his shirt over his head before climbing into bed.

“You’re a fucking jackass.”

“You’re both animals, we’ll be sure to stop at both your family’s exhibits. Good night, boys.”

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