Page 56 of Flirt
At the edge of the park, someone had sectioned off an area roughly half the size of a football field. Then the fire department had hosed it down until all that remained was thick mud and a few puddles of standing water. Despite it being late in October, the temperatures still hovered in the mid-eighties, so at least he wouldn’t freeze to death while making an ass out of himself.
“Cheer up,” a familiar voice called. “Unless you’re afraid of getting your ass kicked by a girl?”
Dressed in a pair of jean shorts with more holes than fabric and paired with a dark blue tank top, Natalie skipped right up to him and threw her arms around his waist. Her long, golden curls had been pulled back into a neat bun at her crown, and just like Cameron, she smiled as if her birthday had come twice that year.
They were both fucking crazy.
“Hey, Nat. How’s it going?”
“Awesome. I can’t wait to win.”
“Not happening,” Cameron interjected. “Those cupcakes are mine.”
“In your dreams, big brother. We both know I’m faster.”
“And prettier,” Asher added, just to add fuel to the fire.
It worked. Natalie beamed and hugged him again. Cameron glared as he punched him in the shoulder.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” His grin turned completely evil. “You do remember what today is, right?”
Like he could forget. “You’re absolutely right. You’re way prettier than she is.”
“Asher!”
He pretended to wince when Natalie smacked him in the chest. “Sorry, but you’re not the one who will be sucking my dick tonight.”
“Asher!” both siblings yelled in unison.
Holding his hands up in surrender, he returned his attention to the mud pit, his laughter dying in his throat. “So, I just have to catch a pig?”
“You don’t even have to do that,” Cameron explained, coming up to his side and winding an arm around his waist. “You just have to grab the flag attached to its collar. Plus, there will be two pigs, so double your chances. Easy.”
“Yeah, uh, maybe I’ll just watch.”
“Afraid you’ll mess up your hair?” Striding up to them, Nico clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward a step. “Come on, pretty boy, don’t be such a wuss.”
Wearing a pair of camouflaged cargo shorts and nothing else except a lot of ink, he pulled his long, black strands away from his face and secured them at his nape with an elastic band. How so many people could be this damn excited about chasing a pig through the mud for the chance to win some cupcakes, Asher would never know.
Mission Grove resided less than half an hour from the busy streets of Dallas but driving into the town had been like entering a different world. His opinion hadn’t changed once Cameron had begun showing him around and introducing him to people, but surprisingly, he didn’t hate it. No one cared how many books he’d written or how much money he had. Even when Cameron would proudly launch into a twenty-minute spiel about Asher’s success, people would just smile politely and nod.
Chasing livestock through the mud, though, that was another matter entirely.
“It’s going to be fine,” Cameron murmured, arching up to kiss his cheek. “You said you grew up in a small town. Didn’t you have festivals like this?”
“Not really. We had hayrides and apple pie bake-offs. Nothing like this, though.”
“Then you missed out,” Cameron assured him, kissing him on the lips this time.
“You two are disgusting.” Nico smiled when he said it, though. “You ready?”
“Ready to kick your ass.” Releasing Asher’s waist, Cameron walked forward to join Nico near the gate to the pit. “Asher, you ready?”
“Not even a little bit.” He had never seen a farm in real life. He’d never even seen a pig outside of a petting zoo—or bacon. This was going to be a disaster. “Let’s do this.”
Taking his hand, Cameron squeezed it in encouragement. “Just remember, if you win, I get the cupcakes.”
Asher nodded his agreement. He didn’t give a damn about pigs or festivals or cupcakes. He already had everything he wanted.
