Page 5 of Wrecked Rose

“Shut the fuck up.” He laughs, and I think he’s trying to play it off as if he doesn’t believe that he has a horde of girls chasing after him.

“No, man, really. You’re a hot commodity. Fucking chicks in bathrooms, random girls throwing themselves at you on the dance floor, boning in the back of your truck. I’ve heard it all. Doesn’t help that your brother is like gossip central. He knows all kinds of shit. You’ve got Griff Groupies crawling all over you.”

“I think I need a drink or two for the rest of this conversation.”

“Let’s go, then. Legendary.” I wink and he slaps his hand to my shoulder.

He leaves it there probably three seconds too long for a regular bro slap. Not that I mind.

Griff and I make our way upstairs and into the kitchen where Beau is still mixing drinks. Spotting two empty barstools, we slide onto them side by side.

Beau cocks an eyebrow at us. “What are you two up to?”

“Eh, I kicked his ass at pool, then we decided we needed more drinks.”

“Couldn’t let the guest win?” Beau rolls his eyes at his brother.

Griff slaps his hand to a spot just above my shoulder blade this time. “Nope. You know I don’t let people win just to be nice.” He snort-laughs as his brother slides him a drink. “That’s why you never win either.”

“So, Beau, you’ll probably appreciate this, since you like handing out nicknames to the ladies.” I pause, accepting the cup he slides over to me. I take a sip of the whiskey before continuing. “I’ve totally nicknamed your brother.”

“Oh yeah? And what are you calling him?” Beau’s forehead pinches together, intrigued.

I throw the rest of my whiskey back, swallow, and with a smile, say, “Legendary.”

Beau leans over and props his elbows on the kitchen island, then points at me. “Good one. I think it’s a thing now.”

Griff shoves my arm. “Thanks a lot. Now you’ve done it.”

Movement from behind Beau catches my eye. “Case in point, man. Aubrey Anderson’s coming this way. How much do you want to bet she’s on her way over here to hang all over you?” Sure enough, she scoots around the counter to stand on Griff’s other side. She rests her arm on his shoulder and runs her fingers through the back of his hair.

Fuck.I want to be her fingers.

She whispers God knows what in his ear before smacking a noisy kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you later, baby.”

Beau and I both eye Griff. I hold up my hands, shrugging. “See? Legendary. Now all you need is a redhead, and you’ll have the full set.”

His brother cracks up at that. “Oh, man. He’s totally got your number.”

“What can I say? I know a player when I see one.” This time it’s me who claps my hand on his back. I throw him a wink and take off in search of someone else to hang with for a while—someone who doesn’t give me an insta-boner the second I look at him.

Chapter 3

Max

An hour before midnight, I’ve managed to haul Daph and Scarlett back into the kitchen, where we find Lyla sitting across the counter from Beau. I put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. “Where have you been? Have you been hiding all night?”

Lyla’s lips twitch into a small smile as she points up. “I was upstairs. You remember the last time I spent any length of time with these people was the night that God-awful game of Never Have I Ever happened. I have no desire for a repeat performance.”

Scarlett laughs. “Oh, come on. We’d definitely like to seethatagain. In fact…” She whips out her phone. “It’s impossible for that stuff to disappear. I bet Mandy still regrets taking you on.”

“Probably.”

“No probably about it, Tiger. She got your claws that night, that’s for sure.” I can’t help but laugh at the memory.

Daph eyes Beau where he’s mixing another batch of his rum punch. “Maybe we should have a couple rounds of shots.”

My eyes flick to hers. “Come again, Daph?”

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