Page 190 of Challenge Me

“Uh, Trav,” I said, eyeing them uncertainly. “Don’t tell me you and Roman have taken to orgies.”

He burst into laughter and came up beside me. “Nah, these are my friends.”

“I didn’t know you had those.”

“I’m a popular guy.”

There were three of them, all looking at me with open curiosity. The tallest one had ghostly pale skin and hair as dark as night, along with eyes that were a brighter blue than Avery’s. Another was all olive skin, a beauty so effortless it felt ancient, as if he should be swinging a sword in a gladiator match. The third had sharp features and ultra-curly brown hair that fell over his shoulders. His inquisitive eyes were what made my skin feel like it failed to hide what lay beneath.

“Amir, these are West, Kai, and Brooks,” Trav said, pointing them out in order.

“Oh, shit!” West exclaimed far too loudly. “You’re that guy who’s dating Remi.”

“Uh, was dating Remi,” I corrected. “You know him?”

“Yeah, I saved him from that douchebag ex of his.”

“We did,” another guy chimed in as he came down the steps.

“Mostly me, budino.”

With a heavy eye roll, he slung his arm around West and smiled at me in a warmer way. “I’m Linc.”

Before I could respond, four others came out of the house. It was a fucking zoo in this place. Next time, I’d definitely have to call ahead.

My eyes bugged out of my head when I recognized two of them. “Oli? What the hell?”

He lit up with a grin and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Hey, base bro.” He pulled back and leaned against Dean, who gave me a chin-up. “When I told you about guys’ weekend, I wasn’t actually inviting you. Not that I mind, of course.”

“This is where guys’ weekend is at? How do you even know each other?”

“Most of us went to college together. What about you?”

“I’m here for Trav.”

Brooks gasped dramatically. “Trav, you dirty dog. I knew there must be intermingling with all those balls being passed around.”

A smaller blond guy cackled around a vape. He introduced himself as Tilian, and I found out that he was with Brooks. The last one, I recognized from Trav’s videos.

“You’re Sen,” I said, holding out my hand. “It’s an honor to meet you. Really.”

He shook it with a kind smile. “You too. Trav talks a lot about you.”

“Good thing I’m not shy.” I turned our hands so I could see the ring on his finger. It was black with a band of stone around it that looked like moss agate. The green lines reminded me of the forest in a mysterious way. “That’s amazing.”

With a soft laugh, he raked his fingers through his hair. “Thanks. This one couldn’t stand it if he was the only one with an engagement ring.”

Kai pulled him close and pressed his lips to Sen’s temple. I didn’t want to look away for something so simple, but it made my chest ache.

Roman joined us and immediately got heckled by West. After flipping him off, he came up to me. “Welcome to the party. Enjoying yourself yet?”

“I prefer a quiet weekend,” I said, “but we can’t win them all.”

“We were about to brainstorm how Amir’s going to win Remi back,” Trav explained.

Roman’s lips pulled to the side for a second. “Ah.”

“What’s your deal?” I asked.