Page 46 of Undefeated

“Alright, I’m done talking about it,” I said as I waved my hands in front of my stomach.

“Well, I need to do something with it before your girl finds it,” he said.

“Yeah, no shit. Go do something with it,” I begged.

He walked past me and into the house. In a matter of seconds, he walked back onto the deck. As he shut the door, I turned his direction.

“Well?” I asked.

He held up the finger tip, grasping it between his thumb and forefinger.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

He opened the lid to the grill and looked inside.

“Ripp, don’t!” I screamed and I started to stand up from the lounge.

“Well fuck, it won’t fit. It’ll fall between the little bars. Shit. I was just gonna cook it as a joke,” he said as he turned and gave me a puzzled look.

Still holding the finger in his hand, he closed the lid to the grill.

We both turned to the left side of the deck as we heard the gate open. Kace walked through the gate wearing a floral print sun dress.

“Hey,” Kace said as she stepped toward the deck.

A tall blonde wearing jean shorts and a sleeveless black shirt followed her into the yard. I turned to Ripp and scrunched my brow.

“Do something with it,” I whispered.

As he noticed the other girl, he quickly shoved the finger into the pocket of his Khaki cargo shorts.

“Hope you don’t mind that I brought my friend,” Kace asked as she stepped onto the deck.

“Not at all. I’m glad you did,” I responded as I turned and looked at Ripp.

As they both stepped onto the deck, Ripp raised his eyebrows and wiped his hands on his shorts.

“Hi. I’m Mike. Mike Ripton. You can call me Ripp, everyone else does,” he said as walked toward her with his hand held out in front of him.

“I’m Olivia. You can call me Liv. Everyone else does,” she chuckled as she shook Ripp’s hand.

I hugged Kace as Ripp shook her hand. As I kissed her, Liv turned our direction. I reached around Kace’s side and held my hand out.

“Hi, I’m Shane,” I said.

“Yeah, she told me about you,” she said as she shook my hand.

“Hope you like chicken,” Ripp said.

“Love it,” Liv responded as she walked toward the grill.

“Uhhm. Want an Ultra?” Ripp asked as he pointed to the beer cooler.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, as long as you have enough,” she responded.

“I always have enough,” he laughed as he leaned toward the cooler and opened the lid.

Kace squeezed me tight and buried her face in my hoodie.