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“Food!” he bellowed. The word echoed through the house as the others either passed on or returned the call with excitement and joined us in the kitchen.
“That smells delicious,” Zander said as he pulled out a chair for Viv and settled into the seat beside her. She ducked her head, blushing at the gesture. I loved that for her. But when Nicoletta glared at her, I felt Zander had just painted a bigger target on my island bestie.
I took Kayla’s old seat, which put Aaron on my left. Ryan pulled out the chair on my other side, but like the godsend she was clearly sent here to be, Julie slid into it gracefully with a thank you before he could argue. He just grumbled and took the chair beside my new favorite person in the world. Was it too soon to make friendship bracelets? Because damn, that was slick.
Cheryl was animatedly chatting with Diego while smiling at Ryan, and Oliver watched Julie and me as we ate and chatted.
I hated to admit it, but Julie was actually pretty awesome. Between the brief conversation we’d had in the kitchen and her blocking Ryan from getting too close, I was smitten. It felt like an unwritten rule that we were supposed to despise the exes, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Cheryl was explaining some drinking game she wanted to play later. Very loudly, I might add. And with the rest of the table focused on her, Julie discreetly leaned into me and whispered, "What's the deal with the MC daddy?"
“I assume you saw the exes challenge?” I asked.
She nodded solemnly. “We were supposed to be cut off from the internet stuff so we didn’t know much going in, but one of the hotel staff was watching it, and I bugged him to let me watch too. You telling him off has been the highlight of this show for me. We all have that one ex we wish we could put in their place the way you did.”
I looked over at Oliver, and Julie snickered. “Of course not him. The guy just before him though? He was a piece of work. Oliver was my foray into the sweet side of dating. It just didn’t work. But seriously, you gave Ryan a tongue lashing heard round the world.”
Dipping my head, I muttered, “Thanks. Yeah, it felt so good to get all that out, but for fuck’s sake, I didn’t think the producers would get such a kick out of it to the point they would bring himhere.” I clutched my fork a little tighter, briefly envisioning stabbing the prongs into his hand. “The whole thing makes me stabby.”
“That was a low blow, but I get why they did it. Ratings. The people love a villain arc.”
“Stupid ratings,” I grumbled, training my eyes on my plate as Cheryl’s explanation finally ended.
“So, you guys in?” Diego asked, looking toward our side of the table. His gaze bounced between Aaron, me, and Julie.
“Sure,” I offered with a shrug.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Diego
It becameapparent right off the bat that Sophie didn’t know what she’d agreed to. I’d handed her a beer, and she looked at it curiously, like she didn’t know what to do with it.
Despite the sudden way things had ended, and that she was now apparently cozy with Aaron, I missed her and was shamelessly using the game to be close to her again.
I knew it hadn’t been long, but those feelings she’d sparked in me when I saw her the very first day had only grown as time went on and we’d gotten to know each other better. She was exceptional. Not because she was my type down to a T, that was pure dumb luck. It was because of who Sophie was as a person. And I wanted, no… needed. Ineededto show her she was so much more to me than just some wishlist she’d alluded to.
“There! Snape just saidPotteragain! Drink!” Cheryl called.
Any time a professor or student from your assigned house said “Potter,” you had to drink. Which meant the Slytherins were sloshed. We also had to drink any time house points were given or taken away, so the Gryffindors were fucked as well.
“I’m drinkin’!” Viv said as her housemates, Julie and Zander, cheered her on as she upended the bottle. It didn’t look like she was drinking too much with the amount of beer running down her chin, but she didn’t stop till the last of it was gone.
Zander kissed her soundly when she finished and said, “We should Slytherin to bed soon.”
Sophie covered her mouth to muffle her peals of laughter and nestled further into the plush cushions. Her hair brushed against my arm as the sweet smell of coconut shampoo filled my senses. The same smell that lingered on my pillows triggered emotional, and yes, physical responses. Both of which were painful lately.
The more we sat together and played, the harder it was to not revert to old habits. I wanted so badly to just reach over and feel the warmth of her skin against mine again. She was pure temptation and my alcohol-riddled brain convinced me the best course of action was to try and tempt her back.
I dropped a hand onto my stomach, pretending to scratch at something as my T-shirt lifted higher with the movement. I felt her stiffen beside me and turned to find her eyes zeroed in on the exposed strip of skin.
Well, at least I could confirm she was still interested in my body. I could work with that.
Ten minutes later, Viv asked, “Wait, aren’t we all mad at this author?”
Cheryl put her hands on her hips as she defended her game. “Yes, but there’s only this orDie Hard, and I couldn’t think of a drinking game for that one.” She put her beer down and reached into the cooler we’d dragged over for a new one. It seemed once Kayla had left, Cheryl had been trying to be nicer to the others. Without backup, the girl was all bark, and even that was growing fainter in the twenty-four hours we’d been Kayla-free.
“Drinking every time there’s an explosion seems like a safe bet if we ever decide to watch it,” I said, feeling tipsier after McGonagall laid down the law. “Plus, the Hufflepuffs are still sober.” I hooked a thumb at Aaron and Oliver.
