the first to be rehomed, since I met the puppies within hours of their birth. I laid down dibs on the only white one, asked if I could keep him, and because Evie is sorry for scaring me for most of our lives, I figure she feels like she owes me anything I ask for.
I’m not against a well overused guilt trip to get my own way when she’s set on saying no to me. It normally works.
“I have two queens.” Arrogance personified, Evie takes two cards from her handful and sets them in the communal pile. She sits back with a smirk, snuggles into Ben’s lap, and hides her cards from the man she not long ago swore a lifetime of truth and loyalty to.
In the silence but for a radio playing somewhere else in the house, I study her confident expression, her pursed lips, her challenging eyes as they stare into mine.
I look to Ben, who keeps his eyes off mine, then to Mac, who only smiles when his girlfriend – or well, his fiancée now, I guess – tries to sneak a look. Back to my handful, I study my own queen, my ten, my joker. I have a couple fives, a two.
She could be telling the truth. She could be a filthy liar.
Closing one eye, like that might help me make up my mind, I flip a coin in my head.
“Bullshit.”
Faux gasp, dramatic hands and wild hair, Evie shoots forward on Ben’s lap. “Bullshit? How dare you?”
“Yeah, she was lying.” Bean – Evie’s cousin – reaches forward and flips the pair that Evie tossed down. Two twos. Rolling her eyes and laughing, she tosses them back to her curly-haired cousin, and pushes a shot glass across the table. “Drink up, liar.”
“Aw, shit.” Evie accepts the glass of bourbon when Bean finishes pouring, tosses it back with a dramatic “ahh!” and swallows it down with a laugh. Then she grabs her husband and kisses him with so much indecency, I have to turn away.
“Nora wins that one,” Bean laughs. “Your turn.”
I’ve never thought of Ben in any way that was romantic. I’ve never wanted to date him, never wanted to kiss him or have him declare feelings that included a relationship. But he’s always been my friend, my smart, strong, champion fighter friend. And he’s handsome. There’s no denying it.
So for as long as Evie’s tongue slides over his to remind him she’s kind of into this new marriage of theirs, I can barely concentrate on what I’m supposed to be doing.
It would be like having a biological brother sitting across from me with a girl in his lap while their tongues danced.
I think I’m a prude.
“Nora?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat and glance back to my cards. I select three from the end, place them on the table, and meet Bean’s chocolate eyes. “Three nines.”
“Fuck outta here!” Evie breaks her kiss with a gasp, and leaves Ben reeling and wild-eyed. She turns to me with a shake of her head. “Nope. No chance.”
“You calling bullshit?” Mac laughs. “Say it out loud, Smalls.”
“I say bullshit. And since you’re not gonna do the shot…” She pauses and drunkenly studies my eyes. “Right?”
I shake my head. “No shot.”
She rolls her eyes and huffs. “Right, so since you play, but refuse to do the drinking, I have this new guy lined up. His name is Tony – Antonio,” she rolls her tongue like she thinks that’ll convince me. “He’s twenty-five, a fighter, he loves his momma, and helps grannies with their groceries.”
“Uh… how about bullshit?” I swipe up my cards and add them back to my pile. “Nobody helps grannies with their groceries, and I’m not into men with mommy issues.”
“Ben has mommy issues,” Bean jokes. “Hey, Ben. Did you see how Oz smacked your mom’s ass this morning?”
“You shut your dirty fuckin’ mouth.” He flicks a card toward his half-sister like it’s a ninja star. “You don’t speak about my mom.”
“She moaned,” Bean snickers. “You know she did. We all heard it.”
“I’m not playing this game if you pendejos are gonna talk shit about my mom.”
“Aww, look. He’s got the Spanish swears out again.” Mac lifts his beer and tips it back for a slow swallow, then he plops it back on the table with a heavy thud, waking Galileo from his sleep. “Benny has mommy issues, and he ain’t handling them all that well.”
“As if you don’t get all protective about your mom!” Ben snaps. “Don’t come at me