he orders hoarsely.
“It’s my competitive side—sorry.” I grimace, reaching his chest.
I duck my head, using my chin to get it higher, before reaching my target.
A horn blares as Cindy announces, “We have a winner.”
The balloon pops and our mouths smash together. Heat rises in my chest as Clayton grabs me around the waist, stopping me from falling.
It could be the drink, the adrenaline, or maybe it’s just the chemistry constantly simmering between us, but I kiss him. My tongue flicks his bottom lip as my lips enclose around his.
His fingers dig into my sides, and as I’m about to deepen the kiss, my surroundings slap back into place at the sound of my dad’s voice.
“No, we’re going to do this,” Dad yells.
“Babe, it’s over,” Mum explains, amusement in her voice.
Slowly, I pull away from Clayton, blinking away the lust coursing through my system.
“I-I—”
“They aren’t even a couple. They should be disqualified,” he argues.
“Didn’t look that way to me, sugar,” Cindy mutters.
Pulling my gaze away from Clayton, I turn to the others, laughing at Dad’s sour expression. “You are such a sore loser. Pay up.” I hold my hand out, tapping my foot on the wooden floor.
He reaches into his back pocket, pulling two twenties and a tenner out before slapping them down in the palm of my hand. “This isn’t over."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There’s still a bit of a bite to the wind as we step out of Chicken Palace, in the middle of town, on the other side of where Cabin Lakes is located.
A group of us who were hungry let the others get in the remaining taxi. It’s one in the morning and most pubs or clubs are closing, so taxis are limited.
So, me, Clayton, Dad, Charlotte, Malik, Maddox, Mark and Hope all decided to grab something to eat and walk the rest of the way. Luckily, we don’t have much further to walk, though with the way Mark’s swaying, it could take double the time. He had taken part in the roulette shot game with Beau, winning a free drink at the end. Beau was worse off when we left him passed out in the taxi with Faith and a few others.
“This is so good,” Clayton mumbles around a mouthful of food.
I chuckle as I wipe a bit of mayonnaise off his lip. “I can tell.”
“Can we go to the library now?” Charlotte asks, hopeful.
“You can do whatever the fuck you want, princess,” Dad tells her, digging into his family bucket.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Malik offers, glaring at Dad as he struggles to keep Mark upright.
“I want to go swimming,” I declare, turning to Clayton. “We should totally go swimming.”
“You can go to bed,” Dad orders, narrowing his eyes. “You never listen to me. Charlotte listens to me.”
I roll my eyes. “And I’m not going to start now.”
“Who took my bed?” Mark stammers, closing his eyes as he rests his head on Malik.
Dad points a southern fried chicken drumstick at Clayton. “You’ve corrupted my daughter.”
“If anyone was corrupted in this scenario, it was me. Have you met your daughter? No one tells her what to do,” Clayton replies, more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him.
I beam at the praise. “Thank you.”
“Ooh, look at that fighting talk,” Maddox teases, stepping close to Dad. “He’s making out you don’t know your own daughter.”
Dad snorts. “Pfft, like he could beat me.”
“I dunno, Max, I think you’re losing your touch,” Maddox taunts, smirking at me. “Did you see him all over her on the stage?”
“What?” Dad screeches, going for Clayton.
Malik lets go of Mark, who falls against a lamp post, to stop Dad, placing a hand on his chest. “Eat your food.”
Dad steps back, ripping into another drumstick, his gaze still on Clayton.
“I think we should go on a nature walk,” Charlotte blurts out. “We could look for bears.”
“Where’s the bear?” Mark slurs, rubbing the lamp post.
“We don’t have bears,” I remind her, before turning to Maddox, narrowing my eyes. “And stop trying to cause a fight because you’re still sulking over what happened earlier. He got you back for running him off the road, fair and square. Live with it.”
“Aww, does he need a girl to stick up for him?” Dad sings, wiggling his chicken in the air.
“I really did you both good. Your faces,” Clayton muses, laughing abruptly at the image he’s probably painted in his mind.
“They were hilarious,” I agree, noticing a cop car pull up just ahead, followed by two officers getting out.
“Look at him laughing at you,” Maddox whispers next