the table. “I worked through lunch and am starving.”
“It’s no problem,” I said, staring at his pizza while he devoured it. I wasn’t hungry per se, but who didn’t love pizza? “Where did you get it?” I asked, wondering if Lee would mind making a stop after the game was over.
Lee, lured in by our conversation, rose from the couch and joined us.
Ni swallowed the bite he’d taken and set his slice down. “There’s a pizza shop next door,” he said, pointing in the general direction through the apartment walls. “They sell it by the slice on the street.”
“You live next to a pizza place?” I asked, stars in my eyes as I turned to Carson.
He looked startled for a moment before he burst out laughing. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I glared at Lee and Ni as they joined him. I crossed my arms and sat back in my chair, waiting for them to get a hold of themselves.
My reaction hadn’t been that funny.
“What’s so funny?” Chelsey asked as she walked through the door.
I threw my hands up as her question sent them on another round.
“Miller,” Niles managed to spit out. “Woo, I told him about the pizza place next door, and I think he’s moving in tomorrow.”
Chelsey smirked as she sat down. “I don’t blame you. If I lived here, I’d be as big as a house. My self-control around pizza is zip.” Reaching out, she snagged a pepperoni from Ni’s slice and ate it before he could stop her.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
“You snooze, you lose,” she taunted, reaching for another.
Ni lifted his arm to defend his pizza, pulling it away from her reach. “You keep your grubby hands to yourself.”
“Grubby?” A fire burned in Chelsey’s eyes as she stared him down. “I’ll show you grubby.”
Chelsey stuck her finger in her mouth, getting it good and wet. I had no idea what she was going to do with it, and I didn’t want to find out.
“Children,” Carson said from the head of the table, his eyes focused on Chelsey. “Behave.”
“Fine.” Chelsey sucked on her finger and wiped the rest of her spit off on her pants. “You’re no fun.”
I shivered in my seat as heat danced across my nerve endings. I bit my lip, stifling a moan that tried to escape at Carson’s gentle but firm tone. He already got to me on so many levels; I didn’t need the demonstration of his ability to tempt me further.
I watched him from the corner of my eye, seeing the instant he realized what he’d done in front of me.
“Miller, I—”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly before anyone else could overhear. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I insisted. “I was just surprised before. Now that I know, I won’t be as… surprised.”
“What are y’all two whispering about down there?” Lee asked with absolutely no tact what so ever.
Looking down the table, I realized Carson and I were now the focus of everyone’s attention. “You,” I said in a moment of panic.
“Me?” Lee closed his eyes and preened. “What about me? Was it about how pretty I look today? How my shirt brings out the green flecks in my eyes?” he asked, batting his lashes at me.
“They were talking about what a fat head you have,” Chelsey interjected with a smirk.
I giggled at the outrage on Lee’s face as he gaped at her. It was official. I loved Chelsey. She was just so… mean.
“My head is not fat!”
“Ask your mom.” Chelsey grinned as she leaned in close. “I bet she’ll say you have a fat head, having had to push it out.”
Lee crossed his arms and arrogantly lifted his chin. “I’m a cesarean baby.”
“Yeah,” she drawled as she relaxed back in her chair. “Because of your fat head.”
The table erupted in laughter as Lee pouted. “Stop saying I have a fat head!”
“All right, all right, everyone settle down. No more talking about Lee’s fat head,” Carson said with a smirk, much to Lee’s outrage. Ignoring him, Carson lifted his phone and showed everyone the time. “We about ready to start?”
“What about Red?” Ni asked, kicking the empty chair next to him.
Carson sighed and shrugged. “He texted me earlier and said he was coming. He must have gotten tied up with something—”
“—Lucky.”
“—Hemp most likely.”
“—That’s hot.”
I felt my face catch on fire as I stared at Carson. Lee, Ni, and Chelsey had all interrupted him at the exact same time, so I couldn’t tell who’d said what, but I got the gist. Bondage was apparently very popular with