Page 56 of Fight For Me

I smile widely at him. “Did you order yourself a soda, Fox? Since you’re too young to drink and all. Or we could get you a Shirley Temple? Hot cocoa?”

“Enough chit chat,” Everly says as Fox gives me the finger. “I’ll go first.” She thinks for a moment. “Who would be the most likely to get arrested for doing something stupid?”

There’s a beat of silence before every finger points at Everly. “What?” she cries, outraged. “I’ve never broken the law in my life!”

“Yeah, but you’re the most likely person to do something totally crazy and stupid in the name of fun and have it come back to bite you on the ass,” Alex explains. Everly pouts a little, but does her shot.

Bodhi goes next. “Who would be the most likely to have a dramatic airport romantic moment? You know, the whole rushing through security, dashing down the terminal to stop someone from getting on a plane thing?”

Just about everyone points at Bodhi, who grins. “I would totally do that,” he agrees. “It would be awesome. I even know what soundtrack would be playing in my head.”

“You’re so weird,” Fox says, patting his shoulder. “I love it.”

“Why’d you point at Wyatt?” River asks Everly, who was one of the only people not to choose Bodhi. She shrugs.

“I think he has a hidden romantic side.”

Alex nudges my ribs while Bodhi pours out his whiskey. “Is that true?” she asks, eyebrows raised. “Is there a hidden romantic side in there?”

She’s obviously tipsy but I still feel a happy rush of warmth that she’s flirting with me. “I’m a man of many secrets,” I tell her, ignoring the warning bells telling me to put a stop to this.

“My turn,” Fox says, then looks right at his brother. “Most likely to lose his job because he went surfing early in the morning while still drunk from the night before, then fell asleep on the beach for six hours because he was hungover.”

“I did that one time,” River grumbles while reaching for the bottle.

We go through several rounds, everyone except Fox getting progressively more tipsy—and giggly— the longer we play. Fox set off a trend—a bunch of the questions now revolve around the myriad of different ways River has lost jobs over the years. He’s pretty good at holding his liquor, but even he’s starting to sway after a few rounds.

I can feel the whiskey loosening me up. I’ve been tense about the Scott situation all night, but the strain is melting away the longer I sit here next to Alex, having fun with my cousins. It helps that I haven’t seen Scott in ages. He’s probably off coming onto one of those B-List celebrities Everly and Bodhi saw earlier. The cameras are still on us, though, and my brain lets out a feeble warning that I should stop drinking. I need to keep an eye on these guys, make sure no one does or says anything stupid on camera.

It’s hard to want to be the responsible one, with the alcohol warming my blood and Alex sitting so close. I can smell the coconut scent of that ridiculously expensive shampoo she uses. Every so often, her leg or arm will touch mine when one of us shifts. Watching her like this, so free and easy, having fun with her friends, loosens something in my chest. She should always be this happy.

“Ooh!” Everly suddenly yells in a sing-song voice. “They’re playing your song, Alexandria!”

Fox and River both hoot and holler as I strain to hear what’s playing. I’m pretty sure it’s “I Want It That Way.” I raise my eyebrows. “Backstreet Boys? Seriously, Alex?”

She rolls her eyes, but I’m pretty sure her already alcohol induced flush gets a little pinker. “I was a fan of Nick Carter when I was younger. He was very handsome back in the day.”

River snorts. “A fan. Sure. You had a shrine to him in your bedroom.”

“Aren’t the Backstreet Boys way before your time?” I ask her.

She gestures vaguely at Everly. “You know Aunt Paige loves all that old pop stuff.”

“She heard the song playing at my mom’s house when we were twelve and it was true love,” Everly adds.

“Your dad must have loved that.” I laugh at the thought. Levi is of the opinion that rock, hard rock, and classic rock are the only musical genres worth listening to.

Alex grins. “He went around saying I broke his heart for two years.”

“She made up a dance,” River cuts in, beginning to laugh. “Like, a fully choreographed dance that she tried to get all of us to do with her. She did it constantly.”

“Remember the talent show she tried to get us to do at the farm that summer?” Fox asks. “She made costumes.”

“Why don’t I remember any of this?” I ask.

She waves a hand. “You were off being an amazing concert pianist somewhere.”

Some of the tension from earlier in the night resettles on my shoulders. I’d been starting to let my guard down, but I need to remember this. I don’t have the same set of childhood memories as these guys do because I’m older. Too damn old for Alex.