Page 99 of Over the Line

And less than ten seconds after I sent it, he accepted.

Oh, God. Like me, he was leaning against his headboard. He looked exhausted, as if it had been a long, busy day, but he also seemed happy. His tired smile was soft and adorable, and his heavy-lidded eyes made my heart flutter.

“Hey,” he said with a faint slur. “Sorry it took me so long to reply.”

I shook my head. “Sorry I was running late.”

He half-shrugged, the smile still firmly in place. “You’re with your family for the holidays. I’m not going to rush you away from them.”

“Likewise.”

He moistened his lips. “I, uh, can’t promise anything spicy right now. I’m tired as hell, and I may have had a little of my mom’s eggnog.”

I barked a laugh. “She makes it strong?”

“Oh my God.” He laughed, letting his head fall back. “I don’t think you’re supposed to put that much whiskey in it, but man, it tastes good.”

“Oh, she does it with whiskey? Not rum?”

He nodded. “Yep. She basically makes it a Seven and Seven with eggnog. Seagrams Seven and 7-Up. So the eggnog isn’t quite so rich, which means it’s easy to drink a lot of it in not a lot of time.” Laughing again, he made a face. “I’m going to be paying for this in the morning.”

“I bet you are. Worth it?”

“Totally worth it. It’s not Christmas Eve without getting fucked up with my family while we play board games.”

“Ah, that’s your Christmas tradition?”

He nodded, a fond smile on his lips. “We start the games and the drinking around the same time, and by the end of the night, everyone’s shitfaced and laughing our heads off.” Liam chuckled. “There is nothing funnier than my mom getting the drunk giggles while she destroys us all at Monopoly.”

“Oh, wow,” I laughed. “That must be a sight.”

“It is. It always is. One year, we all got super fucked up and then tried to play Risk.”

I snorted. “Really? I can’t even figure that one out sober.”

“Exactly! That was the fun part. We were all so drunk, we just started making up rules and trash-talking. I have no idea if anyone actually won, but it was one of the most fun game nights I ever had.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“It always is.” Liam cocked an eyebrow. “I assume you like to stay sober so you can crush people at Uno?”

“What?” I put a hand to my chest. “Me?”

“Uh-huh. That innocent look doesn’t work on me.”

I laughed again. “Ugh. I can’t believe Chris tipped my hand about my Uno prowess. He should’ve let you all find out for yourselves.”

“Oh God. Something tells me it’s a good thing he warned us.” Liam paused. “Maybe we should break out an Uno deck on the dads’ trip.”

My heart sped up at the reminder of that upcoming trip. “Ooh, I’m game. You think you can handle me?”

He shrugged with mock innocence. “You think you can handle me not putting out afterward because I’m still mad about losing?”

I guffawed. “You would really pass on putting your dick in my ass just because I beat you at Uno? Really?”

He quirked his lips, but he wasn’t doing much to hide the smile trying to come to life. “Okay. You got me.” Narrowing his eyes, he added, “But I could make you work for it a bit more.”

I inclined my head. “Is that supposed to deter me from beating you at Uno? Or encourage me to wipe the floor with you?”