Between Octobers Bk 1, Savor The Days Series by A.R. Rivera

reached for the glass but
Lily swiped it.
    “Finally! A girl could die of
dehydration.”
    One round later, Evan asked for a break. We
told him to take all the time he needed. He got up and staggered
with Marcus to the sofa. Just as Lily and I were considering
cutting them off, Marcus’ eyes rolled back and closed.
    “Do you hear that?” Lily asked, leaning over
him.
    “Hear what?”
    “It’s the sweet melody of another clean
victory!” She clapped her hands together and raised them over her
head.
    Her shout was acknowledged by Marcus’s head,
followed by his body, rolling onto the floor without so much as a
grunt. We laughed while enjoying a victory shot.
    “I hate losing,” Evan grumbled.
    “Well?” I sat beside him on the small couch,
waiting for the concession speech.
    Lily was behind the sofa, doing her victory
dance. I was sure if Marcus could’ve heard, she’d sing.
    Evan scooted to the edge of the couch,
placing his hands on his knees. As he hoisted himself up, he
timbered to one side.
    “I got you,” I swooped in to help.
    “I ge’the bed,” he slurred. “The pansy keeps
ass out here.”
    “ Okay,” I soothed, not quite sure what
he was saying, but wanting to remain agreeable. “That last shot was
the killer, huh?”
    I escorted him to the guest room at the end
of the hall and set him gingerly on the bed. A misguided elbow
knocked the lamp on the nightstand but I caught it before it fell.
His eyes were slightly drooped over his amused smile. He was a very
pleasant drunk. When I asked him to wait while I snatched some
Gatorade and ibuprofen, he grinned dizzily and folded his hands
across his lap.
    I ran full-tilt to the kitchen, fumbled
around and leapt back, hoping to make it before he passed out. When
I barreled into the room, he was still sitting up, dreamy-eyed and
grinning, his hair a beautiful mess.
    “ Here, take this.” He grabbed the
bottle after I opened it for him. “This, too.” I held out the
tablet. He opened up wide and I set the oblong pill on his
tongue.
    I heard the swirl of liquid as he gulped.
“What was it?”
    “Pain reliever. Drink as much as you can and
your liver will thank you in the morning. If you stay hydrated,
maybe the hangover won’t be so bad. It used to work for me when I
partied.”
    “The responsible you. A party girl? I’d love
to see that.” He spoke slowly, carefully enunciating.
    “ Maybe you’ll get lucky. I’m getting
you pajamas. Be right back.”
    Creeping into Noah’s room, I pulled an
unused pair of sweat pants from the bottom of his dresser. I bought
them a little too big and was supposed to return them, but kept
forgetting. On my way back to Evan, I clipped the tags off with my
teeth.
    “Here, change into these.” I tossed the
sweats and they landed, folded, on his lap.
    “How did you win?” His shining eyes held as
much awareness as the liquor would allow.
    I smiled, pleased with myself. “I said you
were going to lose to a lightweight, and you did. Big time. I only
got the one shot, before we started.”
    He complained, indecipherably, leaning back
onto the pillow—gorgeous, smoothing his chaotic hair with his
fingers and blinking slowly. He had very thick eyelashes.
    The taste of victory was sweet, though I did
feel a little guilty about the method. He had to realize winning
was entirely dependent upon dexterity and not the highest
tolerance.
    “I’ll tell you a little secret.” I leaned
over and whispered, “I’m almost sorry.”
    His strong hand pressed on the back of my
head. His lips made several landings along the side of my
neck—every cell in my body exploded with heat—before I reacted.
    “What are you doing?”
    The stupid question was barely out of my
mouth before being muffled by his. Despite the sudden nature of the
exploit, his touch was gentle. That bursting heat coursed through
me as I feebly pushed against him. His hand disappeared from behind
my back and resurfaced beneath my shirt. I gasped and