CORBIN
"I can't go out on Valentine's Day, jackass. Have you forgotten the damage Ruby can do with a bat?"
"True," he groans. "Dale can go."
His eyes dart to Dale who shakes his head.
"Not interested."
"You do understand that Valentine's Day is just a classier way of saying Vagina Day, right?"
That earns a groan from me and Dale. I hate this speech.
"So you've said," I remind him.
"It's the day all the single vaginas come out when they normally wouldn't. But they unite. I need help separating one from the herd. So someone has to fucking go."
"No," we both say in unison.
"It's like Christmas, though. It's the one time a year when every bar or club is loaded with SINGLE women.
All the relationship girls are with their men. It takes out all the guess work!"
"Is he still talking?" Dale asks to annoy Maverick. But Maverick just flips him off.
"I'm getting a wingman. We're going to Silk."
"Not happening," I argue, just as Dale says, "Nope."
***
How did I end up at Silk on Valentine's Day with Ruby dancing with Rain and Tria instead of me? Fucking Maverick.
Dale is playing the part of a begrudged wingman, so I guess it could be worse.
"One year ago, I was forced to watch a movie about some rich guy who could curl his finger and make the girl squirm. Fucked up my ego for a while," Kode announces, equally annoyed. Maverick is good. He got us all here despite our plans.
I hate him.
"I guess this is better than trying to learn kink in one night," he adds.
Some visuals are better left alone. I don't want to picture my cousin getting kinky with Tria.
Rye sits down beside us, coming from out of nowhere, and he nervously glances around the room as Maverick rejoins us and takes a seat by me. Dale sits on the other side of Rye.
"Why do you look scared?" Dane asks him.
"Have any of you seen Brin?" Rye asks, still avoiding eye contact.
Dale immediately gets up and forces us to move over so he can sit beside Maverick. Maverick stands instead to let him in so he can stay on the outside.
"No... Why?" I ask slowly, now fidgeting in my seat. No way do I want to be around if something is about to happen.
"I think she hulked out. The bed was broken when I got back."
Questions. So many questions. I know it's not smart to ask them.
Maverick doesn't have that same mentality. "Why did she break the bed?"
"I might have... um... left her handcuffed to it for too long."
"Again?" we all grown in unison.
A waitress sets a glass in front of him, and he nervously looks around. That drink doesn't look right.
"Thanks for the drink. I need one."
We all exchange confused glances. No one ordered him a drink.
He tosses the drink back in a hefty gulp, but then it sprays everywhere... All over us. He gags and grabs a napkin, trying to smother the heaving sounds as he fights the urge to vomit.
We're busy glaring at him while wiping our own faces. The second I get a whiff of it, I gag too.
"The fuck is that?" Kode growls.
Rye is too busy trying not to heave, so he can't answer. But I know. I remember the smell of it. I remember seeing it. I remember the nightmare that was April Fool's Day.
"Wolf piss," I hiss, gagging again.
A series of coughs and snorts and gags follow that comment.
Maverick is the only one who didn't get sprayed, so he's grinning like an ass, while we're all fighting the taste of bile and wolf piss.
I glance toward the bar, hoping to flag down a waitress to bring fresh drinks and napkins, when I spot her. Brin. The evil wolf piss carrier.
She grins and wiggles her fingers in a wave, while handcuffs dangle from one wrist.
When Rye finally loses it and sprays the floor with the wolf piss that made it to his stomach, we all exit the booth in a hurry.
"Why did he have to bring that to us?" Kode bitches, sniffing his shirt and wrinkling his nose.
Maverick just beams like the cheeky asshole he is.
"Why the hell are you smiling?" Dale grumbles.
"Because I'm the best smelling motherfucker in here now. And all you jackasses are wearing piss. That's why." He claps his hands together before adding, "Best Vagina Day ever."