Truth or Dare: Party Games, Book 2 (13 page)

“Dammit, Grant. You know I’m not one to hold back what I’m thinking or feeling.”

“Maybe just try to curb it a little for now?”

A muscle in the side of Dayne’s jaw twitched. For long seconds his friend didn’t say anything, and Grant thought they were about to have one of their rare fights. He held his breath, waiting for the explosion, but when it came it wasn’t what he’d expected.

“Fine.” Dayne threw his hands in the air and stalked off to the pantry. “I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Grant followed him across the room. “Come on, Dayne, we can’t screw this up.”

The desperation in his voice pulled him up short.
Whoa
. Okay, so this was new. He’d never felt this clawing, urgent lash for anything—anyone—until now. No wonder he was striking out at Dayne. Like a cornered feral animal, he was swiping at the nearest thing. Grant prided himself on his control and right now he was as far from the steering wheel as he could get. Hell, he wasn’t even on the bus. Miki held the power. The question was whether she’d pull over and let them on or run them over at warp speed.

Dayne came out of the pantry and crashed into him. “Sorry.”

“No. I’m sorry. I took my frustration out on you and I shouldn’t have.”

His friend shrugged. “No biggie. We’re both tense at the moment.”

“I feel like I’ve been put through the wringer and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”

“Look, let’s not borrow trouble ahead of time. Like you said earlier today, one step at a time.”

Grant knew his own advice made sense, but that was before he’d found himself in deeper than he’d ever imagined being. It was easy to spout wisdom when you weren’t caught in the whirlwind of emotions of falling in love. He’d never dreamed it would happen this fast. He always pictured love to be slow, sure, comfortable. The emotions he was experiencing were fast, uncertain and so restrictive it was like having a ten tonne truck parked on his chest.

“Come on, let’s get these pizzas made and in the oven.” Dayne thumped him on the back as he walked past.

He tried to lasso in his emotions and make some logical thought patterns. Nothing would come together, but he didn’t have time to brood. Miki entered the kitchen with his phone to her ear. Her brow was creased and she’d caught her bottom lip between her teeth. The curve looked red and puffy from chewing and Grant walked over to remove that lush flesh from any further damage. With the tip of his finger, he tapped her mouth.

“Stop that. You’ll make your lip bleed if you’re not careful.”

She let go of her lip and mouthed sorry as she put her hand up in a stop signal.

“You still haven’t returned my calls. Where are you, Frankie? I’m starting to worry. Ring me on this number because you’ve got my phone. Bye.”

“Still can’t reach her?”

“No, and it’s not like her. I’m worried.”

“I wouldn’t be.” If what Grant suspected was true, Miki might not get hold of Frankie for a while yet.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He glanced at Dayne for help, but his friend held up his hands and took a step back. “You started this.”

“What? Started what?” Miki’s voice held a note of panic.

“Relax. I’m sure she’s fine.” Grant waited until her gaze locked with his. “She’s probably just hung over or something.”

“Or something.” Dayne’s comment drew Miki’s gaze again.

“What are you two talking about? Did something happen to Frankie at the party last night?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Grant threw a dirty look Dayne’s way. “I, well, it’s just…”

“What, what? It’s just what?” Her gaze swivelled between them.

Grant gripped Miki’s shoulders. “Stop it, there’s nothing to worry about. Frankie is fine as far as we know, it’s just that I don’t think she went home alone, that’s all.”

“What?” She stared at him as her knees buckled and she sat on the edge of a stool. “No way? Frankie picked someone up?”

Grant nodded as he took the chair next to her.

“She certainly did,” Dayne added.

Miki’s attention was drawn back to Dayne and Grant knew the grin on his friend’s face said they hadn’t revealed everything.

Her eyes narrowed. “Spill. Who’d she pick up?”

Dayne laughed. “You won’t believe us if we tell you.”

“Sure I will, why would either of you lie?”

“She left with Alec Harris,” Grant said.

“
Alley Cat
? Bullshit.” Miki jerked her head around and stared at him with her mouth open.

“Nope, no bull. As you said, why would we lie?” Dayne added.

“Hell. He’s the last guy Frankie would hook up with. She used to carry on about hating him, despising him, but every time she looked at him, well, I’ve never seen her look at anyone else that way.”

“Maybe it’s a case of protesting too much? Besides, we’re not in school anymore, Miki.” Grant asked.

“Maybe.” Miki chewed on her lip again as she sat in stunned silence. He could almost hear the gears in her mind turning.

“She’ll ring when she gets your messages. In the meantime, how about we go get the movie ready while Dayne finishes off the pizzas and puts them in the oven?” Grant got to his feet and pulled her with him.

“You said you had
No Strings Attached
, right?”

He laid his arm over her shoulders and hugged her close as he walked towards the media room. “Yep, we do. But we’ve got some others you might want to watch instead.”

“I’m not watching
Saw
.”

Grant laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re not watching that one. Don’t tell Dayne, but I’m with you when it comes to that franchise, way too much blood and guts for my liking.”

“Really? I thought all guys went for that type of thing.”

“I’m not against it in general, but those films just take it too far.”

“So what type of movie do you normally watch?”

“I don’t have one genre I prefer over another. As long as it’s entertaining I really don’t care.”

“So you’re good with watching this one?” Miki held up a DVD case.

“Miki, it’s about a guy who hooks up with his best
girl
friend for no-strings sex, what’s not to like?”

“Well, when you say it like that it’s got to be every guy’s fantasy movie.” She laughed as she took the disk out. “So where’s the player?”

Grant pushed on the wall panel next to the screen. “Here.”

“Holy shit.” Miki peered into the opening. “This is like mission control.”

“We’ve got the equipment to play any form of media in this little cupboard.”

“Is that a game console?”

“Yeah, we’ve got them all in here.”

“You play games on that screen?” Miki turned to stare at the wall on their right.

“It is a little excessive, but it’s a tax write-off, so why not?”

“A tax write-off?”

“We have to test the stock that we sell at C.S. somewhere.” He grinned. This was definitely one perk of owning a business he loved.

“So what else does C.S. stock? Other than big boys’ toys?”

“We have a range of gadgets for women and kids as well, but our big sellers are the men’s items.” He took the disk from her and popped it into the DVD player. “Okay, now we’re ready whenever dinner is.”

“Do you have a computer around here somewhere? I’d like to check my emails if I can.”

“Sure, there’s one in the office.” Grant entwined their fingers and pulled her out of the room. Passing Dayne in the kitchen, he said, “How long?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, Miki wants to check her email while we wait.” He led her across the lounge room and into the home office they’d set up.

“Wow.” She stopped just inside the door. “You guys really do have all the latest technology don’t you?”

“Perks of the job.” He walked around his desk and jiggled his mouse. “Here, you can use my PC.” Grant indicated she sit in his chair.

“Thanks. It’ll only take me a few minutes. I just have to check how today went.”

“Today?”

She was tapping away at the keyboard. “Um, yeah, I help Frankie with Playgrounds for Hope. There was a gala day on out at Penrith. Barbara was going to email me the details.” Distracted, she didn’t even look at him as she clicked through screens. “Oh boy. Frankie is gonna love those numbers.”

“What numbers?” It fascinated him, witnessing her joy as she read through her mail.

“Uh.”

He smiled. She was kinda cute preoccupied. “What numbers, Miki?”

“Oh, right.” She tapped madly at the keyboard again. “Give me a sec.” The corners of her eyes crinkled and a smile stretched her lips as she answered Barbara. Finally, with a click of the mouse she sat back and looked at him. “There. All done.”

“So I take it the day went well?”

“Oh, yeah. It went brilliantly. We got another major benefactor out of it too. Frankie will be pleased.”

“You keep saying that. What does it have to do with Frankie?”

“She’s Playgrounds for Hope. It’s a charity for underprivileged kids. We’ve been up and running for ten years now. Getting bigger and better every year too.”

“We? You’re part of it?”

“I donate time and my management skills to the organisation. Plus the occasional hands-on day. But that doesn’t happen very often because we’ve got a great group of volunteers who handle that end of it.”

She kept surprising him. Grant never would have guessed she’d be involved in something that huge. And he knew it was big because he knew what Playgrounds for Hope was, knew all about the wonderful things they did for kids below the poverty line. C.S. had even employed a couple of teenagers last year in one of the charity’s many drives to better the underprivileged’s lives. He and Dayne had already talked about hiring on more of the kids when they did the employment drive again this year and this new piece of information sealed the deal as far as he was concerned.

“Dinner,” Dayne yelled from the other end of the house. Grant rolled his eyes. It wouldn’t even occur to Dayne to walk over here and tell them.

Miki cuddled into Dayne’s side. She’d been asleep for about twenty minutes and he didn’t have the heart to wake her. They’d watched three movies, well two and a half. She hadn’t quite made the last one. Her legs were draped over Grant’s lap and his friend was idly rubbing her feet. Dayne reached for the remote and nearly toppled the bowl of leftover popcorn. Trying not to disturb Miki, he managed to save the popcorn and grab the remote. Angling the device at the far wall, he pressed a button and stopped the movie.

“We don’t want to watch the rest do we?”

Grant yawned. “No. I think it’s bedtime.”

“Yours?”

“There’s more room.”

“Carry or wake?”

“May as well go with what we’ve got.”

“Works for me.”

“Let me get up.” Grant lifted Miki’s legs and slid out from under her. “Okay, how do you want to do this?”

“I can carry her if you help me off the lounge, or you can take her and I’ll switch everything off and lock up.” Miki stirred and snuggled in closer.

“I’ll lock up. She looks too comfy to disturb.” With his hands on her waist, Grant took enough of Miki’s weight for Dayne to scoot forward and get an arm under her legs. Turning her into his chest, he pushed to his feet with Grant steadying them both. “Got her?”

“Yeah.” Dayne stepped across the room with a sleeping Miki.

“I’ll be in as soon as I’ve switched off and locked up.” Grant followed behind, flicking the switch to cut the power to the media room as he went.

He walked down the dim hallway and into Grant’s room. Moonlight flooded through the windows, illuminating the area so lights weren’t necessary. Beyond the open shutters Dayne could see the star-filled sky. One thing he loved about summer storms was the gorgeous just-washed look they gave the sky once they moved on. The bed dominated the room. Until this weekend with Miki he’d thought Grant’s huge handmade bed frame a waste of space. Now he could fully appreciate the large-size mattress.

Laying her gently on the bed, Dayne reached over to pull back one side of the covers. He was about to move her over when Grant came in.

“Should get her out of those clothes, she’ll be more comfortable without them on.” His friend stripped off his shirt as he headed for the bathroom.

“I’m getting there,” Dayne whispered so he didn’t wake her.

Slipping the sweats down her legs was easy once he pulled the drawstring loose. The shirt was another matter. He’d have to get it over her arms and head, and for the life of him he couldn’t see how it was possible without waking Miki up. Dayne was still pondering the dilemma when Grant came to bed.

“What are you waiting for?”

Dayne stared at his friend. What the hell was he waiting for? “I didn’t want to wake her.” His explanation sounded stupid to his own ears, he could only imagine what Grant thought.

“If we do it quickly she won’t wake. Or at least not enough to stay awake,” Grant said as he climbed on the opposite side of the bed.

Stripping out of his clothes, Dayne kneeled on the edge of the mattress and reached for the hem of Miki’s shirt. “You lift her up, I’ll take it off.”

Grant slid his hands under her top and picked her up. Dayne raised the shirt past her stomach and chest but it got tangled up around her shoulders as he tried to pull her arms free.

“Hey.” Her sleepy voice held confusion.

“You need to get undressed. It’s bedtime,” Dayne said.

“Did the movie finish already?”

Grant chuckled. “Yes, Miki, the movie finished.”

“Can we watch another one?”

“Miki, it’s after midnight. Time for sleep.” Dayne managed to untangle her arms and slip the shirt over her head.

“Okay.”

Miki curled on her side and laid her head on the pillow. He thought she’d gone to sleep again but then her eyelids fluttered open and she gazed at him. Dayne wasn’t sure what was going through her mind and didn’t think he’d be happy if he knew. Confusion and sadness swirled in the bottomless blue of her eyes.

“I wasn’t going to stay another night.”

His chest constricted. “No?”

She shook her head. “It’s far too easy to stay.”

“There’s nothing easy about you being here,” Dayne whispered.