Chapters (54)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- Friday
- (Gabe Parker: Shaken, Not Stirred—Part One)
- Then
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Now
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Saturday
- (Gabe Parker: Shaken, Not Stirred—Part Two)
- Then
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Now
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Sunday
- (Gabe Parker: Shaken, Not Stirred—Part Three)
- Then
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Now
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Monday
- (Gabe Parker: Shaken, Not Stirred—Part Four)
- Then
- Chapter 28
- Now
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
“I don’t know what that means,” I said. “But I do think my tits are tired.”
He patted my hand.
“Here,” he said. “I’ll do your list and mine.”
“Thank you.” I handed over my paper, though I still had no idea what was happening.
“Is everyone ready to play?” Gabe asked. “Ollie, you ready to embarrass yourself?”
Ollie gave him the V sign.
“Ollie’s ready,” Gabe said. “Chani?”
I looked up at him, though I wasn’t sure how I managed it since my head felt so dense.
“I’m sleepy,” I said.
“She’s drunk,” Ollie clarified.
I shook my head. “Not drunk,” I said. “I had too many jelly beans, though.”
“Come on.” Gabe hoisted me up out of my seat, gripping my arm.
His hand was warm, his palm rough against the soft skin on the inside of my elbow.
“Team Two with me,” Gabe said.
I followed him, though I didn’t have much choice. He was still holding my arm.
“Cool party,” I said.
It came out sarcastic.
“Not a fan of games?” Gabe asked.
I shook my head but lost control of the gesture halfway through and couldn’t stop. I just had to let myself run out of momentum until my head was tilted to one side, looking up at Gabe. He was so tall.
“You are drunk,” he said.
“I’m not good at games,” I said.
“No?”
“No.”
It came out the same way a child might respond if someone offered them vegetables, a long, drawn out whine.
Gabe didn’t say anything but I could see him reassessing his opinion of me. I didn’t like it.
“I’ll try,” I said.
He smiled.
“Good.” He clapped me on the shoulder like we were football players and turned to the rest of the team. “Who wants to go first?”
It was then that I realized we had moved from the living room to his bedroom. Us and about a dozen other people.
Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing. A slim licorice-haired girl in a sweater dress and a big colorful necklace waved her hand.
“I’ll go first,” she said, and then began doing long, exaggerated lunges.
I stared, horrified.
“Is that part of the game?” I asked.
Gabe laughed. “No,” he said. “Adrienne is just warming up.”
I didn’t understand until Ollie’s voice from the other room called out:
“Are both teams ready?”
“Ready!” echoed all around me.
“Okay, go!”
Adrienne raced out of the room. Within a few seconds, she was back.
“Okay.” She was out of breath, but still managed to sing, “ ‘Thank you for being a friend…’ ”
“Golden Girls,” a girl to my left shouted. She was wearing a pair of red clogs.
Adrienne pointed at her triumphantly and Red Clogs bolted out of the room.
Then she was back.
“Fred Astaire. Backward. Heels,” she said.
“Ginger Rogers,” someone shouted.