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“Um, no,” Maisie cuts in. “Turn back around.” She does a swirling motion with her finger.

“You’re such a buzzkill,” Jackson tells her, humor lighting up his handsome features.

In another life, and by other life, I mean a year ago, Jackson is totally someone I would’ve hooked up with. He’s tall. Handsome. Funny. And those eyes... That was before, though. Before River... Before I went and fell in love with a man who doesn’t love me back. Suddenly, the urge to hook up with random men is gone, replaced by an achingly painful longing for only one man.

“And you’re a whore.” She sticks her tongue out at him.

“The mouth on my baby sister.” He nudges Kai as he spins back around. “When did she get so vulgar?”

“Pretty sure she’s always been that way, brother.” Kai laughs, the sound deep and rich. “You just refused to see it.”

“We should call him.” Maisie drags my attention back to her.

“Who?”

“River.”

“Yesssss!” Lyric agrees much too excitedly.

“Why would we do that?” I look between the two of them.

“Tell him how you feel. Put the ball in his court. You’re Charlotte O’-fucking-Malley,” Maisie says like that actually means something.

“I’m not calling him.” I shake my head, way too drunk to even consider what she’s suggesting.

“Yes, you can.” Lyric stumbles as she fights to retrieve her phone out of her back pocket. “If you don’t, I will.” She waves the phone in front of my face.

“I would expect you, of all people, to be against this horrible idea,” I tell her flatly.

“Well, too bad, I’m drunk and my brother is stupid, so we’re doing it.”

Before I can stop her, she presses a button on her phone and then holds the device to her ear.

“Lyric.” I move to take her phone, but she releases my arm, stumbling out of my grasp.

“Come here.” Kai turns, and without warning, plops her over his shoulder so that she’s hanging down his back.

“I can walk.” She giggles.

“Not very well.” He huffs.

It takes me longer than it should to realize her phone is still pressed to her ear.

“River, this is your sister,” she slurs. “Charlotte is the most incredible, funny, smart, beautiful person on this planet, and if you let her go, you’re a fucking idiot.”

My eyes widen at her language. Lyric rarely ever cusses, so when she does, you take notice.

“Ly...” I hiss under my breath.

“Now call me back or I’m going to drive all the way to North Carolina and whoop your ass. Or better yet, call Char. If you don’t, someone else is going to swoop in and steal her away and I don’t feel like dealing with you being a whiney, mopey baby when that happens. So man the freak up. That is all.” With a smile that says she’s extremely pleased with herself, she ends the call. And then, without warning, pukes, narrowly missing Kai as the liquid hits the ground behind him.

“Um...” Jackson steps away.

“Whoops.” Lyric buckles in laughter.

Maisie and I step around the vomit, sharing a brief look of amusement.

“And this is why she doesn’t drink,” Maisie tells me.