Page 27 of Revelry

He places a fresh cup under a Nespresso machine and hits a button. It flares to life with a loud grinding noise and then the scent of coffee wafts over to me. Cooper chooses that time to come out of the bathroom. Levi punches him in the shoulder as he passes and mutters, “Way to make me lose a hundred bucks, you douche.”

“You’re welcome.” Coop grins.

“You’re such a fucking pussy. If a woman’s naked in front of you, you bang her. It’s simple, Coop.”

“No, you bang her.” He smirks and rounds the counter in the kitchen, leaning up against the bench. “I wait until she’s completely conscious so she remembers every little detail.”

Cooper grabs the cup of coffee from under the machine, stirs in two sugars and sips it, leaning back on the counter.

“That was my coffee, you butt munch.”

He just smiles over the rim ofmycup.

“Oh yeah,” Leif says. “I give them about a week.”

“I give them five more minutes,” Levi says, coming back into the room and leaning up against the breakfast bar beside me.

“Are you fuck heads betting on whether or not I’m going to get laid again?” Cooper asks.

“Au contraire, my friend, we’re betting onwhenyou and the lovely Miss Ali here are going to get your shit together and fuck one another’s brains out.”

Levi studies me a moment and says, “Nope, I’m switching teams, and adding another player into the mix.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.

They all ignore me in favour of asking, “Who?”

“Me. Red’s hot for my cock.”

“In your dreams, arsehole,” Cooper says, and his tone is pure undiluted venom.

Zed moves to the freezer and opens it, pulling out a wad of cash. He places two fifty-dollar notes down on the counter and says, “Tour bus. Coop. Five weeks from now.”

“No way. Me. Backstage. After the opening leg of the US,” Levi says and he places three notes down, so that Zed has to return to the freezer for another.

“She’s gonna be opening her legs for someone, but it won’t be you, Quinn. Hotel room. Cooper. Two weeks from now,” Ash says, and he adds his money into the pool.

“Alleyway, after a show. Coop and Quinn.” Leif puts in. He only sets down two fifties though, and the other boys glare at him. “I’ll put in drugs, whatever the winner wants.”

“Done,” Zed says.

“Zed, write that shit down.”

“Oh my god, are you guys serious?” I say, looking to each of them in the hope that they’ll tell me this is a big joke. “I’m not sleeping with any of you.”

Levi smirks. “We’ll see, Red.”

Zed picks up his phone and dials a number. Before long, he says, “Deb, another bet.”

“My sister is in on this too? Jesus Christ.” Coop shakes his head and stares at me across the breakfast bar.

Zed must flick her over to speaker because suddenly her sharp, sullen tone fills the tiny kitchen. “Cooper, you’re a fucking pansy. I had good money riding on that bet.”

“Sorry to disappoint, Sis.”

“You want in, Deb?” Levi shouts into the phone.

“Hell yes I want in,” she says, “It’s gonna be fun to watch you fuckers fall flat on your face.”