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maggie

W alking into the restaurant, Vladi and I are the last to arrive.

Ever the gentleman, he holds the door open for me, and we stroll in with our heads held high and an air of confidence.

Warmth sparks across my skin from the brief touch of his hand on my back to lead me across the threshold.

I bite the inside of my cheek, wishing I had a direct link into his thoughts.

I s he worried about us walking in together?

Is he going to ignore me the rest of the trip?

But I don’t have time to spiral, so I shove my feelings down, as usual, and focus on the task at hand.

Not letting our friends see a damn thing.

We decided we will not speak a word about what happened last night to anyone.

Unlike my best friend, I am a vault with information.

We won’t lie, but that doesn’t mean we need to tell them exactly what went down.

Of course, our nosy as hell friends are already trying to make this a thing, having left only two open seats right next to each other in the center of the long table.

I sit down next to Olivia, with Hayes seated on her other side.

Vladi sits between me and Zack. And, to no one’s surprise, all eyes are on us .

“So, how did everyone sleep last night?” Bougie asks, sitting directly across from us. Of course, he would be the one to break the silence first. He wasn’t even at the bar during my outburst last night, but I know word travels fast through the Riders gossip circuit.

Vladi glares like he’s literally going to strangle him, but I nudge his knee with mine to remind him we are not going to give this group any ammo or even hint at what happened.

Although, to be fair, Vladi being annoyed at Bougie isn’t really out of the ordinary.

Still, I repeat our conversation in my head, hoping somehow Vladi can hear me reminding him as well.

Poker faces. Don’t give too many details.

Hide your tells…no biting my cheek, no cracking your knuckles. No one needs to know our business.

“I slept great. How about you, Vladi? You sleep well?” I rush to respond.

He doesn’t take his lethal stare off Bougie. “Slept like a baby,” he says, taking a drink from the water glass in front of him. So far, so good.

The rest of the table shifts their gaze to Jordan Boucher, who is currently scanning us up and down, looking for any sign of weakness.

He won’t find it. Not in me and definitely not in the stone-faced Russian next to me, who is famously known for keeping his words as brief as possible.

Still, I don’t love the direction this breakfast is going.

I feel like we are in the midst of a lie detector test. Like Vladi actually murdered Captain Carlos yesterday and we’re about to go on trial.

Although to this group, it might be better to actually admit to murder than the sins we committed last night.

The sins we committed multiple times last night.

Bougie puts his hand on his chin, stroking his invisible beard while pondering his next question, trying to ask the exact thing that will make us break .

“You two sleep in the same bed?”

“Yes,” Vladi replies with a flat tone and his usual stoic face.

“A wall of pillows in the bed?”

I decide to take this one. “Of course there are pillows on the bed.”

He sits back in his chair, crossing his arms as the little hamster spins around on a wheel in his head.

He hums, arching a brow high as he continues to study us. “What did you two do in your room this morning?”

Vladi keeps his straight face. “We woke up after a late night celebrating the bride and groom, received your text messages, and got ready for breakfast.”

“Did you shower?”

I wet my lips with my tongue. The fuck is this kid doing? I’ll give him credit, he’s good. But we won’t crack. And yet…where is he going with this line of questioning? “Of course we showered, Bougie. We’re not heathens.”

“Who showered first?”

Dammit. We had this all planned out. Came up with answers for everything we thought they’d ask. All the mundane bullshit we knew they’d be curious about. Only, there was one tiny detail we forgot to discuss.

“I did,” we say in unison.

Shit. I look to Vladi, finding him staring back at me, both of us trying to calm one another despite our panic.

“He did?—”

“She did?—”

We each correct ourselves, our voices overlapping each other again.

Dammit times two.

A wicked grin pulls Bougie’s face like he’s the Grinch and he just figured out how to ruin Christmas for everyone. Or rather, giving everyone at the table the greatest gift of all: figuring out what happened last night. “Wait. I’m confused. Who showered first?”

This time, Vladi and I both sit silent. Both of us scared to say the wrong thing. Shit.

Bougie stands, placing his hands on the table and leaning toward us. I’m waiting for him to flip the overhead light to shine it in our eyes. I cross my arms in defiance, noticing Vladi out of the corner of my eye has done the same.

“Vladi, you said you were in the shower first,” he says to the stony man beside me. “But Maggie, you also showered first?” Dammit, he’s figured out I’m the weaker of the two of us. Fuck.

“Let me ask you a question, Maggie,” he says as he starts to walk around the table. “How many times this week have you been the first one to shower?”

I roll my eyes, finally starting to see why Vladi finds him so annoying. “Every day. Vladi is a gentleman and always insists I shower first.”

“Interesting. Did you wash your hair?”

“Yes, I washed my hair.”

He walks behind me. “Funny thing is, Miss James,” he quickly bends down, popping his head between Vladi and me, “your hair still seems to be a bit…damp.”

“I’m on vacation, Bougie, did you consider that I’m letting my hair air dry this week?”

He straightens, continuing to walk around the table back toward his seat. The rest of the group leans forward staring at him like they are watching an episode of a courtroom drama.

“You know, Maggie, I thought about that. Yet, I find it funny how every other day this week your hair was styled to perfection.” He leans across the back of his seat, resting his face on his hands as he addresses the group, presenting his case like they’re a goddamn jury.

“As someone with older sisters, I have extensive knowledge about the nuances of female haircare routines.” He darts his gaze back to me.

“So, tell me Maggie, why is it that your hair is still damp when it hasn’t been any other day this week? ”

My pulse races, and I need to dig my nails into my leg to prevent myself from biting the inside of my cheek.

I stare at the glass of water in front of me, watching the surface bounce every time he takes another step around the table.

I give Vladi a quick side eye to see what he’s doing, which is the same thing: staring at our water glasses like our lives depend on it.

“Wouldn’t someone who has taken, let’s say, four showers first this week, have plenty of time to dry their hair while Vladi was in the shower?”

“One would assume.”

“But you didn’t shower first, did you? And you didn’t shower second either, did you?

” His voice is getting louder, and I notice a couple of other diners staring our way.

I shift in my seat, warring with my nerves to keep calm.

I’m not letting this kid rattle me. “No, Maggie. You see, you and Vladi showered at the same time , otherwise your hair would be styled and curled and completely dry without having deactivated the ammonium thioglycolate to make your story plausible! You showered together this morning, and you slept together last night. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?!”

“We showered together!” Vladi shouts from next to me.

I jerk my head, my eyes wide in disbelief, as quiet gasps echo around the table.

He. Cracked. My heart flutters, partly due to his admission but from the slight panic of what happens now.

Then, to my complete surprise, they all start whooping and hollering, and Bougie takes a fucking bow.

Okay, now I really get why Vladi thinks he’s so annoying.

Though, I do appreciate the nod to Legally Blonde.

Olivia leans her head on my shoulder, making my jaw drop.

They were all in on this . I should have known the last minute breakfast was a trap .

Dammit. Sucking in a sharp breath, I glance around and give in, resting my cheek against Olivia.

I want to punch and hug all of my very nosy and inconveniently caring friends.

“Well done, Bougie,” EJ says as he continues his golf clap.

Kara pipes in as well, “Very impressive! But isn’t Legally Blonde a little before your time?”

“Like I said…older sisters. Do you know how many times they made me watch that movie? I am Elle Woods. I look amazing in pink. Plus, similar to Elle and Bruiser, I am also a Gemini Vegetarian.”

“You just ordered steak and eggs,” EJ calls him out.

“Okay, a Gemini then.”

“Isn’t your birthday March 1st? That’s Pisces,” Colton Taylor informs him with his ridiculous knowledge of the most random topics.

“Yes, but… ugh! Just let me have my Elle Woods moment! I got them to confess, didn’t I?”

Zack pats Vladi on the back. “I can’t believe you were the first one to break. We all thought it would be Maggie.”

You and me both, Zack.

“Vladi doesn’t break,” Hayes says very matter-of-factly. “He’s a stone wall, on and off the ice.”