Page 41 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Emir.

A few weeks later, we had a house full which wasn’t my fucking vibe. When Baylyn suggested game night at my house for the first time, I was not interested, but she had a way of getting what she wanted from me. This was currently our third game night. The first two were at Kades house so I gave in.

Tonight was poker so I had a table set up between the separation of the kitchen and living room. The black felt surface was covered in neatly stacked chips and a deck of cards Kades shuffled like he was about to deal a high-stakes tournament.

The smell of pizza, wings, and sliders had my stomach growling loud as hell. Rachelle had already helped herself, snatching one of the sliders from the tray like she owned the place before dropping into a chair at the table. She was Baylyn’s homegirl which meant she was now family.

“Alright,” Yair called out, tossing a bag of chips next to him on the table before flopping into his seat. “Let’s do this shit. I need to make up for last time because y’all cheat like muthafuckers.”

Kades shook his head. “You lost because you can’t fucking play, Ya.”

“Nah, I lost because y’all were against me.”

Rachelle laughed, stretching her legs across the chair next to her. “Sounds like loser talk to me.”

I grinned, leaning back in my seat. “Pretty sure it is loser talk. You really can’t fucking play, Yair.”

Baylyn was next to me, shifting through her stack of chips while scanning the table like she was securing her win. “Yair swears he’s the victim every time we play.”

“Because I am,” he shot back.

Kades ignored him, shuffling the deck. “Everybody good with the buy-in?”

I nodded, sliding my stack of chips forward. “Run that shit.”

The first few hands were light work, with nobody getting too reckless, just feeling out the table. The usual shit talking started early, mostly Yair trying to throw people off their game while Kades was quiet. His expression never gave away much which pissed us all off.

Baylyn played smart. She didn’t bet high unless she had to, which was why she was creeping ahead. Rachelle, on the other hand, was aggressive as hell, betting like she needed to be in Gamblers Anonymous.

I was neutral, watching their reactions and using it to my advantage.

Baylyn’s eyes narrowed across the table when she had a good hand and she tilted her head to the left whenever she was debating whether to call or raise because she was unsure what everyone was holding. It was my turn so she looked up at me.

“You gonna fold again?” She arched her brow.

I dropped my eyes to hers and grinned. “You want me to stay in?”

She shrugged and flipped a chip between her fingers. “I mean, it’s not fun if you’re just watching me take all your money.”

Rachelle groaned. “Oh my God, can y’all be respectful of the single people and not flirt at the table?”

Baylyn rolled her eyes but didn’t look away from me.

I lifted my glass and tossed back the rest of my drink. “Don’t worry, beautiful. I’ll take my time making sure I win later.”

She smiled big as hell and leaned into my side.

Yair sat forward, rubbing his hands together. “Alright, let’s make this shit interesting.”

Kades sighed. “Here we fucking go.”

“We raise the stakes,” Yair continued, ignoring him. “Money’s cool and all, but let’s throw in some real bets.”

Rachelle’s eyes narrowed on him. “Like what?”

“Dares. You lose a hand, the winner gets to tell you what to do.”

Kades groaned. “This is how we always end up in bad situations.”

I smirked, setting my glass down. “I’m with it.”

Baylyn glanced at Rachelle. “You in?”

Rachelle sat up straighter. “Absolutely.”

Kades shook his head, clearly regretting being related to us. “I’m game.”

The next hand, Rachelle lost and groaned dramatically before she slumped back in her chair. “Alright, what’s my fate?”

Yair was on it quickly. “Drunk text your boss.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Type some unhinged shit and send it.”

Rachelle stared at him for a second, then grabbed her phone. She typed fast, throwing it onto the table. “If I get fired, I’m sending you my bills.”

“What did you send?” I asked, needing to know. She lifted her phone and held it up. I read the text and laughed.

“What did it say?” Kades looked at me.

Rachelle read it out loud. “If you make my check late again, I’ll shit on your desk and quit before you can fire me.”

Everyone looked at each other and fell out laughing.

Baylyn shook her head, amused. “Oh you’re definitely getting fired.”

The game continued and the bets got riskier and the shit talking got worse. The energy stayed light though. The drinks kept flowing, and by the time the clock hit midnight, we were all surrounded by empty plates and bottles.

Baylyn was too damn happy as she dragged another stack of chips toward her. “This has been a very lucrative night.”

“Don’t get cocky, beautiful.”

She lifted a brow. “I earned this.”

“Remember that shit when they’re gone.”

“Kades, deal the cards. I’m not trying to hear these two making fuck me plans for later,” Rachelle groaned.

By the time the games wrapped up, we somehow all ended up chilling in the living room, half-drunk, full of food, and still talking shit. The coffee table was cluttered with empty beer bottles and the last of our wings and pizza.

Baylyn was curled up next to me with her legs stretched over Rachelle’s lap, lazily swirling what was left of her beer.

Kades sat in the armchair with his fingers pressed to his temple like he was debating on calling it a night, while Yair slouched on the other end of the couch, staring up at the ceiling like he was contemplating his entire life.

It had been a good night. Somewhere between a discussion about whether Rachelle’s boss was going to fire her for that drunk text and arguing over the best wing flavors, the conversation topic moved to relationships.

“I just don’t get it,” Rachelle said, shaking her head. “Why do men act like catching feelings is some kind of disease?”

Kades smirked, lifting his glass. “Because it is.”

Rachelle groaned. “Here we go.”

“I’m just saying.” Kades slouched deeper in the chair.

“Look at Emir. My brother used to live a very peaceful, non-attached life, and now he’s out here hosting game night, buying roses, sending daily meals and good morning texts to the woman who sleeps in the same damn bed.

She’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t have to do all that. ”

Baylyn arched a brow, smirking. “And?”

Kades chuckled, like he was disappointed in me. “I’m just saying, it’s not for me. Y’all can have that whipped shit. I’ll stick to what I know.”

“And what’s that?” Baylyn asked.

Kades shrugged. “Sex. No complications. No attachments. But it has to be good sex.”

Yair snorted. “So basically fuck and flee.”

Kades nodded, completely unbothered. “Pretty much.”

Rachelle rolled her eyes. “See, this is why men are exhausting. Y’all just go around ruining women then have the nerve to act surprised when they start acting crazy, blowing up your spot.”

Kades’s lazy grin surfaced. “Nobody is forcing them to catch feelings.”

“Oh, please.” Rachelle waved him off. “Men know exactly what they’re doing. Good dick equals feelings. You say and do all the right things, just long enough to make them think you care, and the minute women start planning for the future, you hit them with the I never said I wanted all that.”

“That sounds personal as hell, Rach. Is this about Kades or you ?” Baylyn teased.

“Mind your business.” She playfully glared at her girl.

“You think I have good dick?” Kades arched a brow at Rachelle.

“Muthafucker I don’t know and I will never know because we’re not going there.” She pointed a finger at him and he laughed.

Kades turned back to Rachelle. “Okay… back to the point then. You’re speaking from experience?”

She sucked her teeth, reaching for her drink. “Don’t worry about me.”

Yair laughed. “You should be studied.”

Kades just grinned, tipping his drink toward Yair before downing the rest.

Baylyn shifted, peeking around me to look at Yair. “What about you? What’s your type?”

The playful energy shifted enough to make me glance at my brother.

“Honestly? I just want someone who gets me.”

His voice was lighter than usual but there was weight behind his words and something unspoken lingering. For a minute, none of us said anything.

Rachelle sensed the shift and refused to let the moment get too deep. She clapped her hands. “Well…lucky for y’all, I have range.”

Kades frowned. “What?”

Rachelle turned to him and grinned. “I can have sex with you and understand Yair. Two for one special.”

Baylyn choked on her drink. Yair swung his head toward her and the room was dead silent for two full seconds before the alcohol caught up to all of us and we lost it.

Yair was caught off guard and just stared at Rachelle. “Did you just?—”

“Yep.” She winked at him and he laughed, shaking his head.

Kades groaned. “This is the worst conversation I’ve ever been a part of.”

“She’s serious as hell too. So I agree,” Yair mumbled.

Rachelle shrugged. “I’m just saying. Win-win situation.”

Baylyn wiped the tears from her eyes from laughing. “You need help, friend.”

Rachelle lifted her glass. “Thank you. I try.”

The laughter died down and we started talking about the dumb things we did as kids and other random shit like whether pineapple belonged on pizza…it didn’t.

It was one of those rare nights where everything just clicked. No stress or outside bullshit. Just the right people and a little too much liquor, but a perfect vibe. This was our family and I fucked with it.