Page 68 of Into the Fire: After

For weeks now, Caine and Taryn had been the only ones consistently in the apartment every evening. Lin spent many of his catching up on business matters, Brooks volunteered for every overtime shift and swap he could to make up for his time away, and I left with the closing crew of the Farendale Library more nights than not.

When was the last time the five of us had actually fallen asleep together, in one room? Was it Taryn’s heat?

No wonder we were all on edge.

Lin’s hand lay limp in mine for a full minute, and the room stayed silent. Finally, though, he threaded his fingers with mine and leaned in toward me. “What did you have in mind?”

“Ha.”Brooks.

“Ha, ha.” Lin.

Pause.Caine.

“Keep it moving, Esquire,” Taryn called from her place in the laugh circle.

It was an icebreaker I’d learned at a student retreat my first semester at Rem U. Everyone laid on their backs, each person resting their head on someone’s stomach so that we made a weird, thorny circle. Then, one by one, we’dHa.The first person said it once, the second person twice, and so one, until eventually someone—so far, largely Taryn—broke into genuine giggles.

In the camp version, we’d simply called that the end of the round and started again.

The Arcenox version, though, meant the laugher had to discard an item of clothing.

So far, Lin was down a shirt, Brooks shirt and pants, I’d lost both socks, and Taryn had only her panties left.

Caine, though, was fully clothed.

I practically heard his eye roll, even though all I saw was the industrial-style ceiling we all stared up at.

With a mild chest rumble I felt in his stomach, Caine finally obeyed. “Ha, ha, ha.” His stomach bounced my head with each word, and I bit my lips to hold in my giggles. Taryn’s directive had been clear.

Caine.

Must.

Laugh.

Yet he remained infuriatingly close-lipped.

My turn. “Ha, ha, ha, ha.” Taryn’s head bounced in the lower field of my vision.

Don’t break, kid.

Taryn. “Ha, ha, ha—” And then the giggles erupted, my omega rolling onto her side, face pink.

“Noooo,” she whined, even through the laughter. “Dammit, you can’t put me at the end of the loop then tell me Ican’tactually laugh!”

“I propose,” Brooks piped up from his spot, far left of my periphery, “that the least-clothed person, if they lose the round, gets to pass their loss to any other member of the circle.”

“Can I get a second to that motion?” I said, voice all business.

“Second!” Lin nearly shouted, refreshing Taryn’s giggles.

“Motion seconded! The decree passes! Who’s stripping, Teacup?”

We all knew the answer. The target sighed in resignation my head.

“Caine!”

Everyone sat up, all eyes toward Caine. Who still lay supine, arm thrown over his face in apparent disgust.