Page 63 of Touchdown, Tennessee

Back to reality, Peachel.

“You get the ping pong ball in my cup, I drink. I get it in yours, you drink,” Luke explained to Gray. “By the way, I should mention that I’m an undisputed king in beer pong.”

“How many of these cups are filled with beer and how many are filled with something stronger?” Gray asked.

“It’s like a little game of roulette. We’re going to find out how many have a shot of whiskey.”

“I see,” Gray said.

I poured myself a whiskey ginger of my own and watched their game from the edge of the table. Gray’s hand-eye coordination was pretty damn good, but Luke’s was better. Before long he had Gray taking back shot after shot.

“I think about 90% of these are actually liquor,” Gray said.

Luke grinned. “Mine too.”

“Last round,” Gray said.

Finally Gray managed to win out in the last round, making Luke take 3 gulps of beer and whiskey in the process. Two other guys reset the table to play afterward, and Luke got pulled over into a conversation about the Miami Dolphins.

“Is this a bad time to admit I’m tipsy?” Gray asked me.

I looked at him and could already see it in his eyes.

“You really aretoasty, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I’ve probably taken the equivalent of five whiskey shots in under an hour, so yes,” he said.

“Come. I’ll grab you a water in the kitchen.”

He followed me over to the big kitchen where plenty of other people were starting to congregate for the party. I watched Gray chug a big water, but then Nikki, a girl from the sorority across the street, offered him a shot and he didn’t say no.

“You trying to prove something?” I asked him afterward.

“I just enjoy whiskey. Got an issue with that, Peach?” he asked.

“Sounds like you’re getting your balls busted, Peachel.”

I prickled at the sound of the familiar voice.

No.

Fuck no.

Abort mission.

Get the absolute fuck out of this kitchen.

I turned to see Danny entering the kitchen, nodding at me and Gray.

“Hi. Danny Ennick,” Danny said, holding out his hand to shake Gray’s.

“Any relation…?”

“Yes,” Danny said. “I’m the Coach’s son. Andrew’s my buddy, too. Been too long since I’ve seen your ugly mug.”

Leave it to Danny to purposely try to make me squirm.

My relationship with Danny had always been a secret, of course. People knew he was gay, but not a single soul had known that we hooked up or dated at all.