Page 50 of Badd Love
"Nope." He grinned. "Mainly because I don't play Fortnite anymore. I got bored of owning everyone."
"Oh, come off it. I beat you every time."
"Try me in Apex."
"No one plays Apex anymore."
"There are more diehards left than you'd think."
"Wait, wait, wait. Remember our Goldeneye tournaments over Christmas break?" I grinned at him. “Let's get the gang together and see if it holds up. I have my N64 in the basement, still."
"You meanmyN64?" he corrected.
"No, mine."
"I got it for Christmas."
"Yeah…from Merrick, who stole it from my house while I was at hockey camp and gave it to you."
He blinked at me. "Wait,what? You're fucking with me."
"Nope. He confessed at a barbecue last summer. You were too busy flirting with Isaac's girlfriend to hear him."
"She's out of Isaac's league."
"Uh, yeah. She's in New York modeling for, like, Givenchy and shit. How he snagged her in the first place is the real mystery."
"Heisfunny," Jax said. "Like, really funny. I think it's a Pete Davidson sort of thing."
"What, like B-D-E?"
Jax waved both hands. "Why are we talking about this? Are we calling everyone for a Goldeneye tourney or what?"
"Wait, likeeveryone?” I said. "Noteveryoneeveryone."
"No, not literally all thirty-six of us or whatever it is," he said. "Marco, Isaac, Kieran, Merrick, Lucas, and Lennox. And Donovan. That's the crew who used to do the Goldeneye marathons."
"You think the dads would want in?" I suggested. "Bax, Brock, Canaan, and Corin all used to get in on it."
"It's from their generation, so we should probably invite them, yeah." He pointed at me. "You text the cousins, I'll text the dads. And bro? Keep it short and spell check your shit. You're high as a motherfucker and you know the cousins will say shit, and I don't have enough to smoke down all of us. I'm broke till payday—that joint was the last of my flower."
I clapped him on the shoulder. "I appreciate you, Jax. Thanks for this. I needed it."
He pinched my cheek. "I know you did. Now—whose house? You have the best basement."
"Let me make sure my folks are cool with us all dropping in."
"Yeah, good plan. I don't wanna walk in on Uncle Bast and Auntie Dru gettin' freaky…uhhhh-gain."
I lowered my phone and stared at him. "Again?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I thought I'd swing by and say hey to you one afternoon—this was, like, two years ago. I thought you'd be home 'cause you usually were at that time on that day. They always said the door is open, we're all family, just come on in. So I did."
"Oh god."
"Yup."
"Don't tell me anymore. Please. I'm begging you."
