Page 51 of Anger Bang
Dex huffed out a breath and picked up one of the shot glasses. “We’re doing these shots.”
How drunk was his brother to forget Kade didn’t drink? “I don’t—”
Dex shoved the shot glass practically into his mouth. “Drink it!”
That’s when Kade caught on to the fact that the brown liquid in the shot glass had tiny little bubbles popping when they hit the surface and had the distinctive fruity cola smell of Dr Pepper.
“Here, let me,” Kade said, taking the glass from his brother.
The little glass hadDex Hearts Jackieetched onto it inside a heart. Kade gave the drink another sniff. It smelled like straight-up Dr Pepper, but who in the hell knew what kind of shit the production crew was up to?
“Thass it,” Dex slurred and then picked up his own shot from the bar. “To love true ever for.”
What the—
Kade didn’t even have time to finish the thought before Dex was tossing back his shot as he stumbled a step forward. The move brought him close enough that his elbow hit the bottom of Kade’s shot glass, sending the liquid flying. At the same time, Dex let out the mother of all burps, which made his head bobble, and he ended up spilling his shot, soaking the collar of his own T-shirt—the exact same spot where Kade’s shot had landed.
Oh yeah, and that was where the mic was hooked to their shirts. The ones that had emitted a little crackle sound when they’d gotten soaked.
Some people believed in coincidences. Kade did not—especially not when it came to his brother. That little fucker. He was about as toasted as Kade was. A snort-laugh escaped before he could stop it. Dex’s hand came down hard on his shoulder, and something that read a lot like shut-the-fuck-up-asshole flashed in his supposedly inebriated brother’s eyes before they faded back into a drunken haze.
“Shit,” Dex mumbled, leaning forward enough that he pushed Kade back a few inches. “Thas sucks.”
“Okay. Okay. I get it,” he said, his voice low enough that only his brother could hear before pivoting so he was next to Dex so he could sling his hand over his shoulder. “I think you need to sit down.”
“Thass a good idea.” Dex wobble-walked alongside Kade over to the couch in the section of the barn the production crew had warned earlier had shit reception for the wireless mics. “Perfect.”
One of the cameras was focused on them, but the sound guy kept adjusting the knobs on his equipment while another crew member sent him death glares.
“That was quite a show,” Kade said.
Dex relaxed against the back of the seat, slumping a little but twisting his body so that his back was to the rest of the room. His gaze sharpened immediately. “I thought you were never going to catch on. You’re supposed to be the smart one.”
Kade shrugged. “We’re all stupid sometimes.”
“No fucking shit,” Dex grumbled, looking like a man who could really use something stronger than the Sprite in Kade’s flask. “What in the hell was I thinking?”
“With the wedding or with that bullshit you pulled with Mom at lunch today?” Was he an asshole for putting it that way? Maybe, but he didn’t give a fuck.
“You’re being the dummy with Mom,” Dex shot back. “I’m talking about the wedding.”
Yeah, he was full of shit on that one, but Kade had had enough battling today so he skipped past it. “A PR wedding doesn’t seem like such a great idea all of a sudden, huh?”
Dex sank lower in his seat. “Not when you’re in love.”
Kade started. “Fuck. Who?”
It sure as hell wasn’t Jackie. There was no way his brother—even as soft as he was—would fall for someone like her.
His brother shrugged, a pinched and pained expression on his face. “It doesn’t matter.”
How many times had he talked to Dex about how ridiculous this wedding was? About a million before they’d even gotten to Wyoming. At absolutely no point in any of those conversations had his brother even hinted at being in love.
“You can’t go through with this,” Kade said, glancing over at the camera crew to make sure they were still all-seeing but not listening.
“I can’tnot,” Dex said, following Kade’s cue and taking an intoxicated-looking slow head roll that didn’t give away the game.
The sound guy was exchanging oh-yeah-fuck-you-too words with the camera operators.
