Page 137 of Hard to Get

“I thought you wanted to feel more manly.”

I blink and press my fingers to my lips.

“He’s joking,” Jayden says. “He’s an asshole.”

Laurent grins.

“Testosterone is produced in the testicles,” I comment, not looking at anyone.

Jayden chokes on a laugh and leans his shoulder into mine. “Just stop right there.”

“This sounds interesting,” Cam says.

I smile and shrug.

“Actually, I think it’s Cammy who needs more testosterone. It would improve his surly mood.”

“Fuck off,” Cam says mildly, lifting his beer to his lips.

“There is this condition called Irritable Male Syndrome,” Jayden offers. “That might be it.”

“If I’m irritable it’s because of you clowns.”

“You love us,” Jayden says. “You just pretend you hate us.”

“Or it could be because you’re playing for a crappy team,” Laurent says, grimacing.

“No shit. I went from a Stanley Cup winning team to this.” Cam shakes his head. He seems genuinely bitter about that… or is he joking? I don’t know him well enough to know.

“What should we do after this?” Jayden asks. “Mini golf?”

“You hate mini golf,” Cam says.

“Yeah, I do, but Stella loves it.”

“What?” I turn to him. “I do not love mini golf.”

“Do you hate it?”

“No, I don’t hate it. But I saw they have axe throwing and I thought that would be fun.”

Jayden’s eyes widen in alarm.

“I’m kidding. Whatever. Everything here is fun.”

I catch Laurent watching us with a smile that looks pleased.

“Okay, it’s me, I hate mini golf,” Cam says. “Hard to resist winding up and smoking the ball.”

“You can’t do that here,” Jayden says. “If we get a nice day, we’ll go golfing on a real course. You need to take out your bad mood on something.”

“He needs to get laid,” Laurent says. He glances at me apologetically. “Sorry, Stella.”

“I’m not in a bad mood, everyone is just fucking annoying,” Cam says.

A laugh escapes my lips. “I know the feeling.”

“At least you’re not addicted to cocaine,” Laurent tells Cam.