"Let's do shots tonight."

Cannon's random request causes Jace and I to exchange a concerned glance across the kitchen island.

"Why?" Jace asks, drawing out the word.

"Just because. Haven't y'all ever done shots just because?"

"I mean, yeah, in college, but not in years."

"Desi?"

"Not really," I admit, "But it sounds fun."

Cannon and I lock eyes and then drag our gazes to Jace, who just sighs.

"There's some liquor in the door in the fridge."

Cannon gets to work setting up three shot glasses and filling them with amber liquid. He sets a glass in front of each of us and then raises his. "To a random Tuesday night!"

Jace and I each pick up a glass and raise it and we clink them together, and with a cheers, toss them back.

"Fuck!" I say, hissing as the strong, spicy liquid burns all the way down my esophagus. "What the hell is this?"

Cannon raises an eyebrow and turns the bottle around so I can see the name, and the laugh that escapes me is nearly hysterical.

The cinnamon whisky has none other than a dancing, red devil at the top of the label. What are the odds?

"What's so funny?" Jace asks, his eyes narrowed at the logo. "It's just whisky."

"Oh, I don't know, I—"

"Want another?" Cannon interrupts, and I'm thankful for it.

I exhale and still feel the burn in my throat, but I say, "Yeah, why not?"

Five shots later, the three of us are on the couch with me sandwiched in the middle. A movie that Jace deems as the sexiest science fiction film of all time plays on the screen. I should be paying attention to the blonde who crash landed on an alien planet to save a scientist, but I can't think much past Jace's arm on the back of the couch, his fingertips grazing my shoulder, which is bizarre as fuck, and the back of Cannon's fingers brushing my thigh. The two have me feeling all sorts of ways that make it impossible to sit still.

"You okay, Desi?" Jace asks, looking down at me with an amused expression on his face.

I clear my throat and push my hair out of my eyes. "I—yeah, I'm good," I stammer, shifting my position and pulling both legs underneath my ass. But that doesn't help matters at all because now each of my thighs are resting on theirs and we're touching more than before.

Jace glances over at Cannon and smiles when he notices his hand fully on my bare thigh. Leaning in, he whispers, "Is it the shots getting to you or him or..." He flips my ponytail and I turn my head toward him in surprise.

I lean into him and murmur, my lips close to his ear, "It's a mixture of all three. Assuming the last thing you didn't say out loud is you."

Jace checks to make sure Cannon is still enthralled with the movie and quietly says, "Touch him back. He is clearly still into you, even after whatever happened on your date last week."

I narrow my eyes at him. "How did you know about that?"

He winks at me, and I'm shocked at how relaxed and unfiltered he is acting. "You know how the saying goes: bros before—"

I place my fingers over his mouth, stopping his slurred quote. "I know how the saying goes. I'm the only girl with six brothers. I got it."

Looking back at the TV for a moment, I gather my courage before slipping my hand down my thigh and on top of Cannon's, intertwining our fingers. Cannon grips them and smiles down at me, moving in so there isn't much space between us.

Jace tugs my ponytail and cocks a brow at me. My heart speeds up when he moves his gaze from our interlocked fingers to the apex of my legs. I give a slight shake of my head and mouth no.

Chicken, he wordlessly responds and sits back.

I think our little game of dare is over when Jace's pinkie brushes against my outer thigh. That one innocent touch does more for me than the warm hand entwined with mine. Which is ridiculous. Jace has drawn clear boundaries for us. Lines he will not cross, and lines I don't want to cross for a half-ass fling that throws our house into utter chaos. But this drunken man has clearly lost his mind and is working to destroy me.

Slowly, I turn my head in his direction and mouth, What?

Jace stretches his arms above his head, yawning in the most annoying way. "I appreciate the drinks, you two, but they're starting to take over and I can hardly keep my eyes open." He drops his hand on my knee and gives it a squeeze. "Have fun finishing the movie."

Jace stands and pulls down his shirt. But before he gets it over his crotch, I notice the bulge and the strain of his joggers. My wide eyes meet his and he gives me a quick nod.

What the fuck just happened?

He is not tired, and I can't help but wonder if he is about to go repeat the events of the other night after the ball, except this time, using me seducing Cannon as spank bank material.

The very idea has me shifting, yet again, to a position that allows me to clench my thighs together. "G'night, Jace," I say, my voice a near whisper.

"Night, man," Cannon says, glancing up at Jace for a second before looking back down at me.

"Have fun, you two," Jace says again with a wicked grin and disappears up the stairs.

My face is flaming, and I drop my feet flat on the floor, Cannon's and my hands still clasped together on my thigh. Neither of us is paying any attention to the movie, and we keep stealing glances at one another until finally, our gazes lock and stay connected.

Finally, blue eyes twinkling, Cannon speaks, and his tone is amused. "Why does it feel like Jace just set us up?"

A raspy laugh escapes my lips. "Because he totally did."

"And how do you feel about that?" His index finger brushes back and forth on my leg.

"I feel good about it. I'm ready," I whisper, leaning in closer and shifting so I'm kneeling on the cushion in front of him. I lift my free hand and cup his cheek in my palm, running my thumb along his plump bottom lip. "How do you feel about it?"

"I feel like I've wanted to kiss you since the moment I laid eyes on you, and when you pulled away from me at the shooting range, I thought I'd messed up. Having you with me like this right now feels like a second chance. Can I take it, Desi?"

I look up at him and nod, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

He moves his palm up my arm and around my neck and lowers his lips to mine. Every molecule of my being is aware of what is happening. I'm about to receive the desire-filled kiss I've imagined since I understood my attraction to males. I inhale, filling my lungs with Cannon and part my lips. He slides his tongue along mine, slow and sure. I match his pace, cupping both his cheeks in my hands and sliding them up, fingers slipping into his hair and tugging on the short braids at the top of his head.

Cannon grips my waist and pulls me closer, and I don't shy away, letting him kiss me until we are both breathless, chests heaving in tandem with one another.

"Damn," I breathe. "That was one hell of a first kiss."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't disappoint you. But Desi, I want to make sure we're on the same page about something."

"Okay."

"I don't want to rush you into anything, and we don't need to label this right now. I know you're looking for something serious, and that takes time, trial and error. I don't want you going with the first person you date, even if that is me. Okay?"

I smile, a weight lifting from my shoulders. "That's the best thing you could have said to me, Cannon."

"Good. But what if I asked you to dinner on Saturday?"

"I'd say where, what time, and what do I wear?"

"Seven. Something short, black, and a killer pair of heels."