CHAPTER ONE
"Padiddle!" my best friend Darcy yells, slamming her hand on the car ceiling. A moment later her husband's hand is on the ceiling as well, though thankfully, he's kept his right hand on the steering wheel.
I look at my own husband, who's sitting next to me in the back seat, and shrug. I don't know what padiddle means, nor do I know why we're touching the ceiling.
Rafe shrugs back, though he makes the wise move of reaching upwards. "Padiddle, I guess?"
"Strip, Bex!" Darcy calls, a little too gleefully, and I just stare at her blankly.
"Say what?"
"Is padiddle not a Texas thing?" Alec asks, the only one of us who grew up out of state. "Whenever you see a car without a headlight or taillight, touch the ceiling and yell it. Last one takes an item of clothing off."
"No, it's not," I say. "Or at least, it's not a me thing. I should get a pass since I didn't know the rules."
"Nope," Darcy says. "Take it off."
I'm wearing shorts and a tank top — there's not a lot of clothes to spare. "Take what off? I'm not exactly—"
She interrupts me, clapping as she shouts, "Take it off! Take it off!"
Alec joins in next, hitting his hand against the steering wheel. "Take it off! Take it off!"
And then my husband betrays me, giving another shrug before adding to the chant.
"You," I say, squinting my eyes at him and then slicing my finger across my neck. Rafe just winks one gorgeous brown eye at me.
But it's our first kid-free vacation in I don't know how long, and who knows the next time we’ll get grandparents babysitting at the same time as our best friends. Plus, I'm wearing flip flops and have decided shoes count, so I play along.
"Fine." I present a hot pink flip-flop with a flourish.
"Yaaaay!" Everyone gives me appropriate applause, and I mock-bow, then check my phone. Four and a half more hours until we reach our Airbnb in South Padre. How many padiddles could we really come across?
I'm not wearing pants by the time we arrive. Alec only lost once and he took his shirt off because it was the easiest thing to do while driving. Darcy is down to her underwear — she lost twice and had kicked her flip flops off as soon as we got in the car, so Alec insisted she couldn't count them. And Rafe, somehow, is fully dressed.
"It's because you're the tallest so you started off closest to the ceiling," I say grumpily when we get out. He grins and kisses me, then gives my ass a gentle slap.
I laugh and shove him playfully, then turn to Alec who is pulling suitcases out of the trunk.
"Babe, we're only here for a week, how much did you pack?" he asks Darcy, who shrugs and tugs on the suitcase, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she's only wearing panties and a bra.
Though, to be fair, it's a super cute set that flatters her figure. "Where'd you get them?" I ask, motioning and she grins.
"Panache! I'm a little obsessed with their stuff." She cups a hand around her mouth and stage-whispers, "Alec is too."
I laugh and glance at Alec, who raises his hands guiltily and tosses Darcy a wink. I'm sure the guys know that we talk about our sex lives — and have for years. After all, it was in our dorm room freshman year of college that she lost her virginity (to be clear, I wasn't there, though she gave me all the fun details later.) And she was the first person I told when Rafe and I slept together senior year ("I think he's The One," I told her, and turns out I was right.) Now that we're in our thirties the discussions are different than they were back then — feeling self-conscious about the post-baby body, how to balance a sex life with three children, that sort of thing — but occasionally there'll be something fun and sexy to tell, and Darcy is always the first person I go to.
Alec reaches over and wraps an arm around Darcy, pulling her in for a kiss, and I watch for a moment before looking away to give them privacy. They're a gorgeous couple — I wish I wore my curves with the kind of confidence Darcy has, and while I'm obsessed with my husband there's no denying the fact that Alec is the hottest guy I know in real life. So you can't really blame me for taking a beat before turning to Rafe, who wraps his arm around my waist and rests a hand on my ass to give it a squeeze.
"I think if we don't stop them, they'll start humping against the car," he whispers in my ear and I laugh, pulling away and threading our fingers together.
I tug him towards the door of the Airbnb while pulling up the instructions on how to get in.
"Doubtful." I glance back to see Alec whispering something against Darcy's hair. She laughs, giving him a playful shove, and I add, "It's not that kind of trip."