Still, he was glad to see Logan. With him there, his closest friends had officially all arrived. More guests would still be arriving, but the people he wanted to see most but saw the least of were here.
“Joe!” Jack called out, hurrying over to greet Logan. “Joe” got a very confused look on his face.
“Dude, this is Paul...” Logan said, patting Jack's shoulder like a disturbed child. “You've met him before.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “No, you're Joe. Our bartender doesn't know who we are.” Jack grinned as “Joe's” eyes lit up as he got it.
“That game? I love it. I guess he's still Paul, then.” Logan/Joe inclined his head at the heavy-set man bee-lining his way to the bar. “Who's everybody else?”
“I already introduced myself as Jack. Same with Noah. But “Bob” did not.”
“Lucky Bob, then. Noah's here? Awesome.” Logan/Joe turned to the bar, looked at Izzy, and mumbled something about a lucky Noah.
“Give me some of that 1954 Mccallan scotch, sweetheart,” Paul said, sidling up the bar.” And don't be stingy.”
Jack looked at Logan. “Why'd you bring him? This is supposed to a party.”
Logan shrugged. “He's been working with my dad to try and take over this concierge travel business...” Logan shook his head, exasperated. “He overheard me and had dad invite him. I didn't get any say in it.”
“You are worth billions and you didn't get any say in it?” Owen asked. His tone was mild but the condescension was still there.
Logan glared at him. Logan's father was a definite sore spot with him. “Drop it, okay?”
“What about Aiden? Is he coming?” Jack asked, trying to change the subject. Tonight was supposed to be about fun.
“Yeah, he'll be here later with Sebastian and Leo. They decided to Jet-pool, and Leo was late as usual,” Logan replied. He eyed the TV and game consoles. “Halo match?”
“You're going down,” Owen informed him. “No crying to Daddy when you lose.”
“You're going to be asking for your mommy when I'm done with you,” Logan informed him, heading to the couch. Jack rolled his eyes at both of them but followed along willingly.
They set up the game and Jack quickly lost himself to killing aliens. The three men called out taunts and insults, thoroughly enjoying the blood-lust and competition of the game. Jack only paused the game when his younger brother waltzed in the door.
“Hello, Party People!” Robbie announced. Jack sighed. He had been hoping for a little more time before his screw up brother showed up. While the two men looked alike, with the same sandy hair and rugged features, they couldn't be more different. Where Jack was dedicated and professional, Robbie was a drunk with no direction in his life.
“Looking good, Dean,” Robbie said, patting Dean's chest and admiring his shirt. Dean rolled his eyes. He'd rescued Robbie's ass enough times not to take him too seriously.
“Oh, look, my brother is here,” Jack said blithely. “Noah, Izzy, hide the booze so there's some for everybody else.”
“Hi, big bro. Love you too.” Robbie winked at him and then went directly to the bar. Jack sighed and un-paused the game. He had aliens to smash. Owen killed him immediately, putting Jack just behind him in the rankings. Jack reached down and found that his drink was empty.
“Noah, Izzy!” Jack called out. “More drinks!”
The game officially ended and Owen stood up to do his victory dance. “I win again!”
“Here you go, Jack,” Izzy said, handing him a drink. Jack took a big sip. He was going to destroy Owen in the next match. Izzy handed something with a ridiculous amount of whip cream to Owen. “And here's your drink, Owen.”
Owen immediately stopped his obnoxious arm wiggle. “So you do know who we are?”
“Owen was actually a guess, OwenedU” she said, tilting her head to the winner's screen. The video game clearly highlighted his name on the screen. He sank into his chair and groaned. “But thanks for the confirmation. One down, two to go.”
Jack laughed. His victory dance was what had given him away. Served him right. “Ready?”
The game started off. Jack was in the lead, riding around in a stolen Ghost and killing the level. Jack focused entirely on the game, blocking out all the sounds of the party behind him. He was going to win, but then with just a few moments left in the game, Owen somehow tied him. Logan was close enough to be a threat when Izzy walked directly in front of the TV screen.
He craned his next, desperate to see around her and stomp Owen into the ground but she just stood there, calling out, “Drink for Joe.”
“Just take the damn drink, Logan!” Jack hissed before realizing his mistake. He let the control drop to his lap, and he looked up at Izzy, eyes narrowed in speculation as the game ended. Owen won the match again. “You did that on purpose, didn't you?”
“Maybe. Your brother bet me I couldn't get everyone's name by the end of the night, and now he's the only one left with a pseudonym.” She handed Logan his drink, moving away from the TV.
Jack raised his eyebrows and looked over at his brother. “Just first names?”
She nodded. Jack thought for a moment. This was definitely a form of entertainment he hadn't planned on for the evening. It was nice not to be recognized.
“If you can get his name out of him, I'll double whatever he offered you,” Jack said. That should be a good incentive for her to mess with Robbie. If she was able to get him to spill Logan's identity by simply standing in front of the TV, he was excited to see just what she would do to Robbie.
“Are you sure? I mean, he offered two thousand dollars, and I don't want to put you in a tight spot,” she said, her eyes wide at the amounts. It was kind of cute.
“Just two?” Jack frowned. He yelled across the room at his brother, “You're getting cheap, bro!”
Robbie just grinned at him from the bar.
“What are we calling him anyway?” Jack asked.
“Sam,” Izzy told him, picking up a couple of empty drink cups. Jack laughed.
“Oh, I bet he loves that. Sam was the name of his girlfriend in middle school.” The two had been inseparable and insufferable.
“She was not my girlfriend!” Robbie yelled at Jack, unfortunately sounding like a middle-schooler himself.
“Right, that's why you cried—ouch, man!” Jack stopped his teasing as Owen smacked his arm.
“I know it's your party, but I don't want you two to brawl again. Especially over that. Leave it,” Owen warned. Owen's blue eyes darkened as he stared Jack down. Jack glared at him for a moment and then shrugged. Owen was right. It wasn't worth it.