Page 141 of Double Dare

Jed laughs. “I can’t stand outside this door anymore, Laken.” He pulls me in for a kiss. “Coming?”

Hell no. I’ll take a bed to myself for the night. “Love you!” I run down the hall and close their bedroom door behind me.

When I sprawl out in bed, I smile at the ceiling. What a damn good day.

Chapter 53

I’m wearing shorts—fucking shorts!—as I watch Laken in the turquoise ocean of the Caribbean. It doesn’t matter what kind of landscape she’s in, Laken fits into them all. She tried surfing two days ago and failed miserably at it, but she didn’t give up, and now she’s out there laughing as she falls and getting right back up on the board again.

The three of us have been planning and plotting a bit of a reno on the cabin, so before that starts, and before she starts her new business adventure, and while Maeve is content at the shop and Jed was able to take a break from the gym, we decided to try a vacation. When Laken suggested Mexico, Wyatt’s mind was blown, but he was proud of her. This place holds such a bad memory for her, but her smile hasn’t faltered since we landed in the humid air.

“She’s been on that thing for two days and she’s already better than I’ll ever be,” Jed says, coming out on the balcony with two fruity drinks. “Keeping my eye on that surfing instructor chick, though. She likes Laken a little too much.”

I take the drink from him, wondering what the fuck this one is. Whiskey is all I know, but Laken has been ordering every drink they make, and even some they don’t. She asks the bartender to make it a surprise, and sure as shit, they do! And we watch them like hawks, making sure it’s just drinks. It’s not fair to be skeptical of bartenders just because Laken had a bad time at a resort like this; it wasn’t the bartender’s fault then, and they’ve been nothing but pleasant and wonderful to us since we got here. Plus, Laken told us to stop being douchey dicks. So we did.

I think the locals are all obsessed with her eye color, and that gets her special treatment, so all the power to her.

“What’re we doing with Grandma’s ring? We giving it to her?” Jed asks.

“That bossy little shit will probably turn it down anyway.” I take a sip, familiar with the overwhelming sweetness of whatever coconutty thing this is. Tastes like bad ideas and vacation.

“Yeah, she won’t think she deserves it. Dad said the first one to get engaged gets it, so Laken won’t want to take it from Nina.”

“Then we throw Grandma’s letter in her face and tell her to get the fuck over it.”

“You’re such a dick,” he laughs.

“She knows that.” And likes it. That makes me smile around the straw, moving the little umbrella out of the way. Laken loves me just how I am; I don’t have to change for her or put on a fake personality.

“I say we wait,” Jed says. “She doesn’t want to get engaged right now, plus we’re young as fuck. Especially you.”

Fuck him for bringing my age into it. I have a whole other concern. “I’m gonna need, like, twenty years or so to win Wyatt over.”

Jed laughs. Wyatt busted my balls the whole time he was in Seward. Since then, he’s been making jokes and calling me out on everything. It makes Laken laugh, so I don’t mind it too much, and Jed said it’s some sort of rite of passage, so whatever. I’ll never admit how truly terrified I am of letting that man down. I’m the homewrecker after all, so I have to work hard to earn his trust. Asking for his blessing to propose to Laken is like my worst fear, but someday, I’ll do it.

I look down at my bare chest. It’s been five days here, and my skin is way darker than I’m used to, and I’m not familiar with how my tats look against a darker backdrop. The bright red shorts aren’t my usual style either, but I’ve gotten pretty comfortable in them since we’ve been here. Jed’s pretty tanned, too, and his feet have those flip-flop tan lines that look so fucking stupid. But Laken? Holy shit. Bronze goddess. Never knew a blond could tan that dark, but I don’t think she’s come out of the sun once. She waits for it to set and then she comes in. And she applies sunscreen thirty times a day, but again, I can’t complain about rubbing her down.

“Wyatt just wants her to be happy. That’s all he cares about.” Jed slurps his fruity cocktail.

“Is she happy?” I ask. “Are you happy?”

Jed watches Laken get her surf lessons in the distance. “Did I ever think I’d end up in a relationship with the same girl as my brother? Fuck no. But I like it. I’m happier than I ever thought I’d be. Are you?”

Something more than happy. I’m just…right. “Yeah, I’m happy. Thanks for…letting me in.”

He waves that off. “What do you think she has planned for tonight?”

I shrug because I don’t know. All she said was that she had something she wanted to do with the two of us. “If she threatens to shove something up my ass again, I’ll lock her in the bathroom all night.” She thinks I’m kinky and would appreciate a nice toy in the ass, but nope. Not interested in things in my ass, despite how much I like fucking hers.

“Give it a go. Dom likes it.”

“Dom’s a maniac. And he tops more often than not.” I finish my drink and stand up. “Come on. Let’s get more of this fruity bullshit and go bother Laken.”

Laken is all tipsy giggles and cheesy jokes as we get back to the room later that night. She didn’t drink much all day, but she just slammed back three strawberry daiquiris, and now she’s in that floaty, happy phase. Light and carefree is a good look on her. Especially because I talked to Maeve today, and it seems like Ben, her boyfriend, is putting a bit of pressure on her to move away with him. She says she isn’t, but fuck, what if she leaves the shop and I have nowhere to work? What if she leaves Seward and I lose my best friend? I need Laken’s happy and carefree right now to take my mind off it.

We all crash down on the two beds. The day was fun, but the sun was exhausting. Laken crosses her legs, meditation style, and holds a pillow on her lap.

“Alright. I want to ask you both something that might seem kinda weird.”

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