Page 7 of Love Shots

Teddy had hung up before Max even had a chance to reply. There was no time to waste. Summer needed him. Just the thought of seeing her had his blood pumping quicker.

After locking up the bar, he practically ran back to his apartment building where his truck was parked. It was a good thing he knew exactly where Laney lived. Not that he’d been stalking Summer’s friends or anything since he’d returned to Bluestone. Or eavesdropping on any of their conversations when they just so happened to be talking about Summer. No. Definitely not.

Twenty minutes later, he was trying his best not to laugh his ass off at a very drunk Summer. He’d found her sitting on Laney’s kitchen floor, and she was currently singing some song about tequila at the top of her lungs.

“Tequila! It makes me happy ...” Summer hiccupped, humming for a moment before singing again. “Tequila ... it feels finneeee. Tequila when the doors are opened, and tequila when they're calling time—”

“Okay, dollface.” Teddy crouched down. Once he’d wrapped his hands around her waist, he gently pulled her to her feet. “That’s it, up you go.”

He continued to hold on to her as she rose to a standing position. It was clear from her Bambi legs that she wasn’t going to get very far on her own.

“Teddy,” she whisper-giggled, “do you like tequila?”

“Not as much as you do.” Before she had a chance to reply, she was up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. It was the easiest and the most efficient way he could think of to get her outside and into his truck.

“Hey! What the hell!” Summer weakly protested. She flailed around for a second before going completely still and quiet. So quiet Teddy started to get worried.

“Summer? You okay?”

“I-I can shee your butt from here,” she slurred. “Y-y-you have a nice butttt, y’know? I didn’t realize men’s butttts could be so-sooooo ... muscley. Yours is all hard. But kinda-uh round still. Huh.”

Jesus Christ.

He looked up at Max, who was trying to stifle a snigger as he held open the front door for them. Rolling his eyes, Teddy headed out and ignored the very inebriated woman over his shoulder, who was now trying to grab his butt.

A chin lift to Max later, and Teddy was opening his truck door and securing Summer into the passenger seat. Once he’d buckled her in, he rounded the truck and started up the ignition.

Summer was no less chatty on the drive back to his apartment. She asked him at least ten more times if he too liked tequila. Sang her tequila song off-key two more times. And just as they were approaching his car lot, she went back to commenting on his appearance.

“I like the-the stubble thing you got going on. It makes you ... makes youuu look kinda manly. Like, you’ve got sooooooo much testosterone, no razor is—no! No razor can stop that beard from growing. Does that make sense? Oh, and what’s with all the flannel shirts? You were always more of a jeans-and-tee kinda dude. Not that I don’t like the flannel. I do. It’s hot. You look like some kinda ... some kinda ... lumberjack ... but like, a sexy one.”

That he did laugh at. A sexy lumberjack?

“You think I’m sexy, huh?” After putting his truck in park, he turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

Instead of answering, she continued to stare at him. She was turned toward him in her seat, one side of her head resting against the leather. Her long, blonde hair was down and in disarray around her shoulders. Several buttons of her blouse were undone and the material was skewed to the side, revealing one bare shoulder.

Despite being wrecked and looking slightly disheveled, she was still the most beautiful woman Teddy had ever seen. He could see the flecks of green in her glassy eyes more clearly and the rosy pink of her lips was more prominent. It was obvious now that no matter what form this woman came at him, he was powerless to resist. Angry, happy, sad, or drunk. She was always perfect. And he was screwed.

“Come on, dollface, let’s get you inside.”

“Why do you call me dollface?”

His smile widened. He might as well tell her. It’s not like she was going to remember much in the morning.

“I call you that ’cause ...” He let out a deep breath. “You have these beautiful, big, almond-shaped eyes. They look like they belong on a doll. Hence ... dollface.”

She won’t remember me saying this, right?

She licked her lips, not taking her eyes from him. Just that innocent swipe of her tongue made him want to groan. She was killing him.

“Beautiful?”

“Yeah, Summer. Beautiful.” He took a moment to compose himself before he said something else stupid. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

This time when he carried her, he cradled her in his arms. Which he immediately regretted when she threw her hands around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder. She fit perfectly. Why did it have to feel so right? Damnit.

“Thanks for looking after me, Teddy,” she muttered into his shirt.

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