Page 168 of Foreplay on Words

“I am sleeping five feet away from you, and the glow of your phone makes it hard to sleep,” he rolled his eyes.

“Oh waaah, go buy a sleep mask.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared him down.

“God, I hope the hotel in Seattle doesn’t fuck up the reservations,” he sighed, obviously wanting his own space.

“Oh, ‘cause it’s so impossible to spend time with me,” Kristine rolled her eyes as she looked away from him.

“Because I’d like to be able to go to sleep without worrying that I’m going to get glared at for every move I make,” he growled at her.

Evan mouthed ‘wow’ at me, and I giggled as I nodded. They were in rare form today.

“They really should screw each other and get it over with,” I breathed into Evan’s ear as I clung to his arm. Who needed telenovelas when you had Sam and Kristine to keep you entertained?

“Maybe we should sneak upstairs while they’re going at it,” Evan suggested. I doubt they’d notice if we left. They’d drifted closer, and Kristine was poking him in the chest as he smiled at her. It appeared to me that Sam was enjoying her ire.

“Alright, kids, break it up. Our ride is here. Get your asses out that door,” I said, gesturing to the hotel lobby doors leading to the street.

We all climbed into the Uber, and Evan laughed quietly as Kristine made it a point to sit up front with the driver instead of next to Sam.

“Going down to Lodo?” he asked as he looked into the rearview mirror. Lodo was the lower downtown area and the location of the historic Union Station, Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies played, the Pepsi Center, where the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche played, and various businesses and breweries.

“Yeah. We’re taking a walking tour and then checking out some of the breweries,” Evan nodded.

“Make sure you check out The Oxford. They do tours sometimes. It’s a really neat building. One of the oldest in Denver, the oldest hotel in that area,” he suggested.

“Thanks. We’ll have to check it out,” Sam smiled at him.

The rest of the ride from our hotel, Kristina sat in the front typing into her phone, and Sam casually talked with us.

“So, you’ve got four sisters?” Evan asked him.

“Yeah, I’m the baby. They’re all older and married now,” he nodded. He seemed a little more sensitive than I expected, so it made sense that he had four sisters.

“I bet you’ve got a herd of nieces and nephews,” I smiled.

“Actually, just nephews. My dad eats it up. By the time I came along, he was so excited to have a son to do manly things with, “Sam laughed. “He’d take me camping all the time and encouraged me to play a ton of sports.”

“Evan here was a star soccer player,” I teased as I squeezed Evan’s arm and smiled at his blushing face.

“I don’t know about being a star, but it did help me pay for college,” he chuckled nervously.

“That’s cool. I played lacrosse,” Sam nodded.

“Of course you did,” Kristine snorted from the front seat.

I could see Sam visibly tense. He was irritated that she seemed so hostile today, but I figured it was pent-up sexual tension between them.

“Oh, look! We’re here,” I announced cheerfully, attempting to defuse the tense atmosphere.

We thanked the driver and piled onto the sidewalk, finding our tour guide outside the first brewery. He took us on an hour-long tour of the area, walking through it until we could see Union Station and Coors Field in the distance. Afterward, he took us to another brewery, and Kristine had loosened up with a few drinks in her.

“Oh, come on, you’re telling me you’d never used sex toys until you met Chase? I find that hard to believe,” she laughed as she looked at Evan curiously.

“Why is that hard to believe? You’ve met me. Do I strike you as the adventurous type?” he laughed, seeming a little less tense with the alcohol we’d all consumed.

“It’s always the quiet ones that are really freaks behind closed doors,” Sam laughed.

“You speak from experience, Spammy?” Kristine teased him, and I saw his cheeks turn a little pink.