Page 85 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Scout’s honor,” I said, holding up three fingers.

We reached the bar, and Maya ordered herself a lemon drop then looked at me expectantly.

“No thanks,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not twenty-one,” I told the bartender.

We walked over to a small high-top table to wait for Maya’s drink. “You could have ordered something. He wasn’t about to check ID for any of the dancers here.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a shrug. “I’d rather keep a clear head.”

“That’s fair. I imagine it’s difficult enough for you when you’re around Wes. I see the way you go all melty for him whenever he flashes that smile at you.”

I rolled my eyes at her as they set her drink down in front of her. “So, which guy is which musketeer?” I asked her, changing the subject.

“Oh, well, Sebastian is definitely D’Artagnan,” she said as she finished a quick sip of her drink. “Clever but foolhardy. And the youngest. And Nolan is Athos. Because of that thing with his… girlfriend.”

“What thing with his girlfriend?” I asked, bristling, defensive of this man I barely knew.

“Not his girlfriend now,” she said. “Rachel is great.”

“He has a girlfriend?”

“Yes, just listen!” Maya said, smacking my arm lightly. “Before he got with Rachel, there was another girl. Kimberly. It was…”

“A bad breakup?”

“Something like that,” she said, then took another sip of her drink. “So yeah, that makes him Athos. And Reid… well, Reid is definitely Porthos,” she said with a laugh.

“That he is,” Wesley said, walking up to us and putting his arm around my waist, letting his hand rest possessively on my hip. “Woman after woman after woman… But why are we comparing Reid to a musketeer?” he asked, looking between Maya and me.

“No reason,” Maya said, stirring her drink and not meeting Wes’s eyes.

My lips twitched as I remembered how she’d left me to fend for myself when Wes showed up at our apartment a few weeks ago. I mean, it had turned out just fine in the end. But still.

“Maya was just telling me—“

“HAVEN!”

”—about how she calls you, Reid, Seb, and Nolan the ‘wolfketeers,’“ I finished, rushing the words out and then reaching for Maya’s martini, taking a sip to hide from her wrath.

Wesley rubbed my hip as he gave Maya a raised brow, and she sputtered. “I-we-you see—“

“So, Reid is Porthos. I’m guessing Nolan is Athos, Sebastian is D’Artagnan since he’s the youngest, and that makes me Aramis?” Wesley teased, holding in his laugh.

His chest twitched as he laughed silently, not letting Maya hear him and drawing out her embarrassment.

“Basically,” she squeaked, stealing her drink back from me.

He nodded, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. “I like it.”

Maya’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and she blew out a breath. “Well, I will leave you two to it,” she said, picking up her drink. “Levi will be here any minute, and I think they will serve dessert soon, so we should probably get to our tables.”

She gave us a little wave and then made her way through the crowd back towards the entrance.

Wesley kept rubbing my hip, watching Maya thoughtfully as she walked away. Then he turned to me and said, “Should we find our seats?”

I nodded, and he gave my hip a little squeeze and then unwrapped his arm from me, taking my hand so we could find the correct table.

It wasn’t hard to find, as Ramón and Imogen were already there. Wes pulled my seat out for me, helping me scoot it in. Then he moved his so it was right next to mine, sitting in it and throwing his arm over the back of my chair, making sure we were as close as possible. His fingertips played with the chiffon fabric of the cape that extended off my right shoulder and brushed against the bare skin of my upper back, sending little tingles across my shoulder blades and down to my fingers.

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