Page 111 of Well Played

“You still owe me a new comforter.”

He grinned. Cuffs in place, impeccable and ready to commit to forever. “We still have it.”

“Dude.”

“Memories.”

The sun sank lower, painting the sky orange and red. Lights from the beachfront hotel behind us cast a silhouette on the marital bliss set up. Full on romantic scene from some cheesy romcom. It fucking suited them perfectly.

Not sure how to say it, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and cleared my throat. “So, we doing this, or what?”

He nodded. “Hell yes.”

“And though Itake full credit for the two of you finding each other, I do not have anything to do with how you love each other. To Mel and Kev. The girl I never deserved and the man who just might. From the friend who still doesn’t deserve her friendship, but will kick his ass if he ever hurts her. Though Mel has a mean right hook, so I’m sure she’d have that covered. Cheers!”

Mel’s laugh and her new husband’s half-hearted groan rose above the smallish wedding party and guests’ laughter.

Cake and first dance, then Mel’s best friend, Corey, who I’m pretty sure played for the USA Hockey team in the last Olympics, and I joined the happy couple.

“They seem to be happy, don’t they?”” she asked, a wistful smile on her face as we swayed to the Taylor Swift song I swore they picked just to irritate me. Little did they know that Soph and I snuck off to her concert not too long before she moved to Seattle. Sibling secret pact. Plus Noah played her nonstop and loved sending my TikToks.

One quick glance at the happy couple and that weird feeling washed ashore. Fuck. What the hell was this poetic shit? Washed ashore? Damn beach. Commitment didn’t scare me. Fuck, I wanted it. But choosing the wrong person did. My parents were still so in love that they,shudder,still snuck off at gatherings when they thought no one noticed.

I wanted that. Solid. Mel and Kev had it. That had to mean the chances of me finding it were slim to none, so fuck it. Sex scratched that itch for physical contact, but the rest? Waking up in the morning, brushing your teeth before bed, sharing your dinner because she couldn’t decide what she wanted on datenight? Better left alone than disappointed or trapped in anything that wasn’t what my parents had.

Ninety minutes later, the itch that always found me returned, built in a slow yet steady succession until I needed to get away. Focus on anything else. The newlyweds took off ten minutes ago to do the whole newlyweds thing in their honeymoon suite, sans my comforter. Best man duties fulfilled. Corey danced with a few of the guys from college we still kept in touch with, along with their dates.

No one noticed as I slipped out and headed to the hotel bar. A low key beach vibe permeated the air. I slid onto the stool in front of the distressed bar top and motioned for the bartender to give me a shot and to keep them coming. As I turned, downed the shot, and surveyed the room. Before I even set the glass down, a sexy as fuck pair of tits with the most gorgeous face I’d fucking laid eyes on appeared before me.

A slender hand reached out, palm up. Her brow arched. “Borrow your phone?”

“Depends.” This fucking girl already has my dick twitching. Between her sunset eyes and the way her hair falls as she tilted her head, it’s getting ready to jump over the board before the penalty kill. I focus on her lips as they twist into the smallest, yet sexiest, pout.

“On what?”

“On who you are calling. Because,” I murmured as I shifted around to fully face her. “If you’re calling the guy who stood you up, he doesn’t deserve it. If it’s your girlfriend who is running late, she should’ve called you to let you know. If it’s for a ride home, then that would be a fucking shame, because having the time of your life should never be cut short.”

“Ah. And talking to you is the time of my life?”

I shook my head. “No, but being this close to the ocean and not staying to appreciate the moon reflecting on the water should be on the list.”

Her head canted to the side. “What makes you think I don’t live here and see that,” her eyes darted to the opened up deck area, “all the time?”

“Because if you did, your eyes wouldn’t drift to the sand every time the waves crashed on the shore.” Her eyes widened just enough that my suspicions were confirmed.

“Fine. But you haven’t answered my original question.” A hand tipped with red nails so dark they looked almost black as she swept her hair to the side. “Will you?”

Fuck, yes, I will.

“Let you use my phone?” I asked with a slow grin, loving how her eyes darted to my mouth when I spoke.

“What if I said please? But I can’t tell you who I’m calling?”

Now the image of her on her knees or bent over the desk in my room flashed in my head. My dick took notice and decided to puck up. I flick my finger over the dark screen then handed it over, and as she turned her back to me, I tried to not come in my pants like a damn teenager when I saw her perfectly round ass. A few seconds later, she nearly caught me staring as she spun back around and handed me it back.

“Thank you.” And then, without another word, she spun on her heel. Her perfect ass swayed as she walked away without another word.

Well, fuck me.Resigned, I turned back to the bar, where thankfully sat my next shot when my screen lit up. With a text. From my phone to my phone.

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