Page 41 of Two Weeks in Tahoe

“Oh, come on. You didn’t mean that,” Josh responds.

Dex steps closer to Josh with his arms crossed. His tone is sharper now. “Buddy, it’s time to go. And I better not ever see your face in here again.”

Josh raises his hands up in mock defeat as his two friends tug him away. They leave, laughing loudly as they go.

Dex shakes his head and lets out an exasperated sigh as he sits back down. “You know that guy, Carly? Has he been bothering you?”

Carly sighs. “Not really. He came in one other time, but I think you scared him off. Unfortunately, I went on a date with him a while back. Then he showed up here one day after I ghosted him.”

“You better call me or the cops immediately if he shows up again,” Dex tells her. Then he shifts his attention to me. “And how does he know you?”

I shrug. “Oh…he got in my space one day at the gym. I handled him though. Liam can tell you about it.”

Dex rolls his eyes. “What a clown.”

We all nod in agreement.

The tension in the air dissipates and I spend another hour or so chatting with Dex and Carly. When I decide to call it a night, Dex walks me to my car. I try to argue, but he insists, noting that the creep could still be lurking around anywhere. I head home to a warm cabin and just before bed, Liam messages me to say goodnight.

His return tomorrow can’t come soon enough.

27

Liam

I spent the night at my parents’ last night after a late dinner. I couldn’t get Layla off my mind all night. Her days here are quickly running out, and I want to spend the rest of them with her before she goes. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a relationship, and I might not be great at them, but I know how I feel when I’m with her. I want to see what that feeling could turn into. She just seems to fit here—with us. I have no idea where her head is at though.

I tried my best to give her some space last night and this morning. Between dropping Jackson off at school early and running a few errands, I managed to keep busy. But now it’s afternoon and Jackson and I are back home. I can’t help texting her.

With Jackson back, we’re not going to have the same private time we had while we were snowed in, but I don’t really care. I just want her around—her laugh, her smile, that mysterious, intoxicating fragrance.

Liam:I’ve been thinking about you.

Layla:Oh yeah?

Liam:Yeah. I haven’t been able to stare at that perfect ass of yours in a day. It’s really not fair.

My dick gets hard just thinking about her body, the way her tightness wrapped around me so perfectly. But also her laugh, her smile…

Layla:What should we do about it?

Liam:You could come over later? We’re watching this incredible movie. You may have heard of it before. It’s Jackson’s favorite…

Layla:Haha. I might be available. I did promise a certain best friend of yours that I would stop by for a dinner on the house at his restaurant tonight. Maybe you would like to join?

Liam:Dex? When did you talk to him?

Layla:Got bored last night. And cold. Decided to go for some food. Heard some great stories about you;)

Liam:I knew you should have come with me. I’m sorry you were cold. Also, do I need to drive over to his house and give him a beating?

Layla:No, not necessary. He was great. I had a good time.

**

An hour later Jackson, Layla, and I are pulling into Dex’s place for an early dinner. Jackson and I had swung by Layla’s cozy little cabin on the way and went inside while she finished getting ready. Jackson was ecstatic to see her and spent ten minutes filling her in on all of the cool things he did at his grandparents’. He even insisted on a quick tour of the place, which she did happily. There wasn’t much to it, but Layla raved about the espresso machine. No surprise there. I made a mental note of the model.

When we enter the restaurant, Jackson spots Dex right away and charges over, yelling, “Dex!”

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