Page 69 of Restricted List

“So nothing has actually happened between you two? Not since your ‘almost’ moment?”

“Nope,” I choke out, lying as convincingly as possible.

I’ve been told to forget about having Rory naked in my bed.

To forget about how she sounds when she moans my name as she comes.

To forget about the way she feels when her pussy clenches around my cock.

I’ll pretend for the sake of keeping her around, but I will forever remember those moments.

“That’s kind of surprising, but I guess good for you. I’m sure it can’t be easy to want the Field Manager’s daughter.

“It’s just a crush,” I say. “It’ll go away.”

Greatest lie I ever told.

“Two weeks, man,” Knox says, taking a swig of his beer. “Two weeks until you get to marry Ella. How you feeling?”

At this point in the evening, we’ve been drinking for several hours. We’re all drunk enough to have already given up on video games, so we’re just plastered on the living room floor.

“I can’t fucking wait,” Josh says, smiling wide. “I love her so fucking much. Can’t wait to spend my life with her.”

“Here’s to the happy couple,” I shout, lifting up my bottle in a toast. “To the Garros!”

The four of us clink our bottles together in the air, not actually touching since we’re spread too far apart.

“Who wants to take a bet?” Josh slurs. “Fort’s gonna be the next one married.”

Knox can’t hide his grin as Josh says it.

“Holy shit,” Lane exclaims. “He’s fucking smiling as he thinks about it.”

“Because that man is obsessed with a capital O. He’s disgustingly in love with my sister.”

Knox smiles even wider. “I know. Can’t wait to go back home to her after this weekend.”

Lane groans. “God, I fucking envy the two of you.”

“What?” I ask. “You’ve always told us you don’t want to settle down.”

“I haven’t said that in years. I stopped sleeping around when I found out about Sage; the older she gets, the more I want her to have a family. The only women in her life are our friends. Rory does so fucking much for her, but she’s not her mom, you know? I want her to have a mom.”

“She technically does have a mom,” Josh says.

Lane rolls his eyes. “A mom who wants to fucking be a mom. I’m not shaming her; I obviously liked her enough to fuck her in the first place. And I don’t think someone who doesn’t want a kid should be forced to be a parent. I just want Sage to have it all.”

“She deserves that,” I say, turning to look at him. “You’ll find that someday.”

I really fucking hope I do, too.

And it’s pretty obvious who I want to be with.

Unable to stop myself, I pull out my phone to text Rory.

We talked a bit yesterday, but not much.

And she’s so fun.

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