Page 89 of Always Been Yours

“Those guys,” Knox points to a group of men on the other side of the room we’re currently in.

“Okay,” they say simultaneously with a little shrug.

They turn on their heels and walk toward the group. I give Knox a look like,really, those freaking guys.

They’re a bit younger than us, maybe seniors in college or just graduated. They look like a mix of frat bros and athletes. In the last few months, I haven’t seen Vivi show interest in anyone besides me. And from what people have said, she hasn’t shown interest in anyone in a long time. But I can still admit that Knox picked a group of some of the most attractive men in the bar.

And I don’t like the way they’re looking at Vivi or Lexi, at all.

Do I think that either one of them cares about these men? No. They wouldn’t give them the time of day, that much is obvious from where Knox and I are sitting.

Do I think the guys they’re currently hustling seem to notice their indifference? No. From the looks in their eyes, they think they have a chance.

I know Vivi well enough—and am getting to know Lexi better—that Iknowthis is part of their ploy. Every time one of them goes to line up a shot, they put all of their… assets on full display.

Lexi is thinner and less curvy than Vivi but she’s tall and slender. She has a flat stomach that’s peeking through her high-waisted mom jeans and white cut-off button down. Her chest may not be her attention grabber but the way her jeans hug her butt everytime she leans forward is completely on purpose. At one point during the game, Lexi slowly slid off her oversized flannel to bring more attention to her backside. It’s working the crowd how she intended.

Just like the group of men they’re currently wrecking I can acknowledge when someone is attractive even if I’m not attracted to them. And Lexi is gorgeous. She always has been with her ivory skin and upturned onyx eyes matching her silky, long hair. She has high cheekbones and full lips that I don’t doubt get the attention of any man or woman she wants.

Genevieve on the other hand… just like everything else she wears, it’s modest enough. A high-waisted floral mini skirt that hugs her lush hips perfectly. Her yellow top has flared sleeves and ties in the front. Her brown wedges give her a couple extra inches of height but even in Converse, Lexi is taller.

When we were playing, I realized how Vivi’s cleavage is amplified every time she bends forward. It’s hard to miss, even for a blind man. What I didn’t notice was how her skirt rides up just enough to tease without ever showing any of the goods. And I know that if I’m noticing that, so are the guys crowding around the table, waiting for the chance to get hustled by these two pretty little masterminds.

My eyes never stray from Vivi’s body for longer than a few seconds and its torture. It accomplishes nothing except creating a slow simmer of jealousy to spread through my body with every smile she gives someone else. My grip on the glass gets tighter every time it’s her turn to shoot. I can feel the way other men watch her as she walks slowly around the table, trailing her fingers across the wooden edge, as she decides her next shot. Knox even glances at me when one of the guys says something we can’t hear but makes Vivi laugh. She playfully shoves his shoulder and moves infront of him to line up her shot.

“They’re fucking good, I’ll give them that,” Knox chuckles and shakes his head in awe.

Yeah, they’re too fucking good.

It’s driving me crazy. Especially when I think about the endless college nights the two of them did just this, and exactly how a lot of those nights probably ended for Vivi.Whothose nights ended with.

It should actually be illegal for two women who are this beautiful and smart to be friends. If only for my sanity.

They play another three games, beating all six of the guys in the group. The first pair they played wanted a rematch. The second game was even worse for them.

One of the guys leans down toward Vivi, pointing toward the bar. Probably offering her a drink. She grabs Lexi’s hand and shakes her head. I can’t read her lips from here, but she points toward us. For the first time in the last hour, the group notices us at the high-top table a few feet away from where they’re playing. All at once, realization dawns on each of their faces. They just got hustled for the fun of it. They were nothing more than male egos to play with while Vivi and Lexi proved a point.

Walking hand in hand and stopping right in front of the high-top, the little troll happily states, “You guysdefinitelyowe us some drinks.”

As soon as the four of us get settled back into the booth, Calypso speaks up, “Fucking suckers.”

“Any of you could have warned us,” Knox retorts while looking for a server. He’s sitting on the end across from me. I nod my agreement.

“Think of it as an initiation,” Asher smirks.

“How many are there going to be? You guys’ alreadysaran-wrapped my Jeep a month ago.” They really did. And based on the current responses, my guess is Asher, Lexi and Vivi came in the middle of the night to relive her high school glory days and I was the target. It’s a coincidence that the next morning I was already running almost thirty minutes late when I walked outside to find that. It was the last time I didn’t park in the garage. “And will they all involve her?” I point toward Lexi.

“Don’t make me chuck this at you,” Lexi teases. Except I think she has been waiting a decade for any reason to throw another drink at a man.

I hold up my hands in surrender, chuckling.

Vivi places her hand high on my thigh and leans toward me. Tilting my face down to hers, she lightly squeezes and I almost groan. “I know we just sat but I really have to pee.” She bounces in her seat a little, emphasizing her point… and her breasts.

It’s less than two minutes later, after sitting back down, that I can’t take it anymore. Telling no one in particular I say, “I’m going to get a drink from the bar.”

Lexi’s answering grin clues me in to the fact that not a single person at this table believes me. I choose to ignore all of them and make my way back toward the bathrooms.

The hallway is empty, so I lean against the wall across from the women’s single restroom.Perfect.

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