Page 17 of Bull Riders Don't Swoon

She licks her lips and presses against me closer. “I thought I was obvious about that. But yeah, I do.” Her gaze cuts to Griff, and she gives him a once-over. “Your friend can join us.”

Griff waits for me to respond, but my brain just went back to the one time in university that Griff and I almost shared the same guy. He was hot, and I know Griff was into him, but once the clothes came off and we were pawing on each other, Griff left. He never told me why.

“My friend doesn’t like to share, and since he’s my ride tonight, I have to decline.”

Wow. That sounds superb for being drunk. Oooh…I just used superb in a sentence.

“Oh.” She steps away from me and eyes up Griff a second time. “I didn’t think…I didn’t know you were with someone. Sorry.”

Without another word, she pats my stomach and leaves me with Griff.

“I would’ve dropped you off and given you a few hours alone, Jamie. You didn’t need to do that for me.”

Throwing my arm over his shoulder, I squeeze him tight.

“I don’t think she likes to sing. Let’s singOld Black Rumand then get out of here.”

He shakes his head but smiles, and I pump a hand in victory as Griff starts the song.

I join in and sway with him, and a few people around us do too. We all hang our arms over each other’s shoulders and sway likewe’re indeed drunken sailors, and I love it. I could do this all night. But when we finally end the song, we added extra choruses to the end because creative embellishment is fun, Griff squeezes my arm again.

“C’mon, Jamie.” He plucks the beer from my hand again and grips my elbow. “If you’re not going home with anyone, let’s go. We have a long drive ahead tomorrow.”

Griff leads me out of the bar, and I see the pretty girl again and wave. Griff stops walking and leans in again. “You sure you don’t want to take her offer without me?”

“Yep! I think I just want a snack and to go to sleep. Sex seems like too much effort right now.”

Griff laughs and shakes his head. “Stop at Subway first, then?”

My stomach growls, and I pat my belly as we step outside the bar. It’s quiet outside, but my ears still ring from the music.

“God, yes. A foot long with all the sauce, Griff. I want that so bad.”

“Jesus, Jamie.” He shakes his head with a huff as we walk to the parking lot around the corner. “I’ll get you your food and no more pop. Drink some water before you go to bed.”

He opens the truck door for me, and I flop into the seat, boneless and happy that my best friend is so good to me.

“I love you, Griff.” My cheeks hurt from smiling at him, and he shakes his head again.

He bats my hands away from the seatbelt and buckles it in correctly. Huh, I guess I had it backward.

“There. Good thing you’re a happy drunk or I’d never do this for you.”

He starts my truck and checks all the mirrors before pulling out of our spot. He’s so safety-minded. I like that, though. Most times, I don’t think about that stuff. Seatbelts, yes. But other stuff, not so much.

“Remember when we went skating, and you almost punched me when I said I wasn’t gonna wear a helmet?”

In the dim light of the truck cab, Griff’s lips tick up in a smile.

“You were so close to me making good on that threat.”

A loud snort laugh bubbles past my lips, and Griff laughs. This, of course, makes me laugh harder, and before I know it, we’re both wiping tears from our eyes as Griff parks in front of a Subway restaurant and kills the engine.

“Nobody cracks me up like you, Jamie. Do you want to eat in or take it to go?”

Unbuckling my seatbelt—it’s easier than the buckling part—I reach for the door handle. “In. I’m too hungry to wait.” As we pause outside the fast-food place, I grab his arm. “For the record, where would you have punched me if I didn’t put the helmet on?”

“What kind of question is that?”

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