Page 63 of The Bro Pact
I hand her my own fake, ordering the same as Ren.
She looks a little skeptical but doesn’t comment.
“First one’s on me,” Ren whispers into my ear, grabbing my hand underneath the bartop and gently stroking my fingers.
A shiver runs through me, but Ren lets go when the bartender places our beers in front of us.
Ren holds his glass up. “Cheers,” he says with a devious little smirk. “To,you know whatinsideyou know where.”
I chuckle, clanking my glass with his and taking a healthy swallow of the cool, citrusy, and slightly bitter ale. “Mmm. This one’s really good.”
Ren hums his agreement, and we swivel around, scanning the place and the people in it.
Two girls unfortunately catch my eye, smiling seductively at us. I elbow Warren, and he follows my gaze, landing on the beautiful blonde and sexy brunette across the room.
Ren stiffens, which isn’t his usual response to two gorgeous women staring at us. He’d normally be attempting to wingman for me, or maybe even pull them both for himself. “The pact,” he grits out as if I could have forgotten. As if I can’t still feel his tight walls clamping around my fingers while he comes.
“I know,” I snap back somewhat defensively.
I give the girls a simple up-nod, acknowledging them before we spin back around and face the bar. I grab a pretzel from the little bowl that Janie set in front of us and stuff it in my mouth.
The enticingly sweet scents of lavender and vanilla suddenly surround us, and a soft arm brushes against my own.
“Hey. I’m Nani, and this is my friend Chelsea.” She points to the shorter blonde next to her. “Do you guys live around here, or are you on vacation?”
She’s pretty forward, and although Ren usually goes for girls like that, I’ve always gravitated toward the shy ones.
“Just passin’ through,” Ren replies somewhat dismissively, taking another swig of his beer.
I grab his upper thigh under the bar and squeeze, silently urging him to be nice. But I guess it was the wrong move to make because his eyes zero in on my mouth, darkening as he stares at me like he’s about to devour me in front of everyone here.
And I might just let him.
“Oh, I get it! So sorry,” Nani says with a giggle.
“You get what?” I ask, my brows creasing in the middle.
“That you’re boyfriends, silly. I should have realized. It’s kinda obvious. And now I just feel rude for hitting on you.”
Ren chuckles with clear amusement, staring at me as if he’s just waiting for my reaction. But honestly, it makes this whole situation easier if they just believe that wearetogether.
“We are,” I confirm, grabbing Ren’s hand and threading our fingers together, placing them on top of the bar. I give him areassuring squeeze when I glance over and see the shock on his face.
Nani sighs wistfully, “It’s not fair that all the good ones are gay.Or married.”
Chelsea elbows her friend, clearly embarrassed. “Nani!”
But Nani doesn’t seem to care, giggling at her own joke. “What?Single, straight guys our age can seriously suck sometimes, and you know it, girl. Especially the ones I always seem to choose. All that alpha male bullshit?No, thank you.”
“I’ll give you that,” Ren agrees, holding up his beer. “Fuck toxic masculinity.”
“Fuck toxic masculinity,” we all echo, taking a swig of our beers in solidarity.
We start to chit-chat, learning that the girls are local and have also been best friends since they were kids. They’re a couple years older and don’t need fake IDs like we do.
“Let’s all take a selfie.” Ren pulls out his bulky-ass camera that I didn’t even realize he brought.
“Better yet, Janie can.” Nani holds out her palm and wiggles her fingers with a sultry little smile. Her dark hair is sleek and straight, cascading over her shoulders and reaching the middle of her back. Her makeup is painted on perfectly, making her bronze skin glow, and her natural nails are filed to a sharp point. “She loves me!Promise.”
