Page 53 of Fight For Her
“It’s no problem,” I assured them. “They’re sweet kids.”
“I think they tired themselves out running circles around me,” Coby added, laughing.
“Well, in that case, you deserve the first sandwiches.” Their mother said lifting Henry’s sleepy form from my arms. I tried to ignore how I immediately missed the warm weight of him against my chest. Their father scooped Isabella from Coby and thanked him again, making a joke about how they should have gotten another dog. I laughed absently at his joke, but my mind hung on the fact that holding little Henry and seeing Coby being sweet woke some dormant instinct deep inside of me. I needed a drink.
“Why don’t you guys go have something to eat. Coby and I can take over in here.” She nodded, and I watched them juggle two sleepy kids and four sandwiches as they made their way out the door.
“We should play truth or dare,” Mia announced, a few drinks in. A group of us were getting the party started in the lobby. Stacks of red Solo cups and bottles of liquor replaced the mugs and K-cups at the coffee station. Someone had brought over an open ice bucket from next door and filled it with cans of beer and soda. Along with the drinks were more snacks like pretzels and chips on tables for people to grab. The whole thing reminded me of the parties Mia and I went to in college only without someone puking in a corner. Mia remembered the tape deck we found earlier and had it blasting the Footloose soundtrack again in the background.
I groaned and took a small sip of my vodka cranberry. “Mi, I love you, but we’re not teenagers.”
Avery, with her arm slung around Bethany’s shoulder on the couch, cut in, “There’s not much else to do.”
“Yeah, Ken, when did you become such a party pooper?” Mia added. A few drinks in and she was already acting goofy.
I sighed, resigned to go with the flow. I was not choosing dare though. Yet truth wasn’t much better. Coby was seated next to me on the worn area rug, close enough that the bare skin of my thigh grazed against his pant leg. He took a sip from his Solo cup, and his gaze locked on mine. The Coby I knew would have been the first one to initiate a wild drinking game. That is unless he was too busy putting the moves on someone.
I thought about the night I met him for the first time. The moment we connected, all of his focus shifted to me. Our conversation flowed so easily that I hadn’t realized hours had gone by. Tonight, he had the same air about him but more reserved and intense.
“I’m in. But nothing scandalous. Can’t be kissing other guys the night before my wedding.” Jill laughed, and Mike squeezed her closer.
“I don’t think Coby or I are looking to get our asses kicked by our girls,” Shawn said as he leaned in to nuzzle Mia’s cheek. “Or Mike. But I’m honestly more afraid of Mia and Kendahl.”
Mia beamed. “As you should be.” My friends volleyed playful insults back and forth, finishing up drinks and pouring refills. A few other guests were scattered around the lobby in conversations of their own, and I was glad for that. It was hard enough for me to socialize with my friends. I was exhausted.
“Miss Bride, you ask first.” Mia said with a wide grin.
Jill leaned forward using her pointer finger to aim at her target. I knew the moment her eyes met Coby’s and she gave a mischievous smirk that he was her victim. “Coby, truth or dare?”
Everyone murmured ohs and ahs, and Shawn reached over to smack his knee. “Better choose right, buddy,” he teased.
Coby scratched his chin, then swung his arm around my shoulders. Sounding as confident as a politician delivering their victory speech, he said, “Truth.”
I let out a shaky laugh. I would have taken him for a dare-guy especially with our dating arrangement hanging over us like a shadow.
“Ooh, I better make it good,” Jill laughed. She chewed the side of her lip, deep in thought. “I got one,” she said.
I held my breath.
“What were you really doing when you dipped out of Palm Cove? Wyoming, right?”
My breath released in a puff. We were safe, for now. Laughing, Avery added, “Good one, Jill. Tell us all about your family in middle America.”
Taking a swig of her drink and nearly choking on a swallow thanks to laughing Jill piped in, “Or was it the porn thing?” Her face turned beet red.
“Come on, buddy, I’m about to be a happily married man tell us the juicy bits.” Mike slurred, clearly drunk. “How many women did you have hanging all over you?”
Coby stiffened and pulled his arm away from me to wring his palms together. It was only a moment until he leaned back again and morphed his face into his signature smile. “I plead the fifth.”
Shawn’s eyes met Coby’s in a look of irritation while everyone else groaned. Everyone except me. “Not fair. It’s literally truth or dare. You gotta give us something,” Mike said. He continued talking, but I couldn’t hear him over my pulse. God, I was so stupid. Here I thought he was changing and that he was over that player bullcrap.
I grabbed my cup and pushed myself up to a stand. They quieted and shifted their gazes toward me. Mia started to get up too, but I put my hand out to stop her. “I need some air.”
Chapter 27
Kendahl
Ididn’tlookathim or anyone else as I bolted from the lobby. How could I have let myself get that invested? Yet again, another man was showing me that I was not enough, and like an idiot, I let him crawl his way into my heart.
