Page 28 of Ex's & Oh's (The Lucky Girls 1)

He laughs. “Yeah, me either. I’ll settle for a beer rather than a five-mile, today. But…” he pats his flat stomach. “These abs don’t maintain themselves, huh?”

“Sucks to be us,” I say with a laugh.

Marc nods and walks into my room. He drops himself on the couches in my living room and looks around.

“Do all the guests get full-on suites?” I ask, walking to the mini fridge to find two bottles of water for us. I toss one to Marc, who catches it easily and cracks open the top.

“Only the wedding party.”

“Fancy.”

“The in-laws only want the best.”

I sit down. “I heard they’re the cream of the crop.”

Marc rolls his eyes. “Tell me about it. I’ll be glad when this whole thing is over. I mean, I love her family, and they’re all for the match. I just don’t want to be told how to act like I haven’t been in the public eye for years.”

I nod sympathetically. This is why I don’t date. I don’t need all this shit. I don’t need having to please someone, to keep in-laws happy, to remember who I am and keep up some kind of image of someone I’m not. I go out there, I drink and I fuck, I play my game, and no one can tell me I’m doing anything wrong because it’s none of their business.

I flash on Jenna again. I would change things for her.

“Damn it,” I say out loud.

“What?” Marc asks.

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “It’s Jenna.”

Marc smirks. “Yeah, I saw you left with her last night. Way to start the wedding week, huh? Starting strong.” He bumps a fist in the air. "And here I thought she hated your guts. You must have a magic dick or something."

I laugh and shake my head. “I shouldn’t have done it.”

"Why?"

"Because I have to face her for the next couple of days. Quality time and fucking just don't go together. It gives women the wrong idea."

“I don’t think she’ll be weird about it,” Marc says. “She’s pretty solid.”

But it’s not her I’m worried about. It’s me. Every other woman I’ve been with, I hoped they would get the hint and leave me the fuck alone. Some of them were too stupid—or maybe too hopeful—so I had to be a dick and put it into words. But I don’t want this to be the only thing that happens between me and Jenna. And being with her last night was…different.

I felt something. Our sex wasn’t just that—sex. It was…

The alcohol talking.

That was what it must have been. Because I don’t do crushes anymore. I’d grown up. I don’t do sensual and emotional and all the shit women like so much. I am in it solely for what I can get out of it—a release, something to take the edge off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Marc says. “She’s not going to have a shitfit at you and expect you to do something. From what I heard, she knows you, and what happened between you two is exactly what she expected from you.”

That stings. She thinks I’m a womanizing piece of shit? I mean, it’s true, but I don’t like that it’s what she thinks of me.

Damn it, expectations are fucked up.

“So, how do you feel about tying the knot?” I ask, changing the topic away from myself.

“I can’t wait,” Marc admits. “I know everyone says that makes me a pussy, but since when is committing to someone you care about a bad thing?”

I nod. I’ve known him for years and he’s always been the type of guy who wanted to settle down and have a family. Stacey is a sweet girl—she’ll give him the life he deserves. It’s not often people run into their better halves, but Marc hit it out of the park.

“You’re never going to settle down?” he asks.

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