Page 78 of Ex's & Oh's (The Lucky Girls 1)

“Usually, you tell me I’m better off single because I can fuck whoever I want.”

“Well, that’s still true,” I say.

Noah laughs and shakes his head.

I pull into a parking bay in front of the bar where I kissed Jenna first and the thought of her makes me feel all kinds of things I haven’t felt in a long, long time. Not to mention it wakes my cock. She has that effect on me—I’m crazy in love with her, and crazy in lust.

We sit at the bar and order drinks. It’s daytime and it’s a lot quieter than in the evenings. We look out over the beach, where tourists lay on towels and crisp themselves.

The beer arrives, and we each take a long pull.

“That’s good stuff,” Noah says.

“Yeah, better than anywhere else, I think.”

“You would know,” Noah says.

“So, how’s work?” I ask.

Noah nods. “Not bad. I’m still in the football world and that makes me happy, but I’m on the sidelines and I’m glad about that.”

“What?” I ask, nearly choking on my beer. “Did you just say you’re happy you’re not on the field?”

Noah laughs. “I mean, I still would rather have been on the field. That’s always been my dream. But I don’t have to worry about injuries, and that’s nice.”

I narrow my eyes at him. I have a feeling he’s looking for the silver lining because he has to accept what his life is.

“Well, I’m pretty sure we’re going to get battered on that field next week,” I say. “We trained with the other team a few times now.”

“They double book the field?”

“That’s exactly it,” I say.

Noah chuckles. “Or they did that on purpose just to find out what your plays are so they can pummel you.”

I shake my head. “We’re better at keeping secrets than that.”

We both laugh. “But it was good playing with Marc again for a change.”

“Yeah? You see each other often?”

“Some off-seasons, some games. Nothing too serious. I’m based here and I’m happy.”

“It’s a hell of a place,” Noah says.

We put our beer bottles to our lips and drink in silence for a while.

A few times throughout the afternoon, Noah says he wants to go back to the hotel. He’s tired. He wants to say hi to everyone he knows. But I keep thinking of excuses to keep him here, and by the time the sun sets, he’s drunk.

“I’m calling Marc,” I say. “I think he should party with us.”

“The night before the wedding? He’ll never do that. He’s an upstanding guy who plays exactly by the rules.”

When Noah says that, my stomach twists. That’s not true, is it? We all thought that of Marc, and he had us all fooled.

“Is he happy?” Noah asks.

“Yeah, very.”

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