Page 32 of My Summer Fling

“You make me sound like some control freak,” I tell him, rolling my eyes when he winks at me in reply. That fucking wink. And, yep, there’s that fucking dimple. I roll my eyes and turn back to Roman who is watching us with far too much interest.

“Yes. You get a huge stamp of approval. I’ll even give you a plaque if you like.”

“Can we get that to him after dinner? I’m about to fucking waste away I’m so hungry,” Noah complains, rubbing his stomach and pouting at both of us.

“You’re so dramatic,” I tell him. “Yes, let’s go. Oh, and would either of you care if my friend Tiffany joins us? She texted me earlier wanting to hang out.”

I’m not a good liar. IknowI suck at lying and so does Noah. So I know he’s wondering why the hell I’m lying about this right now, but I can tell him later. I need to shoot off a text to Tiffany after I get the okay from these two and get her to meet us there.

See a need, fill a need, as they said inRobots.

“Yeah, of course. Could I use your bathroom before we go?”

I tell him where it is and then quickly shoot at text off to Tiffany, begging her to come meet this guy tonight. Just to put the final nail in the coffin, I tell her I’ve already committed her to the dinner, telling both guys that she’ll be there.

“Is there a reason why you’re lying to our friend here?” Noah asks, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his solid body. I breathe him in, his scent comforting even after hearing him talk to Roman about me.

“Wouldn’t they be so cute together?” I ask Noah, shoving my phone in my back pocket so I can give him all of my attention for a moment. He kisses me and it’s toe-curling good. I lean fully into him as he lifts me slightly off the floor.

“Scheming and matchmaking?” he asks. “I didn’t know that was something you were any good at.”

“Very good at it, thank you,” I tell him, giving him one last kiss before wiggling out of his arms.

We’re going to have to talk about it. I know we are. And clearly he knows too. But we’re both too afraid to be the one to bring up what happened between us. Maybe I’ll have to get drunk again to get the courage.

No, fuck that. He can bring it up, I tell myself. He’s the one that hurt me, not the other way around. I shouldn’t have to be the one to put in the effort there.

My phone vibrates and brings me out of my thoughts. Tiffany eagerly agrees in her text, and she’s going to meet us there. Now we just have to hope they decide to let Noah back in. Hopefully my good standing with the people on this tiny island will be enough to get us all in tonight.Noah is right, The Steamer does have the best food on the island, and I am not about to choose him over that delicious seafood.

“Ready?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my shoulders again.

“You driving?” I ask him.

“I’m driving.” He smiles.

He kisses my temple and then we’re all heading out.

Not surprisingly,Tiffany and Roman are hitting it off like two peas in a pod. I watch them with interest, taking notes on how Roman interacts with her so maybe I can use some of it for my own benefit.

He’s always been the mature one in the group. That’s not to say Teddy isn’t, but he definitely didn’t start out that way. He was just as much of a player as I have been, maybe even worse. But once he met Beth, it was all over. I remember him coming back from that date and immediately telling me he was going to “marry that girl.”

We had laughed about it then, but look at him now. I smile to myself and take a swig of my beer. High school Teddy would’ve laughed himself out of the room if we told him he’d settle down.

“What’re you smiling about?” Millie leans over to ask me.

“I was thinking about how much of a player your brother was in high school.”

“Oh, ew, Noah. I do not need to hear that about my brother.”

Roman laughs. “I do. When I met him in college, he had already pretty much settled down with Beth but damn … this one has endless stories about him.”

“Are we talking about the same Teddy? Sweet, adorable, dad joke telling Teddy?” Tiffany is shocked, and I would be too if I didn’t know him growing up.

“Too many times I had to keep this one entertained while Teddy talked up some girl at a party or took her upstairs.” I bump Millie’s shoulder and she cringes.

“Gross, Noah. But good to know that’s why we were hanging out and not because you enjoyed my company.” She rolls her eyes, and even though that little act may seem sarcastic or in jest to the other two people at the table, I know my Millie. And I know that I’ve pissed her off.

“So you two grew up together?” Tiffany asks, breaking the sudden tension. I know she knows we did. There’s no way they hung out the other night, drank as much as they did, and somehow didn’t talk about what’s going on between us. But I could use the distraction, so I play along.

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