Page 25 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

I once again shake myself free of the fantasy and just focus on soaking in the incredible sight of all the sea life co-existing in the crystal blue depths. I kind of feel like I’ve been transported into one of those IMAX sea floor docos—everything isthatclear.

I follow along after Trent, wary not to go too far down or venture too far away from the other divers in the group. As usual, he’s enthusiastic about everything, pointing various things out to me and encouraging me to come take a look with him.

After what I’m guessing is about half an hour, I start noticing some of the other divers heading back in the direction of the boat. I tug on Trent’s hand and motion in that direction. He’s clearly reluctant to leave so soon but I just shrug and tap my oxygen gauge, gesturing toward the boat again.

We swim back in that direction and gradually rise to the top. As soon as we break the surface, Trent tears off his breather and offers a bright grin. “Fuck, that was amazing. I want to do it again!”

I let out a soft chuckle and paddle my way over to the side of the boat. I climb up and let one of the crew help me remove my equipment before turning to Trent, who is of course chatting animatedly with one of the other crew members about the dive. From what I can overhear, the guy seems to be telling Trent about another spot he thinks is even better.

Trent snaps his head in my direction, flashing an excited grin. “What do you think? Want to go out again?”

I give a wry shake of my head. There’s no way I could say no to that smile even if I wanted to.

I’m completely wipedby the time we get back to the resort. It’s been a great day and I’m really glad we made the effort to stay out longer than we’d originally planned, but the hours spent in the blazing sun on the boat have worn me out. And my legs are aching like mad after all that paddling and kicking underwater.

Oh, and let’s not forget the mental exhaustion from trying to figure Trent out. He seems hell-bent on acting like nothing out of the ordinary happened this morning, or last night. As though he didn’t just stand there ogling me while I was wanking. As though he didn’t come all over my hand in a public alleyway. I have no idea what to make of it. This morning, I thought his behaviour meant he was interested. But now I’m wondering if he regrets what happened and is trying to move past it with the least amount of awkwardness. My mind is a complete scramble trying to work him out.

“Jesus, you look done in,” Alastor comments when I FaceTime him that afternoon.

“Long day,” I explain. “We went diving.”

“Nice,” he says with a nod of approval. “As good as the Barrier Reef?”

“Better.”

Alastor’s brows shoot up. “You’re shitting me.”

I shrug. “Alright, maybe on par then. I don’t know. That trip to Cairns was yonks ago.”

“Fair enough. So how goes the whole getting over the dickwank thing? You found a rebound yet?”

I feel my face grow hot and for once decide not to reprimand Alastor for the insult toward Jack. “Um…well, actually there was this thing last night…”

“Oh yeah?” he asks, clearly eager for details. “Come on, spill it.”

I let out a heavy sigh and decide to plough ahead, knowing he won’t let up until I give him the info. “I just kissed a guy and gave him a hand job.”

“How very high school backyard party of you,” he says dryly.

“It was Trent,” I blurt out.

“What was Trent?”

“They guy from last night.”

Alastor stares at me, his mouth parted in obvious shock.“Trent?As in…TrentDarcy?”

I roll my eyes. “Is there another Trent I’m currently on holiday with?”

He lets out a huff of annoyance. “Fuck off. You can’t blame me for being a bit surprised. Since when is Trent into guys?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Last night I guess. I told you, all we did was kiss and hand stuff.”

“What was it like?” he asks eagerly. “Length? Girth? Come on—give me the details.”

“Fuck no. Stop being creepy.”

He lets out a beleaguered sigh, as though not hearing a description of Trent’s dick is some great sacrifice. “So, what’s happening now? Anything?”

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