Page 43 of The Bachelor

He laughed, the sound loud enough that it made me look up. “Who the fuck are you? And what have you turned into?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Going all silent on me. Refusing to speak about her. That isn’t like you. Normally, you can’t shut the fuck up about all the juicy details.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His grin was wide and telling. “Right. Sure I don’t.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So, she showed up at the bar tonight while you were there with Hannah, I assume?”

I nodded.

“And what made it sointeresting as fuck? At least, that’s the way you described it.”

“The three of us were sitting at a table, and Oaklyn was texting me about shit that we’re planning. That was when it turned interesting.” The drinks got delivered, and I lifted the booze straight to my lips, chugging down several sips. “She’s a good girl. That’s all I’m saying. Far too fucking good for me.”

“Why would that matter? It’s not like you want to date her”—his stare turned even more serious—“or maybe you do.”

I laughed. “No, nothing like that.”

“Are you positive?”

“Yeah”—I took a deep breath—“I’m fucking positive.”

“How are you going to tackle this situation, player?”

“I’m not tackling it.” I huffed air between my lips. “I’m sitting here, about to drink my face off, and ignoring it.”

“I’m curious about something.” He gazed toward the crowd, inconspicuously nodding toward a blonde with a huge rack, who was standing with a couple of friends near the bar. “If she came over here and offered to suck your dick, would you take her into the restroom, guide her to her knees, and drop your load down her throat?” He looked back at me. “Right now?”

“Until I’m hit with that offer, I can’t give you an answer.”

“You know what the old Camden would have said? He would have said,The restroom is too far away. My car is right out here.” He pointed at the wall behind us. “And you would have had her in the passenger seat in seconds.”

“There is no old Camden. There’s me. I haven’t changed a fucking bit.”

“If that’s really what you think, well, that’s just sad.” He traced his bottom lip with the inside of his thumb. “Why are things with Oaklyn so different? It’s not because she’s your sister’s best friend—I don’t buy that. There’s another reason you’re acting this way.”

My head shook back and forth. “There isn’t another reason. That’s the truth.”

“All right, if you want to tell yourself that, I’ll let you live in that bullshit world for a little while. And maybe, in a few weeks, we’ll have this chat again, and I’ll see if you’re still in denial.”

What the fuck?

He had no idea what he was talking about.

Even if I did have feelings for Oaklyn—I didn’t; I couldn’t—it wouldn’t matter.

Hannah would have my ass, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

So, whatever my friend was referring to, I wasn’t going to address it. I was moving on and forgetting this part of the conversation ever existed.

“The funny part is,” I said to him, “Hannah mentioned setting Oaklyn up with you. Next time you see my sister, don’t be surprised if she pushes that on you and tries to set up a date.”

“Hmm.” He rubbed his large hands together, his cuff links clinking each time his palms passed. “A virgin. Now, what the fuck would I do with one of those?”

“She won’t be for long.”

And, damn it, that was another set of thoughts that haunted me.

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