Page 24 of Mine to Love

“I can tell.” Her voice is laced with sarcasm and most likely a few glasses of wine. “You’re not sitting by the fire by yourself, are you? That can be dangerous.”

“No, mom,” he sighs and picks up his phone, turning it toward me. “I got big bro here.”

Reese snorts. “Yeah. Logan’ll keep you safe.” She has a slight drawl in her words as if she, too, is on her way to a hangover.

“Logan?” Curtis laughs. “Hey, Logan. Shit. I gotta pee.” He fights to get to his feet and stumbles to the nearest bush.

I shake my head and pick up the phone. “He’ll be...” Damn. Her breasts taunt me. Her hair is piled high on her head keeping it out of the water, and her long, naked neck calls to me like a beacon. I swallow—hard—and clear my throat. “He’ll be hurting tomorrow, but I’ll look after him.”

“Figures.” She reaches to her right and picks up a glass, finishing off her red wine.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t see you as the let loose and party kind of guy.”

“Not like Nick and Holden who barely have a buzz going and are upstairs talking to their wives instead of getting bachelor party drunk? I guess I’ll have to cancel the strippers.”

Reese stands and I get a better view of her entire body. I want to lick the trails of water streaming down her stomach. She must have realized how she’s holding the phone and tilts it back up to her face.

“You into that?” Reese licks her lips and gives me a sly grin. “Strippers?”

I lower my gaze wishing she’d tip the phone again so I can get another glimpse and lift a shoulder. “Don’t know. Never seen one.”

“No?” She pushes out her chest and pouts her lips, teasing me. Knowing what I want to see.

“No.”

“Well. That’s too bad. Have fun cleaning up after Curtis when he pukes.” She gets closer to the phone so her lips take up most of the screen. She licks them, then says softly, “And you might want to wipe that drool off your face as well.”

The phone goes dark, and I groan. I close my eyes and adjust myself.

“Where’d she go?” Curtis plops back in his chair.

“Had to go.”

“She’s freaking hot.”

I open my mouth to agree and think better of it.

“If she’s still single when I’m older...” Curtis sways, “I’m gonna tap dat.”

“Hey.” I shoot up and kick his feet. “I don’t care how drunk you are, you don’t talk about women like that.”

“You wanna tap her too.” His eyes are shut and his mouth breaks into a sleepy grin.

“Nope. No tolerance for this shit.” I pick him up by the collar and give him a little shake until his eyes open. “Look at me, Curtis.”

“Ohhhh.”

I have to hold him tight or he’ll fall over. The last shot of whiskey must have kicked in. “Being black out drunk still isn’t an excuse to be disrespectful. You keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. You’re like a little brother to Reese. Think of how hurt she’d be if she heard you talk like that about her.”

“So...sorry. I love her.” Curtis sniffs like he’s going to cry. I don’t do tears. Not on women and especially not on teenage boys. “She’s wike a sisser to me...” He sniffs again, then turns his head and throws up all over the chair where I had been sitting.

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