Page 138 of All This Time

“One of my hookups from last year,” Henley says as he silences the call and puts his phone away. “She won’t stop blowing up my phone. I think I might block her.”

“I told him to just answer it and see what she wants.”

“I know what she wants,” Henley replies. “My dick, and I’m not about repetition, remember?”

Elliot chuckles before taking a sip of his beer. “Don’t deny repetition, motherfucker. I used to feel the same way and now? The idea of one woman is all I want.”

An awkward silence rests between us.

Rhonan had a wife and lost her. Elliot found someone he wants for the rest of his life.

And I have seen the other side too now.

Henley arches a brow at me as if he can tell what I’m thinking about.

Finally, he breaks his stare and sighs as he calls for another card. “Hit me.” Elliot turns over a five, making Henley bust again. “Fuck!”

“Come on. You know better than to hit on eighteen. What the hell were you thinking?” Rhonan asks.

“I’m not. My mind is a mess right now.”

“All of you seem a little tense,” I observe.

Elliot eyes me from the side. “You’re right, but you don’t.” He snaps his fingers. “You got laid, didn’t you?”

“What?” I say through a laugh, even though when I dart my eyes to Henley, he arches a brow at me again. “No, I didn’t.”

“Now he’s denying it,” Elliot continues, shaking his head. “Which means it’s true.”

“I can’t just be in a good mood?”

“You can, but your mood is beyond good. You’re calm,” Rhonan explains, growing more suspicious. And after his question to Laney the other night, my nerves grow stronger. “That kind of calm comes from good sex.”

Not good sex. Incredible sex. The kind that makes you wonder if your dick knows the meaning of life now.

Henley chokes on his beer, glaring at me before I reply, “I didn’t get laid, all right?”

“Fuck, if I got laid, I’d admit it,” Rhonan adds. “I’m going through a bit of a dry spell, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, you’re a single parent and work insane hours. That’s to be expected.”

“Was she a fan? Did she offer to suck you off in a storage closet at Blossom Brews or something?” Elliot prods even further.

Henley coughs violently now. He confronted me about what happened between me and Laney in the storage closet at the winery. Turns out, we weren’t that quiet. “Shit.”

“Did you forget how to drink tonight?” Rhonan asks as Henley stands up and moves to the corner of the room to gather himself, glaring at me from over his shoulder.

“Anyway,” Elliot says. “Am I right?”

“No. You’re not because nothing happened. And contrary to what you might think, most fans aren’t offering to suck my dick the second they meet me.”

Elliot snickers. “Such a shame. What the hell is the point of being famous then?”

Rhonan laughs at our slightly candid friend just as Henley makes his way back to his seat. “You okay?” he asks Henley once he’s seated.

“Yeah. Beer just went down the wrong pipe.”

“Okay. Now that everyone is done talking shit, can we get back to the game?” Rhonan asks, darting his eyes around to the three of us.