Page 3

Brett

“ A nd though I take full credit for the two of you finding each other, I did not have anything to do with how you love each other.

To Mel and Kev. “I raised my glass high as the two of them sank further into the adorable and somewhat vomit inducing happiness of newlywed bliss. “The girl I never deserved,“ I smiled at Mel, “and the man who just might.” Kev just grinned as Mel kissed his cheek. “From the friend who still doesn’t deserve her friendship, but will kick his ass if he ever hurts her. Though Mel has a mean right hook, as Kev knows, so I’m sure she’d have that covered. Cheers!”

Mel’s laugh and her new husband’s half-hearted groan rose above the smallish wedding party and guests’ laughter.

That’s what happened when you’re reminded how you bet her she couldn’t hit you…hard. And she did. Really hard. Not gonna lie, still one of my favorite memories.

A cut the wedding cake and first dance later, Mel’s best friend and maid of honor, Corey, and I joined the happy couple on the dance floor.

Who I’m pretty sure was the same person who played for the USA Hockey team in the last Olympics, and was rumored to be getting a high up position with a team in the league, but I’d been so embroiled in my own career move, that I hadn’t payed that much attention to the details.

“They seem to be happy, don’t they?”” she asked, a wistful smile on her face as we swayed to the Taylor Swift song I swore they picked just to irritate me.

Little did they know that Soph and I snuck off to her concert not too long before she moved to Seattle.

Sibling secret pact. Plus Noah played her nonstop and loved sending me TikTok’s.

Fucked my algorithm. Some secrets were not meant to be spilled. Did I know every word? No. But Soph made sure I knew when to throw up the heart, when to clap, and I did in fact know all the words to the appropriate bridges.

Big brother duties and all.

One quick glance at the happy couple and that weird feeling washed ashore all over again. Fuck . I shook my head, unsure why nostalgia and another feeling I refused to name decided to creep up on me suddenly.

What the hell was this poetic shit?

Washed ashore?

Damn beach and too much sun.

Commitment didn’t scare me. Fuck, I wanted it. But choosing the wrong person did. My parents were still so in love that they, shudder, still snuck off at gatherings when they thought no one noticed.

We all noticed. Might be why I had so many damn siblings. Soph, Noah, Mason and I grew up knowing our parents loved each other deeply, and were all the better for it. Sure they fought, but they never gave up because they were so head over heels in love with each other.

Realization dawned me. I wanted that.

What my parents had. What Mel and Kev seemed to have. All in, no holds barred kind of love.

Mel and Kev’s relationship was solid, and nothing could break them. But that had to mean the chances of me finding it were slim to none, so fuck it.

Lightning only struck so many times.

Sex scratched that itch for physical contact, but the rest? Waking up in the morning, brushing your teeth before bed, sharing your dinner because she couldn’t decide what she wanted on date night? Better left alone than disappointed or trapped in anything that wasn’t what my parents had.

Ninety minutes later, the itch that always found me returned, built in a slow yet steady succession of mounting physical want until I needed to get away.

Focus on anything else but relationships and finding the fucking love of your life…

or not. The newlyweds took off ten minutes ago to do the whole newlyweds thing in their honeymoon suite, sans my comforter.

Best man duties fulfilled, no reason to linger.

Corey danced with a few of the guys from college we still kept in touch with, along with their dates.

I wrinkled my brow, because I could’ve sworn she was married at one time, at least, but was here solo. Like me.

No one took notice as I slipped out and headed to the hotel bar, leaving behind the last few guests who were probably going to have one hell of a hangover the next morning.

A low key beach vibe permeated the air. I slid onto the stool in front of the distressed bar top and motioned for the bartender to give me a shot and to keep them coming.

As I turned, downed the shot, and surveyed the room.

Before I even set the glass down, a sexy as fuck pair of tits with the most gorgeous face I’d fucking laid eyes on appeared before me, lips full and pouty.

A slender hand reached out, palm up. An elegant brow arched as she asked, “Borrow your phone?”

“Depends.” This fucking girl already had my dick twitching. Between her sunset eyes and the way her hair fell as she tilted her head at my response, it’s getting ready to jump over the board before the penalty kill. I focused on her lips as they twisted into the smallest, yet sexiest, pout.

“On…what?” she asked.

“On who you are calling. Because,” I murmured as I shifted around to fully face her and gave her all my attention.

As if I had a choice. “If you’re calling the guy who stood you up, he doesn’t deserve it.

If it’s your girlfriend who is running late, she should’ve called you to let you know.

If it’s for a ride home, then that would be a fucking shame, because having the time of your life should never be cut short. ”

Luscious and utterly fuckable lips twitched, as did my dick. “Ah. And talking to you is the time of my life?”

Smirking, I shook my head. “No, but being this close to the ocean and not staying to appreciate the moon reflecting on the water should be on the list, among other…things.”

Her head canted to the side, revealing the elegant length of her neck as her hair fell off her shoulder and cascaded down her back.

“What makes you think I don’t live here and see that,” she teased as her eyes darted to the opened up deck area and the beach beyond lit up by a full moon, “all the time?”

“Because if you did,” I drawled, gauging her reaction, “your eyes wouldn’t drift to the sand every time the waves crashed on the shore.

” Her eyes widened just enough that my suspicions were confirmed.

My eyes drifted along her body, admiring the way her dress hugged her curves, before returning to her lips, then her eyes.

“Fine.” It was more of an admission than a pouty answer. She moistened her lips, drawing my attention to them. “But you haven’t answered my original question.” A hand tipped with red nails so dark they looked almost black as she swept her hair to the side. “Will you?”

Fuck, yes, I will.

With an arched a brow in question, I studied her. “Let you use my phone?” I asked with a slow grin, loving how her eyes darted to my mouth when I spoke.

“What if I said please? But I can’t tell you who I’m calling?..or texting?”

Now the image of her on her knees or bent over the desk in my room flashed in my head. My dick took notice and decided to puck up.

Fuck it.

If she was texting another guy, he was a fool for making her wait.

I flick my finger over the dark screen then handed it over, and as she turned her back to me, I tried to not come in my pants like a damn teenager when I saw her perfectly round ass.

A few seconds later, she nearly caught me staring as she spun back around and handed me it back.

“Thank you.” And then, without another word, she spun on her heel. Her perfect ass swayed as she walked away without another word.

Well, fuck me, I thought as I watched the sexiest woman I had ever laid eyes walk away from without even a glance back over her shoulder to show me she knew what I was missing out on.

Resigned, I sighed and leaned my elbows on the bar, where thankfully sat my next shot, filled to the rim, when my screen lit up. With a text. From my phone to my phone.

brETT: Text me at this number and I’ll answer any question you have. Maybe more. Because I do love the ocean and absolutely want to have the time of my life tonight.

She fucking texted me her number to my phone. With my phone. What a fucking whirlwind of a woman, destroying me and leaving me in pieces in her wake. With the biggest fucking hard on I’d had since…ever. I smirked and typed a response.

Two can play at this game, Little Tornado.

brETT: I thought you said you were calling someone, Tornado?

I added the moniker as her name in my contacts.

TORNADO: Tornado, huh?

With a smirk, I responded. Not just because my dick wanted it. The fucking initiative this girl possessed. Her confidence was an aphrodisiac. And I liked it. Damn.

Where had she been all my life?

Hint, dickhead, you weren’t exactly looking.

brETT: You ran away before I could catch your name and left me in shambles.

TORNADO: Maybe you didn’t earn it yet.

brETT: Earn it?

TORNADO: I’ll make it easy. Tell me what your first thought was when you saw me.

Mine, or my dick’s? I thought, knowing what she meant but unable to separate the two when it came to her question.

Fourth shot went down, smooth and warm. Not that I needed it to tell her, because my dick and I were still in complete agreement over what we both thought about her.

brETT: Only if you do the same, Tornado.

TORNADO: Oh, I can do that. You first.

Fuck it. My distraction from the relationship bullshit envy for the night fell into place the second I turned and found myself face to face with sunset eyes and lips meant for kissing and being wrapped around my cock. Might be a bit too much, but you miss the shots you don’t take.

brETT: I thought you looked like a sunset. Then I wondered how you’d taste. Everywhere.

I resisted the urge to turn around and see where she ran off to after giving back my phone before walking away.

But, fuck, the urge to see her face when she read my text?

See if her lips parted, pupils dilated. Did it turn her on, or did she think I was some random creeper hanging out in my post wedding party suit?

TORNADO: I wondered how you’d look when I choked on your cock. So we’re not too far off.

Holy fuck.

brETT: Oh, honey. You shouldn’t say things like that unless you mean them.

TORNADO: Tell me what you would do if I gave you my room number and left my door unlocked. Waited in bed only wearing my thong and bra. My back to you when you walk in.

For a few seconds, I didn’t dare move, my dick was so hard, much less breath for a few beats. Fuck, this girl, whoever she was, was either crazy as fuck, or needed to get laid as badly as I did.

brETT: Playing a dangerous game, Little Tornado.

TORNADO: I can tell you’re the kind of man who knows how to give me what I need. Or am I wrong?

brETT: Honey, when I told you you should be having the time of your life, I meant it.

TORNADO: Don’t disappoint me, Daddy. Room 713.

Before I type any type of response, her dark tipped fingers slid into my view, along with a key card. I resisted the urge to take her in my arms, kiss her until she melted, so I could whisk her upstairs and give her what she asked for. I waited, not turning to look at her, hard as a fucking rock.

“This is so we’re clear on what I want, and that includes you taking everything the way I meant it. You know where I’ll be. Please don’t leave me waiting too long.”

The warmth of her body behind me vanished, and I felt her loss immediately.

The key card on the bar top gleamed like a damn beacon in the dim glow of the bar as the waves crashed outside onto the still sun warmed sand.

My dick reminded me, not so gently, that the distraction we both desperately wanted had made the move, and not us.

Which only made her hotter and made me want her even more, if that was even possible.

Fuck yes. She had the kind of body a man could get lost in and forget all the shit tumbling around in it. And I intended to get lost all fucking night.