“Isn’t Randy here yet?” Miller pulls his phone from his back pocket and checks his messages. “Says he got here, like, ten minutes ago.”
“Yeah, but he’s with some girl.” I try to sound like it doesn’t matter, even though it feels like someone kicked me in the magic marble.
“What?” Miller’s eyes narrow.
The girl Randy was with on the deck comes storming through the house.
I point. “That’s her.”
“Tash?” Now Miller looks baffled.
“I don’t know what her name is, but they had their hands all over each other.” I swirl my drink.
“That’s the team’s trainer,” Sunny says.
A hockey player I recognize—his name is Lance, I think—is right on her heels, calling after her.
“I think maybe there’s a misunderstanding, because if anyone’s with Tash, it’s Lance, not Randy.”
Sunny nods. “Totally. Randy’s all about you these days.”
Miller gives her the eye.
“Isn’t that what you said earlier?” She twists her hair around her finger.
“Hey, Balls,” Miller’s gaze lifts over my head.
“Hey.”
His deep voice makes my insides liquid, but not Ebola liquid, sexy liquid. I can practically feel his body heat behind me. Okay, that’s not true, but he runs a finger from the nape of my neck all the way to the base of my spine, and I can definitely feel that. My body tightens with anticipation. All the blood seems to get sucked straight into my clit. Just from his finger. I don’t get it. Now all I want to do is jump him, even though less than five minutes ago some other girl was touching him.
I take a deep breath and turn. His hair is pulled back in that pony nub he’s got going on. Usually I think man buns are stupid. For some reason on him it’s sexy.
“Hey, Lily. Not gonna run away from me this time?” His lip curves up in a half-smile.
His beard is so perfect. Just like the rest of him. I want to run my fingers through it. Stroke it. Him. I also might want to ride his face. Again. Jesus. What’s wrong with me? I realize I’m staring, and he’s made a snarky comment. I open my mouth, and all that comes out is a sigh.
His grin gets bigger. Cocky pucker. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
I take a hefty sip of my drink. It’s strong, whatever it is. I turn my head and cough. When I look back again, I’m slightly more composed. “I don’t see the point since you’ll probably follow me anyway.”
“There’s a good chance.” He skims my shoulder with a fingertip. “This is pretty.”
“Thanks.” The tags are still attached to this dress. They’re tucked inside, and the little plastic thing is poking me in the armpit. It cost more than a hundred dollars. I can’t afford to keep it, so my plan is to wear it tonight, have it dry cleaned, and return it to the store on Monday. It’s dishonest and underhanded, but I wanted to look nice tonight. The last formal-ish dress I bought was for my prom, and that was years ago.
We stand and stare at each other for a while longer, saying nothing. I wish I would have hugged him right away or something, but it seems awkward now. All the messages we’ve been sending back and forth over the past week make my skin hot. It’s so much easier to flirt and threaten sexting when I don’t have to look at his face.
“So what’s going on with Tash and Lance?” Miller asks.
“Who knows. They’re acting all weird. I’m not sure what the deal is, but Tash elbowed me in the face, and Lance misunderstood, and now they’re pissed at each other.”
“Are you okay?” Sunny asks, seeming genuinely concerned.
“It’s fine, just kinda hurt for a few minutes. Thanks for asking.” Randy directs his grin at me.
Miller takes a swig of his beer and shakes his head. “I still don’t get why she’d be interested in him. He puts his dick everywhere.”
“You used to put your dick everywhere,” Sunny pipes up. She’s not angry, just honest.
“I was never that bad.”
Randy lifts an eyebrow. Sunny does the same.
“Seriously. I wasn’t that bad.”
Sunny pats him on the cheek, then replaces her hand with her lips. “It’s okay, Miller. I’m just saying, I still gave you a chance even though you were slutty, and look how well that’s turned out? People change, or at least the things they want can change.”
Miller kisses her fingertips. “I had to work real hard to convince you I was serious about you, sweets.”
Sunny bats her lashes. “You did such a good job, too.”
Randy makes a gagging noise. “You two are worse than a chick flick. You need to take that shit somewhere else.”
“They’ve been taking it somewhere else all damn day,” I mutter into my glass.
Miller and Sunny break apart. “We have not!” Sunny’s voice is high, the way it gets when she’s lying, or embarrassed.