“Uh, that’s another reason why I’m calling,” he said. “It’s only a month away. It’ll be here on the island. I know it’s short notice, but will you be my best man?”
My jaw nearly dropped. “Sure, man. Of course. I’d be honored.”
“Great.” I could practically hear him grinning. “I’ve got to go, unfortunately. I squeezed in this call as soon as we got the email from the venue confirming the date, but I’ve got a lesson starting in three minutes.”
“No worries,” I said. “I’ll talk to you soon?”
“Sure thing. I’ll send over the details a little later. I can’t wait to see the whole gang again at Josh’s wedding, though. It’ll be good to be able to catch up without one of us constantly needing to run.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together. It’s going to be amazing to have everyone in the same place and with no one having to drop off early to go to work,” I agreed. “I’ll keep my eyes open for those details.”
“Thanks, Park.” He cursed under his breath. “I’ve really got to go. The group of honeymooners have arrived. I’m supposed to teach them how to surf while all they really want to do is go back to bed. I better make this quick. If I take too long to get to them, they might start screwing right here on the beach.” He laughed. “Kidding. That’s never actually happened before, but there’s a first time for everything. Love you, bro.”
“Yeah, you too,” I replied, then stared at my phone for a few long seconds after he ended the call.How the hell did I get myself into this pickle?
In college, I was close with four guys who lived in adjacent dorm rooms. Marley, Colt, Josh, Reese, and I had done everything together. They’d actually even been my first guinea pigs for the system I’d been refining since and had now turned into the fitness regime I was becoming known for.
Back then, we used to hang out together after working out, all dreaming about becoming moguls. Some of us had had more success in that department than others, but now all four of them were getting married this year.
I was the only one who was still solely focused on making those dreams of ours a reality, leaving me the odd man out. It had been like that in college, too.
The rest of the guys had seemed to have an easy time with classes and getting dates, but I had struggled. I didn’t want it to continue to be that way, and now I was somehow on the hook to be the best man at all those weddings.
While I was happy they all considered me to be a good friend all these years later, it just made the fact that I was single that much more apparent. When I wasn’t working, I was always available.
Available to talk on the phone for hours, available to play video games late into the night while their significant others weren’t with them, available to go drinking or camping or hiking. For the first time, it was really hitting me why I was the only one who was literallyalwaysavailable to do it all.
It was because I was the only single one left. I had no one else to spend time with. Outside of work, I was the fun, lonely one they could always count on when they just wanted to get out.
Dropping my head back until it hit the armrest of the sofa I was still lying on, I groaned.How in the name of fuck did I end up here?
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t even realized I wasthat guyuntil right then. My chest tightened and my muscles tensed. I’d never thought I would be the last man standing. The last one to even start looking for love or thinking about having a family.
It probably sounded conceited, but I’d kind of always assumed I’d be one of the first. I had my ducks in a row and I knew where I wanted to go in life.Business. Girl. Kids.
It just made sense to me to do it that way, but now here I was, the best man while everyone else had found the one to settle down with.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
When I realized I was practically hyperventilating about it, I ordered myself to calm down. I’d started freaking out a little about the fact that I wasn’t in a relationship, but I’d been putting all my energy toward work for so long that none of this could come as a surprise.
Hell, when Hunter and his gang gave me shit about finding a girl, I never even paid any attention to them. The only thing that mattered to me was the gym. After I made my money off the sale and retired, I’d have all the time in the world to spend with the family I was going to create.
Well, that wasifI retired. I hadn’t quite decided what I’d do after since I was still focusing on getting it done, but even if I didn’t retire, whatever I ended up doing would almost certainly require less time than building this franchise had so far.
I didn’t have time for love right then, but one day, I would have it. I just needed to stay the course, and thanks to Isabella, I knew it would be easier than ever to stay on track. It was going to be interesting to work with her, given how seriously she took herself and all her rules. But apparently I needed someone to crack the whip and she was the person to do it.
And now I’m picturing her in her underwear, wearing thigh-high boots and holding a whip.Great. Just fucking great.I’m not even into any of that, so why is that mental image just about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen?