Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
C ooper
The booze is flowing, the music is thumping, the atmosphere is electric, and the women are eager. So can someone please explain to me why the fuck I’m not interested?
“Are you depressed or something?”
Count on Perry to say it like it is.
Um, yes. Exactly that.
Considering Perry has been one of my only friends who has stuck by my side after college, it makes sense he would be able to tell how messed up I am.
“We’re at our favorite club on Nantucket, and you’re moping,” he adds.
I don’t know how long grief is supposed to last, but I’m starting to think it will be with me forever. It’s my new normal. I can’t even remember what it felt like to not be sad.
“Yeah, guess I’m depressed.” I offer a defeated shrug.
He offers a sympathetic tilt of his glass. We’ve talked about my year from hell to death. There’s nothing he or anyone else can do.
“You know what you need?” Perry’s voice is a little slurred, and he talks as if he’s had the most brilliant idea on the planet. “You need a hot woman to suck your cock.”
I slow-blink at him. “Don’t be a dick.”
“Shit. Sorry,” he says sheepishly. “But you know I’m right.”
While I’d normally agree with the guy, I can’t cope in the way I used to.
At least, I don’t think I can.
We’re on Nantucket for the summer after finishing our first year of graduate school, and Perry came to join us for the weekend. He knows how to have a good time and dragged me and Ethan out to this club, declaring we were going to have fun, damn it.
“Do what your brother is doing.” Perry points to Ethan. “Don’t let him show you up.”
Yeah, Ethan doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. My twin is on the dance floor, surrounded by women, looking like he’s ready to take one of them to the bathroom for a quickie.
Honestly, it makes me a little uncomfortable.
It’s not that he shouldn’t be with a woman, but it’s weird he’s not with Sybil. It throws me off to see him grinding on some random girl like he’s a player and not someone who was engaged recently.
But who am I to judge? It’s the first time he’s shown an ounce of interest since Sybil broke up with him last fall.
The man desperately needs to get laid.
And I need to stay by the bar and nurse this whiskey.
Only good thing that came out of all this pain and suffering? Dad is letting us spend this summer and next on Nantucket. No work. No internships. No responsibilities. No adult shit. None of it. Just fun and sun and women and booze.
The whole thing is kind of ridiculous, but who am I to complain?
Dad says he doesn’t want us to burn out, and he feels bad about rushing us to school after the funeral.
I haven’t told Ethan this, but I suspect Dad wants us gone this summer because he’s dating.
For all we know, he’s got a revolving door of women coming to the apartment at all hours, and he doesn’t want us there.
Manhattan is a big city, but it feels like we’re on top of each other when we’re all there in the same space. It was one thing when Mom was alive, but it’s different with her gone.
Ethan and I can’t wait until we can buy our own apartments. That’s on the top of our list when we secure our Harvard MBAs and our trust funds.
“What about her?” Perry points to a familiar face out on the dance floor. A friend of a friend of a friend type of girl who I consider sexy, but she’s a little too wild for me.
“Bree?” I scoff. “No way.” I’ve heard all kinds of stories about how territorial she is. No thanks. I like my women commitment-phobic, same as me.
“Bree’s cool,” Perry assures me. “And she’s a freak in bed.”
“You slept with Bree?” I grimace. “I’m definitely not interested.”
“It was years ago and only one time, but it was memorable.” He waggles his thick eyebrows. “She’ll make you feel better, I promise.”
I eye her wearily, my gaze slipping over the curve of her hips and the press of her breasts against her tight dress as she sways to the music.
Maybe he’s right. I have a rotation of willing partners in Boston and New York, but there’s not as many on Nantucket, and I’ve barely called anyone up lately.
“Think about it, but if you don’t want Bree, let me know.” Perry broke up with his college girlfriend four months ago. The man is hurting, too.
“Go talk to her.”
Perry takes another drink, then leaves me standing at the bar to flirt with a group of girls who just walked through the door instead of going to talk to Bree.
What a guy.
He doesn’t know what to do with me—none of my friends do.
They’re so used to me being the fun one, the positive one, the easy-going life of the party.
I haven’t been any of those things lately.
They’ve all noticed, even Ethan, who’s been living in his own world of denial.
He’s decided to gun for top of our class.
Good for him, but he’s already been hand-selected to be the next CEO of King, so what’s the point?
If he got a C in a class, would it hurt his future? Nope.
Maybe Perry is right. I need a distraction, and Bree looks like the perfect one for the job.
Swallowing the last bit of my whiskey, I leave the glass on the bar top and watch Bree. Let’s see how long it takes for her to notice me. Less than a minute later, our eyes lock. When she moistens her lips and smirks suggestively, my cock jerks in response.
Fuck it. I’ll do anything to feel better at this point. At least it’s not drugs.
I stride to the dance floor, and she greets me with a breathy, “Hey there.” Her arms wrap around my neck instantly as we start moving together. Up close, her tanned-skin glistens with a light sheen of sweat, and I have the sudden urge to lick her up and down to see if she’s more sweet or more salt.
This is who I am. I’m the playboy.
Good for a fun night.
Not boyfriend material.
It’s time to suck it up and embrace my true self.