CHAPTER 21
BLAIRE
T wenty-eight years old and here I was, playing Never Have I Ever like we were kids again.
The sun had disappeared behind the ridge, turning the lake into black glass that caught the first pinpricks of stars.
Maggie's knee bumped mine with each burst of laughter, her legs folded beneath her. McCoy was sprawled out beside her, and Hunter sat on my other side with Alicia molded against him like she was afraid someone might steal her spot.
Then there was Colt. He’d taken the spot directly across the circle from me. His long legs stretched out, beer bottle dangling from his fingers, his mouth curved in a way that made me forget every reason I'd ever had for staying away.
When he tipped his beer back, I couldn’t help but watch the slow bob of his throat, the way his jaw tensed just slightly as he swallowed.
Hunter lifted his beer bottle and flicked a smirk around the circle before his eyes lingered on Maggie. “Never have I ever gone skinny dipping in this lake.”
The string lights strung along the dock posts cast just enough glow to really take each other in as night settled over the lake.
The dock went silent for one suspended breath. Then, Colt’s gaze met mine, and I rolled my eyes as both of us lifted our drinks and took a sip. Maggie followed, then Hunter, then McCoy. Only Alicia’s bottle stayed firmly planted on the wooden planks.
McCoy’s jaw dropped in theatrical shock. “Hold up. Maggie skinny dipped in our lake? Without me?”
Maggie grinned and patted his leg. “You weren’t invited, McCoy. Maybe next time.”
“It’s the very first round, and I’m already feeling left out," McCoy said, his mouth twisting into a mock pout.
“Don’t worry, McCoy.” Hunter leaned forward with a lazy grin, tapping his finger against his temple. “I could tell you all about it. I replay it all the time up here.”
“Are you serious right now?” Maggie’s voice went razor-sharp.
Beside Hunter, Alicia shifted, creating a sliver of space between their bodies that hadn’t been there before.
I choked on a laugh, earning a sharp look from Maggie, but even her mouth twitched on the corners.
“Go. It’s your turn,” she said.
I tapped my fingers against my beer bottle, a slow rhythm that matched my heartbeat. I looked around the circle, but my gaze snagged on Colt like it always did. Like gravity. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes that made me smile. “Never have I ever ridden a bull.”
All three guys tipped their bottles back. McCoy sighed dramatically. “So we’re playing ‘make the cowboys drink,’ huh?”
“Hey, Alicia could’ve ridden one too,” I said, but he just snorted.
Maggie leaned forward, the string lights dancing along her face. “Never have I ever been in love.”
All I could hear was the soft lap of water against wood.
I lifted my bottle slowly, feeling the weight of every inch.
Across the circle, Colt’s bottle stayed motionless in his lap, his eyes locked on mine.
One heartbeat. Two. Then his fingers tightened around the glass and he raised it to his lips, taking a long, deliberate sip without breaking his gaze.
“Okay,” McCoy announced, his grin spreading slow across his face. “Never have I ever called off an engagement.”
“Damn,” Hunter muttered under his breath, and I shot McCoy a look that could’ve frozen the lake.
“So we’re playing ‘make Blaire drink,’ huh?” I mocked him as I brought my beer to my lips.
He leaned back, satisfied. “Just needed confirmation.”
“You could’ve just asked me,” I said, then gestured across the circle without meeting those eyes I could feel burning into me. “Colt, you’re up.”
He hesitated for a second before he finally spoke, his voice dropping so low it seemed to vibrate through the wooden planks beneath us, and my gaze snapped to him.
“Never have I ever thought about kissing someone here tonight.” His tongue briefly touched his lower lip as he finished the sentence, and his eyes held mine with such naked hunger that I forgot to breathe.
I inhaled sharply, the dock creaking beneath me as I shifted.
Five pairs of eyes burned into us, but I couldn’t look away from Colt.
His gaze dropped to my lips, lingering there, and arousal pulsed between my legs.
He lifted his beer with deliberate slowness, the muscles in his forearm flexing as he tipped the bottle back.
I watched his throat work and remembered how his skin had once tasted on my tongue.
I shouldn’t have done it. I should have lied.
My fingers trembled so violently against the cold bottle I feared I would drop it, but I raised it anyway.
One swallow. Two. The carbonation fizzed on my tongue while memories flooded back—the rough scrape of his stubble, the way he’d groan when I bit his bottom lip, how kissing him had always felt like a freefall.
McCoy let out a low whistle. “Well, shit. This game has taken a turn.”
Alicia cleared her throat, a little too loud, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. We all looked at her as she spoke. “Never have I ever,” she started, her eyes flicking to Maggie for just a second then to me, “been cheated on.”
“Wow. Y’all are really going for the jugular today,” I said, and the laugh that tumbled out of me was just tipsy enough to sound lighter than I felt. I lifted my bottle.
“Sorry,” Alicia said with a wince, as her nails clicked lightly against her drink.
“Zero stars.” I held up a zero on my hand. “I don’t recommend it.”
“Me either,” Maggie said, but her voice had the slightest edge to it. She leaned in, and we clinked beers, a little too hard. The fizz slopped onto my hand and I licked it off. I caught Colt watching me, his eyes dark and intent beneath the string lights.
“Ditto,” McCoy said, and for once he didn’t ham it up. He leaned forward and gave us solemn cheers.
Hunter was flat on his side now, propped on an elbow, the bottle balanced on his chest. He hoisted it up and leaned across my knee until he could tap his bottle with the rest of ours. “I also give it zero stars,” he announced, then paused, thinking. “Negative stars if that’s allowed.”
“Baby, Hunter,” I crooned, leaning over to ruffle his hair with my free hand.
His dark strands were still a bit damp from swimming, and my fingers moved through his hair like they had a hundred times before, a habit from when we were kids.
While Colt had been my world, Hunter had been like a little brother.
“With that face? Who would dare cheat on your handsome ass?”
He grinned, a flash of teeth, and pretended to be mortally wounded by the memory. “It’s my tragic origin story, Blaire. Women sense the trauma, makes me irresistible.” He put the back of his hand to his forehead in a grand, swooning gesture.
“I bet that really works for you, doesn’t it?” I smiled down at him.
“Kind of, yeah.” He nodded, and I barely caught Alicia rolling her eyes.
“So who was the heartbreaker?” I asked playfully. “I’ll have to kick her ass for you.”
His eyes slid past me to Maggie then back again. “Maggie’s sister,” he said, and even though he said it like a punchline, I heard the old ache in the way he let the words out slow and flat.
A hush fell around the dock, and I couldn’t help it, I snorted out a laugh. I slapped my hand over my mouth, trying to control the sound. “Ope. I’m sorry.” I tried to swallow it, but it kept bubbling up anyway.
“No. Please, Blaire.” Hunter smacked the back of his hand against my thigh. “Make fun of my misery.”
“I’m not making fun of you. I swear.” I was still chuckling as I patted his cheek. “You just caught me off guard.” I widened my eyes and nodded toward Maggie and another laugh slid out as she pinched me. “Oh my god. Who let me play this game?”
“What about you, Colt?” Maggie asked, changing the subject. “You’ve never been cheated on?” There was no challenge in her voice, just simple curiosity.
Colt shook his head, slow and easy, the movement sending his hair falling forward over his forehead. “No,” he said, and the word just hung there.
I let out another laugh, a quiet huff that surprised even me this time. It broke the silence, and suddenly the attention of the entire dock was back on me.
Colt’s eyebrow cocked, the corner of his mouth rising in that lazy, charming way. “Is that funny, Blaire?”
A laugh slipped out before I could help myself. “No, not at all. I just… I can’t picture anybody being that stupid.”
He looked at me differently, then, like he was measuring something in my face, or maybe in himself. “And why’s that?”
I gestured toward him with my beer. “Because you’re you. You’re…” I trailed off, realizing too late that I didn’t actually have the words for what I meant. “I don’t know. It’s just obvious.”
McCoy nodded his head and then pointed at Colt with both index fingers. “Our boy is a catch.”
“And now he’s a daddy.” I arched an eyebrow, gave him a pointed look, and took a slow sip of my drink.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Colt asked, his low chuckle vibrating through the night air between us.
“Are you drunk?” Hunter laughed, tilting his head back against my knee.
“No. I'm not drunk.” I shook my head. “Well, maybe a little tipsy, but tonight’s just been fun.” My shoulders lifted in a shrug.
Hunter smiled up at me, and I didn’t dare look at Colt. “He’s probably going to kill me for telling you this, but McCoy and I have been trying to get Colt to let us call him daddy on the ranch for ages.”
I snorted out another laugh so hard my eyes watered, and Hunter’s grin stretched wide as he watched me.
“He’s our boss daddy,” Hunter declared, hand over his heart like he was reciting the pledge of allegiance. “It’s only right.”
“Hear, hear!” McCoy raised his bottle from where he now lay flat on his back, sloshing beer onto his chest.
“Wait, I’m living in his house.” I tapped my chin, pretending to consider this deeply while my heart hammered against my ribs. I finally looked up at Colt. “Maybe I should start calling him house daddy.”