Chapter 14
PARKER
A younger version of me would have already found a reason to join Delaney on the couch an hour ago, when she said, “I feel the same about you.”
The thirty-one-year-old version of me was more cautious, for various reasons.
But goddamn, if the woman wasn’t as incredible as I’d said she was.
Before I even had a chance to respond, Delaney bounded off the couch earlier, claiming she needed “to pee.” Either the woman had the smallest bladder on the planet or she hadn’t really planned to blurt that out.
If she regretted saying it or not, I still wasn’t sure.
But I did know my stomach hurt from laughing.
Delaney was a hoot. Not always from trying.
She called them “blonde moments” but I’d told her that was a slander to blondes everywhere, which earned me a pillow to the head.
One I had been dearly tempted to pick up and carry over to her to show Delaney what an adult pillow fight looked like.
Namely, with her pinned underneath me, the pillow under her head, at the end.
“Another drink?” I asked as the conversation took a decidedly flirty turn. It had started out with Delaney telling me about her “smut books” and me asking for more details and… here we were.
“Sure,” she said, standing up with me. “You know we’re going to be shitfaced by the time the others get back,” she said. “Maybe I should down a water first.”
“Or two,” I said, knowing one water was not going to make up for what we’d drunk so far. Heading to the cabinet of glasses, I grabbed two and filled them with ice and water. Handing one to Delaney, I leaned against the kitchen counter.
“So back to your smut books.”
“How did I know we were going to circle back to that?” she teased.
“We don’t have to.” I tried to play nice. But she looked so damn sexy, drinking her water, as innocent as can be. Or maybe not so innocent. Delaney tilted her head down and peered up at me through her lashes. She probably didn’t even realize she was doing it, but the gesture was flirty.
Sexy.
I couldn’t ignore it.
Putting my water down, I headed to where she was standing.
As luck would have it, Delaney was right in front of the bottle of Tito’s.
As I leaned toward her, she didn’t move.
She did look at my lips, though, and dammit if I didn’t want to kiss her so badly it was physically painful.
On one hand, she’d been flirty today. Her body language told me to lean in.
To kiss her. Pull her hips into mine and feel how well our bodies fit together.
On the other, she had made it clear the other day that we were friends.
Being friendzoned by someone you pictured naked, someone you’d imagined kissing so many times it almost felt as if you knew what they tasted like, was the worst sort of torture.
I reached behind her.
Delaney, realizing my purpose there, so close to her, put her hand on my chest. The feather-light touch should not have made my dick begin to harden, but it did. Resisting the urge to adjust myself, I took a deep breath. Willed it to behave.
Looking into those clear hazel eyes, trying to discern her intent, I waited for another sign. One that told me Delaney had changed her mind about her “this is not a date” talk from lunch.
Her lips parted.
“There’s the ski skippers.”
One second, I had been about to lean in. The next, I grabbed the bottle of Tito’s from behind her and moved back so quickly that I doubted Beck noticed much.
“Back so soon?” I asked as he took off his boots and coat, hanging them near the door.
“We were on the slopes by nine. Someone’s legs were tired. Give you one guess who couldn’t keep up.” He shook out the dirty blond surfer-looking mane more than one woman had lost their mind over.
Instead of answering his question, I made Delaney’s drink.
“Pia will probably have one too,” she said as Pia and the others filed inside.
“One what?” Mason’s fiancée said, taking off her boots and coat too.
“Guess,” Beck prompted me again. “Who wanted to quit?”
With a semi-hard dick and thoughts of Delaney’s lips parting, I wasn’t in the mood for Beck’s games.
He grabbed my shoulders from behind.
“You are no fun,” he said with a friendly shake.
“Cole,” I said, playing along.
“Yep. I think he’s getting soft. Tell him to move out of the city and join us.” When Beck released my shoulders, I continued to make drinks. Delaney had slid another glass next to hers.
“Cole,” I said as he wiped his glasses on his shirt and put them on. “Beck wants you to quit your job, forget about tenure at Columbia, and come live with us at the inn.”
Mason snorted. “You are a real piece of work. He has a job. ”
“Oooh, is that for me?” Pia said, spying the drinks I’d made. “Keep one on ice. My ass is frozen… I’m gonna take a super quick shower to warm up.”
She headed for the stairs. To no one’s surprise, Mason followed her.
“Anyone want a vodka soda?” I asked Cole and Beck. “I have a feeling they’re not going to be back anytime soon.”
“I’ll take it,” Beck said. The guy was an indiscriminate alcohol drinker. Scotch. Beer. Vodka. Wine. You name it, he drank it.
Cole made his way over to the liquor counter where there was entirely too much alcohol for one overnighter.
“Nice,” I said, spying the bottle of Glenlivet. Knowing Cole, likely a twelve-year-old bottle. “You don’t fuck around.”
“Depends on what you’re referencing.”
Only Cole had a way of making a sexual innuendo sound classy.
“Oh, yeah?” Beck asked. “Do tell.”
“Grab me one,” I said as Beck went for a beer in the fridge.
“I don’t kiss and tell, unlike someone I know,” Cole said, heading toward the sliding glass doors. “This is one hell of a view.”
Beck handed me a beer and joined Cole. “No shit. Nice job scoring the house.”
Alone in the kitchen, although still within earshot of the guys, Delaney and I looked at each other. “Cheers,” I said, lifting my bottle. At this point, I was feeling pretty good and assumed Delaney was too. Though no sign of a slur. The girl could hold her alcohol.
“So much for water.”
“One glass is better than none.”
She laughed. “I’m definitely gonna need a break to make it all night.”
That gave me an idea. One that would allow us a little more alone time… with other benefits too. “What if we finish these and watch the sunset.” I nodded toward the guys. “Then take a drink break in the hot tub?”
She blinked. “A hot tub… break?”
“Sure. I saw one on the deck when we came in.”
“Same.” She cocked her head to the side, considering. “I did bring my suit, just in case.”
“Perfect. What’dya think?”
“We can’t completely lose our buzz. I’ll be crawling in my bed before we have a chance to play Cards Against Humanity.”
“Ahhh, I wasn’t aware we were making it a game night?”
“Pia would never miss an opportunity for games. I think she brought like five of them.”
“Good thing I like playing games.”
“Do you?” Her tone was suggestive.
I looked her dead in the eyes. “Not with people,” I said as sincerely as possible. Whether she believed me or not, I couldn’t be sure. Delaney had been burned pretty badly, and I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. But I wasn’t that kind of guy.
Namely, a narcissistic asshole who only gave a shit about himself and being in control.
I knew guys like Makis and I wasn’t one of them.
Nor would I be friends with someone like that.
He could fucking go to hell, and if I ever met the dickhead, I’d be tempted to send him there myself.
Or at least lay him flat on the ground for how he’d treated Delaney.
“Good to know,” she said.
“Card games, though? Sure.”
Her smile told me that was the right answer. “Good.”
I waited.
“Sunset then hot tub break. Let’s do it.”
I nodded toward the guys just as the sun began dipping below the distant mountains. Before Delaney got to us, I whispered to them both, “You don’t want to join us.”
“Huh?” Beck asked as Delaney reached us.
“Oh, wow,” she said. “I didn’t think the view could get any better. That’s like a postcard.”
I watched her instead of the sunset, but agreed. The view was spectacular.
“We’re going to hit the hot tub,” she said to Beck and Cole. “If you guys are interested.”
Beck cleared his throat.
“Uhhh.” Cole looked at me, then to Beck. “I think I’ll pass for now. Maybe later tonight.”
“Agreed,” Beck said. “We have a lot of catching up to do.” He raised his beer bottle.
Which, of course, he could do in the hot tub. But still, it was the right answer.
“Suit yourself,” she said. “I’ll mention it to Pia,” Delaney said, “and go change.”
“Great. See you in a few.”
Neither Beck nor Cole said a word, but their looks weren’t exactly subtle.
We may have lost Mason to Pia, but the guys clearly didn’t relish the idea of another one biting the dust. I raised my bottle in a silent salute to our shared history and followed Delaney up the stairs just as Pia and Mason’s door opened.
“I was just going to text Pia,” Delaney said to Mason. “Do you guys want to hit the hot tub with us?”
He looked past her, at me. I shook my head.
“Maybe later,” he said. “Just took a shower.”
“Oh, right,” she said, continuing to climb the stairs. “Looks like it’s just the two of us,” Delaney called down to me.
“Looks like it,” I said.
Such a shame.