Ryker
RYKER
It takes about eight shots of tequila, but Lake is up onstage doing karaoke with Rachel.
And…
They’re both surprisingly good.
In all the years I’ve known Lake, I’ve never once heard him sing, and I’m honestly not sure why. He sounds great, which is an achievement seeing that, by now, he’s pretty damn drunk.
They’re singing a song from Grease , and the whole bar is on their feet, singing along and absolutely losing their fucking minds for Lake and Rachel’s performance. A performance, I might add, that includes choreography. Shit, that makes the singing even more impressive, and now I really want to hear it sober and without the crowd.
I’m staring at the stage, mouth open, taking the performance in, my heart beating wildly in my chest. It’s hot. Really, really hot.
“Did you know Lake could sing?” Kelly leans toward me and shouts.
I just shake my head, still a bit dazed.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Kelly continues, eyes on Lake, head tilted to the side. “It’s fucking hot.”
The flash of jealousy is instant and burning hot.
There’s this renewed acknowledgment inside me. The two of them have slept together. I know it. Well, to be fair, it’s worse. I’ve seen it. I’ve also mostly blocked the image out of my head, but it’s back with a vengeance now. I grit my teeth and try to push the jealousy down. It doesn’t have a place here. Kelly and Lake were never serious, so there’s no reason to feel this fiery surge of possessiveness.
It’s there anyway.
“He’s good, yeah,” I say inanely and belatedly.
They finish the song, Rachel grabs Lake’s hand, and they both bow. Lake lifts the hem of his shirt and wipes it over his face. The roar from the crowd that follows is deafening. It’s accompanied by whistles and cheers.
“Take it off,” somebody shouts, loud enough that I can hear it over the noise and the applause.
Lake throws his head back and laughs, happy and carefree.
The urge to kiss him, always in the back of my mind, is stronger than ever. To just stride onto that tiny stage, grab his face in my hands, and kiss him.
It’s not a great craving to have to deal with right now because as a result, I’m rock hard in the middle of a bar. It doesn’t help that I get to watch Lake jump off the stage and stride through the crowd, right toward me with fire in his eyes and a determined expression on his face.
He’s close, closer, right in front of me, still with the flames in his gaze, when somebody stumbles into him. He pitches forward, and I’m immediately up from my seat, ready to catch him. I grab his elbow and steady him.
The noise of the bar fades into the background. Lake blinks, and I watch as reality kicks in.
“Thanks,” he says, then takes a step back. It feels like he’s this close to punching my shoulder and throwing in a ‘dude.’
I hate it.
But I won’t do anything about it. Instead, I make myself smile at him.
“Did you have fun?” I ask.
His face lights up again. “So much fun! Will you sing with me?”
He’s drunk and adorable.
I shake my head with a laugh. “No way. I’m not here to torture people.”
He grins at me but lets it go. Instead, he sits down, takes my beer, and drains it before he leans back in his chair and sends me a wide, dreamy smile.
“You’re cute,” he says. “Have I told you lately?”
“I don’t mind hearing it again.”
“Very cute.” His eyes move up and down me and get stuck somewhere on my chest, zeroing in on the spot where my heart is beating for him. “And sexy,” he continues. “Very sexy. I can’t wait to get my hands on you later.”
Rachel flops into the chair next to Sawyer, and she throws her arm over Sawyer’s shoulders.
Lake’s eyes remain fixed on me.
Rachel leans closer to me. “You know, if you plan to keep this a secret, you’ll have to dial down the eye-fucking.”
“But I like eye-fucking my boyfriend,” Lake says.
“Exactly how drunk is he?” Kelly squints at Lake.
“On a scale of one to ten? I’d say a solid six,” Sawyer says.
“I get to have a professional athlete in my bed every night,” Lake announces, completely oblivious. He leans forward and pinches my cheeks between his thumbs and forefingers. “He’s, like, the best I’ve ever had. No offense, Kel.”
“Plenty taken,” Kelly says easily. “I’m gonna go get us more shots. Let’s see if we can take this six to a ten.”
“I don’t think—” I start to say.
“Can we do lemon drops?” Rachel cuts me off.
“Maybe—” I try again.
“Ooh! We totally should,” Lake says.
They all get up and head for the bar.
“I’ll just sit here,” I call after them. “With my reasonable suggestions.”
Yeah, they’re definitely not listening.
Drunk or not, there’s no denying that Lake is finally relaxed. It’s late, but the party is still going strong. It’s marginally quieter and calmer now that the karaoke has been replaced by a jukebox. Lake’s sitting next to me, close enough that every time he executes one of his wild, drunk gestures, his shoulder rubs against me.
Kelly, Lake, and Rachel are, by now, about equally drunk. Those last three shots took care of any differences there might’ve been in the tipsiness levels.
They’re currently talking about which reality TV show they’d be best at. So far Kelly’s been very vocal about how he’d kick ass in The Great British Bake Off , and now the three of them are arguing about Lake.
“What do you mean I wouldn’t make it one day in Naked and Afraid ?” Lake seems genuinely surprised. “I’ve got skills.”
Rachel waves her hand in front of Lake’s face sloppily. “They all say that until they run into a moose.”
“What? What the hell does a moose got to do with any of this?” Lake asks.
“You’d be in nature. Moose are generally accepted as a part of nature,” Kelly says.
“I know that.” Lake rolls his eyes.
“Do you?” Kelly retorts. “Have you ever been in a forest?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I’ve been in a forest.”
“School trips to a local park don’t count,” Rachel says.
Lake points at Rachel’s face. “Okay, you and I went to the same school, and you know as well as I do that we went to a place with, like, trees and stuff.”
“You’re a total survivalist,” Kelly says with an exaggerated nod.
“I’d do better than you, cake boy,” Lake says.
Kelly lets out a derisive snort and pats Lake on the cheek. “It’s adorable that you think you could beat me.”
“You faint when you see blood,” Lake says.
“I don’t faint,” Kelly scoffs. “At best, I might get a bit queasy for a second, but that’s it. Anyway, it’s not like it matters.”
“It’s survival. You’re bound to get hurt at some point.”
“I’ll slap a Band-Aid on the wound with my eyes closed. Problem solved.”
It’s Lake’s turn to laugh derisively. “I’m sure there will be plenty of Band-Aids in the wilderness. They grow on trees, right? Just face it, you’re already fucked.”
“Pure speculation,” Kelly says dismissively. “In fact, I don’t think I’d even get hurt. I’m too good at survival.”
Lake leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “There’s only one way to settle this.”
“Already on it,” Kelly says, scrolling on his phone.
“Already on what?” I ask.
“I’m signing us up for Naked and Afraid .” Kelly’s still scrolling. I take his phone out of his hand.
“Hey!” he protests.
“I’ll do it for you,” I say.
“Oh, cool. That’s nice of you.”
I hide the phone away. Yeah, no. I’m not a fan of that idea. At all. That jealousy from earlier is back again. That unreasonable need to act like a fucking caveman and announce that the only person who’s ever going to see my husband naked is me, God-fucking-damnit.
Rachel lets out a loud squeak and sits up straighter, grabbing Sawyer’s hand in hers. “I just got the best idea. We should totally do that other show. The one where they travel!”
Sawyer sends her a confused look. “Should I know what that is?”
“Yes! The one where they, like, run all across the world and try to make it somewhere first. What’s the name? We watched it that one time when we were both down with the flu.”
Sawyer doesn’t seem any the wiser. “The one with all the rich housewives?”
“Oh!” Kelly sits up straighter too. “ The Amazing Race ? You guys should totally do that!”
“Right?” Rachel says, eyes shining with excitement when she turns her attention toward Sawyer. “Babe, that would be perfect. How didn’t we think about it before?”
“Would it be perfect?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes! It’s basically free travel. Hell, they probably pay the contestants something, so we’ll earn money. There are no downsides to this plan.”
“I can think of a few,” Sawyer says reasonably.
“Name one!” Rachel counters.
While all of this is going on, Lake’s leg presses against mine, and conversation fades into the background. He starts rubbing his calf up and down my leg slowly. It shouldn’t be hot. There’s no skin touching skin. But a shiver of pleasure runs down my spine, nevertheless.
Lake leans closer. “Have you ever hooked up with somebody in a bar bathroom?”
My breath catches in my throat. “Can’t say I have,” I manage.
“Might be something to remedy,” he says, all casual like nobody’s business.
“You think?” This is definitely not a sensible idea but fuck it. Who are we kidding? I’m already halfway out of my chair.
“I’m very much pro new experiences.”
“Fucking hell, I thought you two were trying not to be obvious.” Kelly’s voice is loud enough that it breaks through my Lake-haze. When I look at our friends, I find them all staring at us with all different degrees of smugness and exasperation.
“We’re not being obvious,” Lake protests.
“Oh, baby.” Rachel’s expression is veering dangerously close to pity. “You could have on one of those T-shirts where there’s an arrow pointing at and the words ‘I’m fucking him’ emblazoned on your chest in neon pink letters, and you’d be less obvious.”
Lake glances at me. Something flashes in his eyes; a moment of hesitation and worry that then morphs into steely eyed determination. And then he moves his chair away from me.
Goddamnit, I fucking hate that I’m doing this to him.
“Still too much ‘throw me on this table and have your dirty, dirty way with me’ energy,” Rachel says, “but marginally better.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Lake mutters, face flushing bright red.
“Wasn’t it? Because I almost feel like I need a Scotch and a cigarette after witnessing all this,” Kelly says with a shit-eating grin.
I know he’s teasing, and he means well, but I really wish he’d shut up, because the happy, carefree, tipsy Lake has morphed into somebody who’s clearly overly aware of his surroundings. This evening was supposed to be him relaxing and kicking back with friends and not overthinking us.
“Switch with me,” Lake tells Kelly, nodding at me. “He’s way too hot, and I’m way too drunk to behave.”
Kelly laughs and some of the tension breaks.
“Come on. We’ll get some water in you.” The two of them get up and head to the bar again. I watch them go.
“Now you just look gloomy.”
I turn my gaze away from Lake and toward Rachel, who’s now sitting in Sawyer’s lap.
I drag my hand through my hair and shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“For what it’s worth, you make him stupidly happy. I never thought I’d see the day when Lake made moony eyes at somebody, but then you came into the picture. It’s nice to see.”
I purse my lips and study her and Sawyer. “You two have been together for a long time,” I say.
“A whole eternity in high school sweetheart years,” Rachel agrees with a laugh. “Why?”
I try to formulate the thought that’s been circling in my head for a while now.
“Does it get less… intense over time? Less terrifying?”
Sawyer tilts his head to the side. “Which part is terrifying?”
I shrug helplessly. “The thought of losing him?”
At the bar, Lake is grinning at something Kelly says. My chest jolts, and I smile.
“I’d say so,” Sawyer says, calm as ever. “Not less intense, but you settle into a life together and you spend less and less time thinking about what could go wrong because there’s so much future to be had.”
I blow out a breath and consider my words.
“What if I’m holding him back?” I blurt.
“What if you’re giving him wings?” Rachel counters. “Don’t overthink the easy parts. That way lies trouble.”
“Easier said than done,” I mutter.
“Not really. What it comes down to is that you make him happy. Whatever crap comes your way, you’ll figure it out as you go.”
I draw in a deep breath, hold it for a bit, then let it out. “Thanks.”
Rachel smiles and squeezes my arm.
Once Lake and Kelly come back to the table, we share the two bottles of water they brought over before Rachel yawns and snuggles against Sawyer’s chest.
“Tired?” he asks.
Rachel nods. “Take me to bed. I’ll let you ravish me in return.”
“A good offer if I’ve ever heard one,” Sawyer says.
I look at Lake. “Ready to head out?”
“Yeah.” He nods and sways just the tiniest bit. Still adorable. We head outside.
Lake goes and hugs his friends, and I follow suit.
“Thanks for coming, guys,” Lake says.
“We’ll do it again soon,” Rachel promises smacking a kiss on Lake’s cheek.
We watch Rach, Sawyer, and Kelly wave down a cab. I turn to look at Lake, and he smiles at me.
“It was a good night,” he says.
I nod. “The best. Thank you.”
“For what?”
I shrug. “Sharing your life with me.”
“Sappy,” he says with a laugh.
“Only with you.”
The Uber I ordered while we were heading outside arrives, and we get into the car. The driver looks exhausted and not in the mood to chat, which is very much welcome. I sit right next to Lake, our shoulders, hips, and thighs pressing against each other.
After a few minutes, Lake’s head drops onto my shoulder, and he’s out like a light.