CHAPTER 10 Dex Bradley
Fuck It
We climb the lift hill toward the peak of the roller coaster with the fake New York skyline to one side and the real Vegas skyline to the other. Instead of watching the hill or either skyline, I’m watching her.
She’s something else. She’s no-nonsense when it comes to Jack, which is probably exactly what I need.
She keeps trying to convince me I can do this.
She didn’t yell at me for hitting Jensen.
She wanted to go home, but she came with me anyway.
And now we’re on a roller coaster where I’m teaching her to take more risks in life since she’s trying so hard to teach me to step up and take responsibility for my actions.
Maybe we could each use a little of what the other has. Maybe we could rub off on one another.
I never saw her as anything more than my little sister’s best friend until she walked out in that black dress tonight—barring the ass in the nighttime shorts incident, of course.
The neckline plunges down to her waist but still manages to keep her covered, and all night I’ve wanted that dress to slip out of place.
Is that so much to ask? Just a tiny peek of her tits?
I raise my hands into the air when we get toward the top, and when she sees me do it, she does it, too. And as we lift over the top of the hill and start the descent down the one-hundred-forty-four-foot drop, I hear her scream, “Fuck it!”
It marks the first time I’ve heard any curse word drop from her lips, and it was at my own instruction. I yell it along with her, and we’re both laughing as the roller coaster whips through twists and turns and glides along a loop, flipping us upside down.
And through the whole thing, that dress stays right in place.
When we get off, she throws her arms around me.
I stand stock-still for a beat, surprised that she’s touching me but reveling in the feel of her warm body pressed against mine.
I slip my arms around her waist and hold her close as I breathe in her soft lavender, and just as a pulse of need darts through me, she pulls back.
She pushes to her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Thanks for making me do that. It was exhilarating.”
I don’t think I’ve been kissed on the cheek by a woman since…
The last time I was at home and my mom did it, maybe? Probably not. Mom’s not real affectionate.
But it’s so wholesome. So sweet. So…not what I was wanting out of this night.
I shake it off. I’m just horny, that’s all.
It was the rush of the fight and the roller coaster.
She’s right. I don’t care about the consequences of my actions, but acting on whatever it is that I seem to be feeling tonight would be a total mistake.
She’s here helping me, and I will only fuck that up by acting like I usually do.
I need her help. And as I think back to my conversation with my publicist and that wholesome kiss she just gave me, I think I need her help in more ways than just the one.
Vinny, my publicist, told me I need to project a more wholesome vibe. Punching a dude probably isn’t that, but I’ll call him and explain why I did it. When he spins it that I was just defending my girl…boom. Wholesome.
Exactly the vibe we’re going for while maintaining some semblance of honesty, too, since I don’t see Ainsley as the kind of girl who would be okay with getting caught up in a lie. Other than the obvious one that I told Tawny.
We head down to the casino and walk around a little, and I spot a little pizza place. “Are you hungry?” I ask since we missed dinner at the event.
She nods, and we sit together and eat pizza.
“Remember when I told Tawny you’re my girlfriend?” I ask after we each dig into our first bite.
She nods.
“I hope you were okay with that. And with being seen with me tonight. The press is going to assume we’re together, and I didn’t really warn you about that before we went.”
“It’s fine. Actually, it could really help me since the show I was filming didn’t exactly end with me looking the best,” she says.
“I’m sure you looked as beautiful as you always do,” I say quietly.
Her cheeks redden, but she shakes her head. “I said I’d marry him, and he said no. It was pretty devastating.”
“Then maybe I ask you to marry me and you’re already engaged to someone else when the show airs.” I shrug.
She chokes a little on her bite of pizza. “What?”
I chuckle. “Look, I don’t know how to spin this baby thing.
I didn’t tell my publicist about him yet, but he said I’m not getting as many sponsorship opportunities lately because my reputation has taken a dive.
I got into some trouble a couple months ago, and even though we took care of it, I guess it looked pretty bad. ”
Her brows crinkle together. “What happened?”
“Nothing. It was stupid. Vinny, that’s my publicist, he told me to lay low, so I stayed in Chicago at Madden’s place a while.
And that meant no income in the offseason.
I’m back now, and hardly anything is coming in.
He told me to work on my wholesome factor, and I think you could be my ticket to that. ”
She looks nervous at my words. “What do you mean by that?” she asks, giving me a bit of side-eye.
“I just mean if we’re seen together and we’re giving off the impression that we’re a happy little family, it could mean more opportunities for me. And you, too—for the reason you just said.”
“But what does a happy little family mean?”
I shrug. “Mom, dad, baby. Or husband, wife, baby.”
“First, I’m not Jack’s mom. And second…husband, wife, baby? Dex, this doesn’t sound like you.”
I twist my lips. She’s absolutely right about that. “I guess it’s another example of saying fuck it and just living life instead of being worried about the consequences. Didn’t you go on a show to get married? Would it really be so bad to try it for a few months?”
“Are you so serious right now?” she gasps.
I shrug. “The idea just came to me over pizza.”
“It’s nuts, Dex. Bananas.”
“You’re right. Forget I said it. Though ice cream with nuts and bananas doesn’t sound bad.” I glance at the ice cream place across from where we’re sitting.
She tilts her head and stares at me for a few seconds. “You would look like a rebound. Nobody would believe it’s a legitimate marriage.”
“You’re right. Dumb idea.” I push it a little further, and I don’t even know why.
“Even though we’ve known each other for years and years and could easily explain away the rebound thing.
You always had a thing for me. I always had a thing for you…
when you turned legal age, of course. We could make up a whole story.
You came to Vegas and knew exactly who to call when that show didn’t pan out the way you thought it would. All that shit’s fake anyway, right?”
“We’re not allowed to imply that.”
“Didn’t they already revoke your paycheck?”
She stares at me thoughtfully as she chews her lip for a few beats. She’s actually thinking this through. “The show is in edits, and I’m not sure when they’re airing it. But what if I was married to a pro football star when it came out? I wouldn’t look like such a fool then, would I?”
I press my lips together. “Will they film a reunion show?”
She nods. “They’re filming in three months.”
“Maybe that’s when we make it official, then.”
“You’re joking right now. Right? Because you’re Dex, and I’m Ainsley, and this would never, ever work.”
“We don’t need it to work, Ains. It’s a business arrangement.”
“For how long?”
I twist my lips. “Until the kid is eighteen?” I say again, and she giggles. I’m not sure I’m joking.
“You’re still nuts and bananas.”
“If you keep talking about my nuts, we may have to make business personal.”
Her cheeks turn a bright shade of red along with her nose, and I might just have to keep making comments like that only to see her adorable reaction.
Wait.
Wait just a fucking hot second there.
Did I just use the word adorable in my brain?
Fuck.
Maybe I am nuts after all.
She purses her lips as she stares at me, and then she nods resolutely. “Fuck it.”
“Fuck it?” I ask.
She nods. “Let’s do it.”
My brows shoot up. “You want to get married?”
“I left Chicago expecting to get married in Vegas. So what if it’s not the original route I took? Someone I know is trying to teach me to take more risks without worrying about the consequences, so fuck it. Let’s get married.”
“Let’s get married,” I echo.
I guess we’re really doing this.