Chapter 18 #2
“Rub it in, asshole,” Luke said lightly. He didn’t make it a secret that he wanted to find a wife and pop out more kids, but the dude worked so much on his farm I didn’t see how he’d ever meet the right woman.
“Speak for yourself,” I said, drawing laughter because Luke and I had this disagreement frequently.
He was all about finding a wife. I was all about staying the hell single.
“You two are overdue,” Chance said. “The rest of us dropped like flies.”
“Lucky flies,” Knox said smugly.
I growled as Presley came to mind. Actually, if I was honest with myself, Presley hadn’t been very far from my thoughts since last weekend, no matter how I tried to get her out of my head.
“I got zero prospects,” Luke said matter-of-factly. “How ’bout you, West?”
I shoved a bite of shortcake in my mouth and didn’t make eye contact with anyone.
“I don’t think West has ever been this quiet before,” Knox said.
Chance, who probably knew me best out of these guys, narrowed his eyes at me, not laughing like everyone else. “Do you have a secret, Aldridge?”
I finished my bite of dessert.
“He’s not denying it, is he?” Ben said.
What I’d learned about these guys was, they would give you all kinds of hell as long as you kept secrets. If you leveled with them, they could be supportive and sometimes even offered up passable advice.
I leaned forward, setting my plate aside and resting my elbows on my knees.
“Dude, you do have a secret,” Luke said.
I wasn’t about to out Presley, but I could give them something. “I might be hooking up with someone.”
Howls erupted around the circle as I knew they would. I waited for them to calm the hell down.
“You’re worse than a bunch of twelve-year-old boys,” I said. “I’m not saying a word about who it is, but it’s supposed to be no-strings.”
“Supposed to be?” Ben asked.
“Is,” I corrected. “Neither of us wants a relationship. Just some fun.”
“That’s better than a yearslong dry spell,” Luke said.
“It’s not easy to find the opportunity to fill your own needs as a single dad,” Chance said sympathetically. Then he grinned. “The one night I took for myself landed me my wife though.”
“And your soon-to-be-born baby,” Ben said. “That was a big night, huh?”
“That’s what she said,” Chance quipped.
I laughed with the rest of them but sobered faster. “I want the no-strings,” I said when they quieted.
“So take the no-strings and run with it,” Knox said. “Don’t pay attention to what Luke says. You don’t have to marry anybody.”
“I’ve never been any good at no-strings,” I admitted. “Maybe I’m missing one of the man genes, but I seem to get my heart involved prematurely whether I want to or not.”
“Is your heart involved?” Luke asked. “With this mysterious hookup woman?”
I didn’t immediately reply, because this was embarrassing. But I trusted these guys. They were the brothers I’d never had. Instead of answering directly, I said, “I’ve never figured out how to do meaningless sex. This was supposed to be exactly that. One and done.”
“It’s not though?” Knox asked.
“It’s happened more than once,” I admitted. “And I want it to happen again. But my history will tell you this is what I do. I get with a lady, and I rush in, get feelings too fast, want more. And then…” I made an explosion sound.
“I remember you moved April in pretty fast,” Luke said.
“Hindsight says way too fucking fast,” I agreed. “And Flora…” I shook my head. “We went from a secret relationship while we were still enlisted to pregnant to discharged to still getting to know each other to married with kids in, well, ten months flat, I guess.”
Chance laughed. “I haven’t known my wife for ten months yet, so I’m no help.”
“Emerson and I have known each other since we were kids, but from the time we got together until we were married was, shit, just over a month,” Ben said.
Knox laughed. “Six weeks for Quincy and me. When you know, you just know.”
“You fuckers are no help,” I said, shaking my head.
“What do you want help with?” Chance asked. “We’re definitely no help when it comes to not falling fast. Are you falling for this woman?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’m just having fun.”
“If you’re afraid of falling, maybe play the field,” Luke suggested.
That was the worst idea ever.
“So none of you have a single tip for how to hook up with someone without trying to make it into more?” I asked.
As soon as I glanced around at their faces, I realized this was the wrong group for the question. They’d all fallen fast and hard. The thing was, I believed they’d all picked wisely.
Ben and Emerson? Meant to be.
Chance and Rowan? It was like fate matched them up.
Knox might be older than Quincy by a lot, but there was no denying they were perfect together.
And we’d all witnessed how goofy in love Max and Harper were at their wedding.
These guys had all found their person. I’d proven I couldn’t tell my person from a bad decision.
“I’ve got nothing,” Knox said. “Maybe just go with the flow and see where it ends up?”
“What do you have to lose?” Ben asked.
“If my girls get attached…” I scowled.
“Your girls don’t know about this hookup, do they?” Knox asked.
I shook my head.
“Then you’re fine,” Chance said. “Have some fun. Get your rocks off to your heart’s content. See where it goes.”
“If you leave me as the only single dad, I’ll kick your damn ass though,” Luke said.
I understood where he was coming from. “I have no intention of getting hitched, my friend. We singles’ll stick together.” I lifted my beer, and Luke tapped his bottle to mine. “Here’s to being single and carefree.”
“Keep telling yourselves that,” Chance said.
Luke snarled at him and looked back at me. “Your girls are in Nashville for the weekend?”
“They’ll be home tomorrow before bedtime,” I said.
“After these old married farts go home to their old ladies, let’s hit the bars.”
I laughed, but honestly that sounded a hell of a lot better than heading home to my hand and thoughts of Presley.
“You’re on.”