Chapter 35 #2
I stifle a giggle, but not well enough because suddenly the bed shifts and Hollis is hovering over me with a stupid grin on his face.
He smells like a tequila factory.
I’m gonna kill my brothers.
“Hi.” Red curls fall in front of his mischievous green eyes. His grin widens.
“Hi.” I laugh. “Have fun?”
“Your brothers made me do shots.”
“They made you, huh?”
He shifts so he’s lying on his side next to me. I look down, and his damn pants are still halfway down his legs. Shaking my head, I sit up and crawl to the end of the bed. The drunk idiot still has his shoes on, which isn’t exactly conducive to removing pants.
“There’s a code,” he explains as I start to untie his boots. “I had to.”
“A code?”
“Yeah, you know, the bro code. You’re not supposed to hook up with your best friend’s sister. Definitely not supposed to drunkenly marry her in Vegas because her feet hurt and the jewelry store was open.”
I freeze. “Wait, what did you say?”
“There’s a code, Pres. Bro…code,” he says it slower, his head sloshing from side to side.
I drop his other shoe on the ground and abandon his pants. He can deal with those later. I need to know what he just said. I scoot back up to the top of the bed and lie down next to him. His jade-green eyes are half closed, and he’s looking at me with a sleepy smile. “You’re pretty.”
“I know,” I say dismissively. “About Vegas. You said my feet hurt?”
“Uh-huh.” His voice is groggy. I swear, if he falls asleep right now, I will pour a bucket of water on his head to wake him the fuck back up.
“You were wearing those gold fuck-me heels with the tiny straps that wrap around your ankle. All I could think about was how they’d look wrapped around my neck. ”
His eyes flare with heat as he looks me over, like he suddenly just realized I’m lying beside him in bed.
Stay focused, Pres.
“Then what?” I ask, clearing my throat. “Did I take them off? Ask for a piggyback ride?”
“You tried to tough it out, but I suggested we go find a shoe store so you didn’t get blisters.” He hiccups. “Don’t you remember?”
No, I want to tell him. And until my brother plied you with tequila, neither did you.
“It was the middle of the night, though,” I question.
He shrugs. “It’s Vegas. They have stores open twenty-four hours a day. But not a shoe store, apparently. It closed at midnight. The jewelry store next door, however…”
I cover my mouth with my palm as the memory suddenly resurfaces.
“Look at all those tennis shoes, Hollis,” I whine. “They’re just sitting there on the other side of the glass—mocking me.”
I plop my ass on the bench in front of the store and sag against the back of the seat. My feet hurt, and my whole body feels like Jell-O.
I haven’t been this drunk in a very long time.
“I really can’t believe the shoe store is closed, but the jewelry store is open? Why?”
“It’s Vegas,” he says, as if that’s an explanation. I raise a brow. “Pres, it’s the wedding capital of the world. Where are all the lovebirds gonna get their rings?”
My eyes grow comically wide. “That’s the reason it’s open?”
He shrugs. “Why else?”
“Insomniacs with a shopping addiction?”
“Illegal gambling den?”
I frown. “But it’s Vegas? Wouldn’t it just be legal?”
“Fuck if I know. I hate gambling.”
A giggle bursts free. “You are in the wrong city, dude.”
He sits down right next to me. He turns to face me, placing an arm across the back of the bench. “I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
The way he’s looking at me is the same intense stare he gave right before he kissed me back in the bar.
Neither of us has discussed it, but I swear I can still taste him. I still feel the way his body molded against mine. The way we kissed felt desperate, like I’d been waiting my whole damn life for him to finally toss caution to the wind and make his move.
But then he pulled back, a warring expression in his gaze.
He paid our tab, and we left shortly afterward and took a walk.
And now I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. About how right it felt. About how it left me wanting…so much more.
“Not sure if you remember,” I say, glancing up at the jewelry store. “But you once promised to marry me if I ended up old and alone.”
His eyes follow mine. Among the gold bangles and earrings, the designer watches, and the glittery necklaces, there’s a small sign in the window that says, “Wedding Bands 50% off.”
“I remember. You were watching some sappy movie and rambling about how if Kate Winslett couldn’t find love, then what hope was there for the rest of us. Pretty sure I meant it as a joke to make you laugh, but go on…”
I stand and hold out my hand, my heart hammering like a jackhammer. I give him a wicked grin. “Remember how you said I’m practically geriatric now?” His eyes go wide, and then I say, “Wanna do something really crazy tonight?”
“Oh my god,” I whisper, my hand still covering most of my face. “It was totally my idea.”
“Of course it was.” Hollis shrugs and then gives me that half-lidded grin again. “You looove me.”
I brush a loose curl from his face. “Yeah.” I smile. “I do.” And that is all that really matters. But then I lean down close to his ear. “But if you wake up tomorrow and forget you told me all of this, we’re just gonna keep acting like it was your fault, ’kay?”
He snuggles into my shoulder, a tiny chuckle escaping his lips. “Never fucking happening.”
Dammit.