Chapter 7
Friday evening, I was standing on the back porch of Gabe’s house, mingling with a few others while the oysters were roasting.
The two-bedroom house sat on the Northeast side of Bayport in a subdivision of newly built quaint cottages right along the beach.
There was direct access to the beach from the porch and a small backyard area off to the side where he’d set up a little entertainment spot around a bonfire pit, which we planned to make the most of later.
Callie was standing next to me; she’d been at my side since Lucas arrived, I assumed so he’d be deterred from trying to approach her.
I didn’t tell her he talked to me, and I offered not to interfere, not because I was trying to hide it from her but because I didn’t think it would make a difference.
She could be pretty stubborn—not that I had any room to talk—and with all of the baggage she was carrying, it would take a hell of a lot more than knowing I heard Lucas out for her to talk to him on her own.
While Callie talked to one of the other girls there who happened to be into photography like she was, I glanced over just as Blake walked up the stairs with the third batch of oysters.
I sipped my drink, watching as he dumped them with the others—he’d taken off his sweatshirt, which showed off his flexing bicep muscles as he lifted the bucket.
Knock it off, you fucking weirdo, I scolded myself.
My drought had turned me into a creepy ogler.
I’d met Blake a few times before, and anyone with two eyes could see the man was attractive, but he was the brother of one of my closest friends, so I never looked at him twice because of that.
Now, my brain was in its “who fucking cares” era, and I couldn’t help but notice how hot Blake was no matter how much I didn’t want to.
“You’re staring,” Callie whispered with a giggle.
I snapped my gaze away from him to look at her. “I am not.”
“Yes, you are.” She laughed. “I mean, I don’t blame you. Maybe he’ll be the one to end your drought.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “He’s Gabe’s brother. That means he’s off limits.”
“Okay, there’s a bunch of other guys here. Not one of them has caught your attention?”
I looked around at the others, who were all mingling.
I knew a couple of them were off the market, so my eyes didn’t linger on them.
As for the others…well, none were really my type.
And even if I was willing to forgo what usually drew me to a guy, considering my usual taste was doing absolutely nothing for me these days, none of them struck me as the one-night stand, help-a-girl-out kind.
“They’re all so…nice.”
Callie looked at me. “And that’s a problem?”
“I don’t need nice. I just need someone to throw me around like a caber toss for a night.”
My gaze shifted down to the beach where Blake was standing again, finishing up the last batch of oysters while he talked to Lucas and asshole—I mean Wesley.
Blake was off-limits. Lucas was definitely off-limits.
And I wasn’t even going to look at the other one because that would be a cold day in hell.
While Blake gave Lucas his two cents on the whole Callie situation, I looked up from where I stood on the beach, taking in the partygoers mingling on the porch and the small side yard.
I’d hoped there might be some prospects at this party tonight, but save for a few girls, not including Callie and Satan—I mean Morgan, there were only a few. And out of those few, I think only one of them was single, and she…well, she wasn’t at all my type.
“Leave it to you to throw a party that’s a complete fucking sausage fest,” I said, interrupting the other two’s conversation.
Blake laughed as he and Lucas looked at me. “What’s wrong, Callahan? Not getting any?”
I scoffed. “Who said anything like that? I was just making an observation.”
“He’s not getting any,” Lucas said.
“Really, man? You’re just going to throw my business out there like that?”
Blake snorted. “More like lack of business.”
“Says the king of throwing out people’s business,” Lucas said. “Was it not you who told that story at trivia about me and the ‘girl who broke my heart’ for the whole table to listen to, including the girl in said story?”
“In my defense, I didn’t know Callie was the girl in the story. Obviously, I wouldn’t have said anything in front of her had I known.”
Blake chuckled. “I’m honestly surprised, Wes. Usually, you have no problem roping in women. If you’re having trouble, we’re all doomed.”
“I’m not having trouble. I just…hit a little plateau, is all.”
“And this party isn’t a complete sausage fest,” Blake said. “There are girls here.”
“Yeah, and only one of them is single.”
Blake looked up toward the house. “There’s at least three. Gabe’s friend Kendall, and…”
I followed his gaze to where Callie and Morgan were standing on the porch. I huffed out a laugh. “Two.”
“One,” Lucas rumbled, casting me a hard look.
“Down, boy.” I held my hands up in mock defense, knowing exactly what he was implying. “Callie’s off limits. I got it. I have no intention of making any moves on her. What kind of friend do you take me for?”
“I know you’re a good friend. I was just—”
“Putting out a warning,” Blake finished with a chuckle as he clapped Lucas’s shoulder.
I sighed. “Well, it looks like I’ll be headed to Agora after this party tonight to scope out their scene because there is nothing for me here…”