Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
PARKER
We were on our private jet headed back to Boston after another successful assignment.
"Why the hell do you look so sullen? Don't tell me you drank too much last night and are still hungover?"
If only Rhett knew. Actually it was probably best I did tell him because if I didn't, his wife sure as hell would. Elle and Molly were close. Even closer than sisters and there was no way Molly wasn't running to her best friend and telling her everything that happened.
"I think I fucked up."
"You think or you know? Because those are two very different things." Rhett raised his brow at me.
"I know I did."
Rhett sighed. "Tell me what you did so we can find a way to fix it."
I shoved my hand in my pocket and pulled out the wedding band I found on my finger when I woke up not too long ago. I didn't even want to think about the used condom I found in the bathroom trash. I could only handle one crisis at the moment.
"Uh, is that what I think it is?" Rhett leaned forward and took the band out of my hand. "Because it sure as hell looks like you got married at some point."
"I did or, at least, I think I did." I rubbed the spot between my brows. "I can't really remember what happened last night."
Fuck, this wasn't like me. I never had drunken sex, and I sure as hell never got married after downing shots.
"And who the hell is the lucky lady?"
At that question, I winced. I knew as soon as I said Molly's name, Rhett was going to want to kick my ass. Rhett loved his wife unconditionally and anything that would cause her distress would piss him off.
"Please don't tell me it's Molly? I know you went to say hi to her but please tell me that's all it was?"
"I can't do that, man."
"Jesus fucking Christ," Rhett spat so loud that the rest of the team––minus Oxford who was flying the damn plane––turned in our direction. "What the fuck were you thinking, Parker?"
"What the hell's going on over here?" Matthew––our team leader––walked over and demanded.
Rhett opened his mouth before I could. "This asshole decided to marry Elle's best friend last night while we were all comfortable sleeping in bed."
I grimaced at the accusation. A small part of what Rhett said hurt. We were supposed to be friends, teammates, and at the first sign of trouble, he was abandoning me.
"Is that true?" Logan joined the conversation and asked. "Did you really get married in Vegas? Who the fuck does that these days?"
"A drunk one, apparently." Rhett rolled his eyes. "That's what happened, right? It's the only explanation for why you can't remember last night."
"Yeah, we were drinking together." My voice was barely more than a whisper. Guilt ate me up. Not because of what my friends thought but for what Elle would think of me. I had gotten very close to her since she came into Rhett's life. I hated knowing this was going to drive a wedge between us.
"Damn, man. What are the odds?" Graham shook his head. "What was Molly even doing in Vegas?"
"She was there for a science conference," Rhett answered. "She loves that kind of shit."
It pissed me off that my friend knew more about the woman I was married to than I did.
Granted we spoke about a lot of things while we were drinking but most was just surface-level shit.
Molly and Elle spent a good amount of time together, so it was only reasonable to assume Rhett knew a lot about Molly.
That didn't stop me from being pissed off though.
"Yeah, Molly mentioned how much she loves going to it every year," I added.
"Okay, so she was in Vegas for a conference. But seriously what are the odds you two ran into each other?"
"Pretty fucking good apparently," I grumbled.
"So what are you going to do now?" Logan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against one of the seats.
"Obviously he's going to get the damn thing annulled," Rhett was quick to answer. Never before did I want to punch someone as much as I wanted to hit my friend in that moment.
"Actually, I'm going to talk to Molly and see what she wants to do."
Rhett scoffed. "Seriously? You can't stay married to her."
Now I was just down right furious. "And why the fuck not?" I glared at my friend. "What, am I not good enough for her?"
"No, you're not. You wouldn't know a good woman if she slapped you in the face. You think women are disposable, and hell will freeze over before I let my wife's best friend become another notch in your damn bedpost."
If only he knew.
Rhett's low opinion of me hurt more than I realized it would. He wasn't wrong about me though. I did go through women at a high rate of speed.
"Glad to know how you really feel about me, friend." I hissed out the last word with venom. Fuck him for being accurate.
"Claws in, gentlemen. We don't need a pissing match on the plane. Black would be irate, and I'm not in the mood to clean shit up." Matthew didn't pull any punches.
Rhett and I continued to glare at each other. His wife might be best friends with Molly, but at the moment, I was her husband, and I sure as hell wasn't going to take that job lightly.
The rest of the flight was silent. No one seemed to want to say anything more, and I relished in the fact that no one was questioning me any longer because the truth was, I didn't have any answers.
Marriage was never something I saw for myself. I enjoyed women. All shapes and sizes. I wasn't exactly picky about the women I took to bed. But unlike what Rhett thought, I wasn't that much of an asshole.
I made sure the women in my bed received at least two orgasms before I finished myself.
I also didn't immediately kick them out of my bed.
Oftentimes I made them breakfast. I was the kind of manwhore who let them down gently.
Reminding them that I was very honest from the beginning and there would be no changing my mind.
Most left with a smile on their face but some didn't. Those were usually the women who thought they could change me.
That they would be the special someone to get me to settle down.
It never happened though. One time was always enough for me. Anything other than that and I had to worry about attachment issues. Yet for some strange reason, the thought of letting Molly go caused my chest to ache.
Never before did I want to know what it would be like to get to know a woman beyond surface-level shit.
With Molly, I wanted that. I wanted to know everything I could about her.
What she loved. What she hated. What made her tick.
How I could keep her in my life for more than just a brief period of time.
I didn't know what to do with these feelings.
I did know that I wasn't ready to give up on this marriage. Not yet. I just needed to find a way to convince Molly of that.
Oh and hope like hell she didn't hate me for taking advantage of her. Even if I couldn't remember doing it.