CHAPTER 27 Archer Bradley
Awkward
Well, that was awkward.
I was able to slip out of her after checking off another bucket list item, but not without that strike of fear in me that we might be caught.
I guess I don’t really care if it’s Ford who catches me. Maybe a part of me even wanted him to, and Tatum—for them to see that I’m fine. That I’m moving on.
Because I am.
Being with Millie is fun. It’s low-pressure, and she makes me feel like we can do whatever we want together and go our separate ways at the end with no regrets.
Though I’m starting to wonder if it’ll be a regret to leave her behind at the end.
I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess.
We excuse ourselves from Ford and Tatum to order drinks from the swim-up bar, and Millie leans in close to my ear after we place our order.
“I need you to finish what you started.”
Fucking hell, just her words nearly make me burst in my swim trunks.
The bartender passes our drinks across the bar—a pina colada for her, a beer for me—and I lean in close to her. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
We towel off and head up to my room, drinks in hand. My eyes are on hers in the mirrored reflection of the elevator, and since we’re alone, I can’t help but spout the truth. “We can check off pool sex and public sex from your bucket list.”
She giggles. “You are such a good multitasker. Now take me out onto your balcony so we can check that off as well.”
“What else is left besides the balcony?” I ask.
“Skinny dipping and sex on the beach.”
I twist my lips. “That’s it?”
She nods. “And we still have almost three weeks left.”
Three weeks.
Damn.
Twenty more days until I head home.
When it was thirty, it felt like a lifetime. But knowing I’m going to have to say goodbye to Millie in twenty days feels heavy. That also means that it’s really just about a month before my suspension is over. I’ll be back on the field mid-May. We’re just about at mid-April.
When I was first suspended, all I wanted was to get back to the game I love so goddamn much. And now, it feels like time is closing in on me. I just want a little more time here in paradise.
We take our drinks straight out to the balcony once we’re back to my room, and we each set them down on the table out there. I sit on one of the chairs, and I beckon her over. “Come here.”
She’s wearing a swimsuit cover-up that’s basically a dress, and I reach under it and slide her bikini bottoms down her legs. She’s standing directly in front of me as she steps out of them, and she knows what to do.
She climbs onto my lap, facing me, and takes my jaw in her hands.
She leans down, and her lips connect with mine.
We kiss slowly for a few beats before she pulls back.
She lets go of my jaw, reaches into my trunks, and finds my still rock-hard cock waiting for her.
Her eyes are hot on mine as she pulls it out and strokes me a few times.
She lifts her body up, aligns us, and sinks down onto me.
“Fuck, Mill,” I mutter, my hands tangling into her wet hair as she balances herself with her hands on my shoulders and I bury my face between her tits covered by far too much clothing.
She rides me as I rest my hands on her ass, and I move one hand between us to thumb her clit as she moves up and down over me.
“Jesus, you feel good. I can’t—fuck. I can’t hold off much longer.”
“God, yes, Archer, yes!” She tosses her head back as she gives in, her body betraying her as she flies into her climax.
I stroke her clit as furiously as I can, but watching her fall apart is too much for me.
I start to come before I realize I’m still inside her, and I manage to choke out, “I’m coming.
” She pulls up off of me, and her hands go immediately to my cock to finish me off.
I grunt as she pumps me up and down, streams of cum flowing out of me and onto her hand.
As the moment passes and we both start to come down from the high, she uses her swim cover-up to wipe off her hand before she tucks my cock back into my trunks and moves into place to rest her head on my shoulder.
I hold her there in this intimate embrace, and the feeling like I don’t want to let her go clobbers into me.
That’s sort of the whole thing with a fling, though. I’m going to have to, no matter how hard it’ll be. No matter how much I don’t want to.
Eventually she heads back to her room to shower and get ready for the sunset cruise we booked, and I suppose I should shower, too.
I feel lethargic, like I’m moving separately from my body. It’s all the sex, maybe.
I pick up my date from her room, and we head to the front lobby of the Coast Tower for our sunset cruise.
And wouldn’t you know it? Tatum and Ford are waiting there, too.
Of all the sunset cruises on the island…
okay, so there really aren’t that many, and maybe they had the same idea we did.
For the same night. After we had talked about it.
Maybe they want to be around me. I guess that’s not really so far-fetched. Ford and I used to be close, and Tatum was my best friend for many, many years. They know what they did hurt me, and they want to make sure I’m okay.
And I guess I don’t hate the idea of faking it a little harder with Millie. I feel closer to her after our swim this afternoon, followed by the grand finale on my balcony. And not only that, she showed up for me even after I spent nearly a week avoiding her.
I owe her a debt, I guess. Or maybe I just like being around her.
Whatever the case, I’m about to board a sunset dinner cruise with my fake girlfriend, my brother, and my ex, who’s married to said brother.
I need a drink. Stat.
We really don’t end up spending any time with them at all.
They’re seated on the opposite side of the boat, and my focus is on Millie.
For a little while, I actually forget they’re even on this boat with us—until we’re back on the same shuttle back toward the same hotel.
But even there, plenty of other couples are with us.
Millie’s editing photos from the cruise, and I pull my phone out, too.
I find a text from Ford.
Ford: Did you see this?
I click the link.
Fuck.
I blow out a heavy breath.
This was exactly what I didn’t want to happen, and it happened.
I close the browser and don’t say a word until I’ve walked her back to her room. My plan is to drop her off and head back to my own room to get some rest, but my stupid mouth opens before I can stop it.
“Keep me out of your videos,” I warn.
She looks confused. “I thought we were having fun. Tonight felt like a date, but now we’re back to this?”
I draw in a breath, and before I can tell her what happened, she asks, “Is this because of Tatum?” Her voice is soft, and when my eyes dart to her, she misreads the situation.
“It’s not about Tatum,” I grit out through a clenched jaw.
“Then what is it?”
“Someone posted photos of me here at this resort. They’re all over the internet. My brother and me with the women we’re vacationing with. Someone identified you from your blog. It’s blowing up everywhere.”
“So someone shared our relationship?”
“It’s not supposed to be a relationship!” I yell. “We’re just having some fun, and now we’re linked together all over social media when I’m supposed to be laying low. It’s the viral post you’ve been waiting for.” I fold my arms across my chest.
She rolls her eyes. “God, you’re dense. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it’s because you and your brother are famous professional athletes in your own right and it has nothing to do with me?”
No. I hadn’t thought of that at all. I figured she definitely had something to do with it and maybe even paid someone off to take photos of the two of us together.
Do my trust issues really run so deep that this is the first leap I’d take?
Apparently…yes.
“The last time I trusted someone, she married my brother five minutes after our relationship was cold. Is there any doubt as to why I’d have trust issues and believe that people would only want me for my connections?”
“Archer, this wasn’t me. I wouldn’t sell you out.”
I press my lips together as I study her.
She closes the space between us, and she wraps her arms around me. “Despite what you think about my career choice and my intentions, I wouldn’t intentionally hurt you. I wouldn’t sell you out to the highest bidder.”
My chest aches because I do believe her.
I’m nervous. Terrified, really.
Not because of my trust issues.
Because I know there’s an end date stamped on this when I finally find myself letting someone in.