Chapter 18
eighteen
. . .
Gracie
I was setting out the appetizers when Cutler came around the corner and picked me up off my feet before setting me on the counter. “It’s game night. You don’t need to do all of this.”
“I love a good party—you know that.”
He studied me for several beats, as if he was trying to memorize every line and curve on my face. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Jeege. You really do take my breath away, at least when you stand still long enough for me to look at you.”
My breath hitched in my throat. It wasn’t like he didn’t tell me he thought I was attractive often, but it was the way he’d said it.
The way he was looking at me.
For a man who didn’t do serious relationships—he was all sorts of green flags.
Thoughtful. Passionate. Funny. Attentive.
I mean, I was going to have my work cut out for me finding a serious boyfriend to compare to my temporary lover and best friend when I left here.
“You take my breath away too, Bear.” It was the truth. “The women in Blue Sky Bay would hate me if they knew they were being deprived because of my temporary needs.”
He chuckled, stepping between my legs. “No one else matters when it’s you, Jeege.”
Our gazes locked, and then he leaned down and kissed me. It wasn’t fast or needy this time. It was slow and tender.
And then he pulled back and walked to the refrigerator and grabbed us each a beer.
I tracked his movements with my gaze.
The way his arms flexed as he popped the tops off the bottles.
The way he handed me my beer and then tipped his head back as the cool liquid moved like silk down his throat.
We were careful when it came to our relationship, all while staying true to his promise to make me feel good every night, and I stayed true to mine to return the favor.
We’d make out until our lips ached most nights.
Explore one another’s bodies. Shower together occasionally. Skinny-dip when we felt like it.
But we always ended in our own rooms, and we hadn’t discussed taking things further and crossing that line and having sex.
But I thought about it all the time.
It consumed my thoughts.
I worried about bringing it up because I’d told him that might make things complicated for me, and he’d probably worry that I’d grow too attached to this situation.
This very temporary situation.
If we could walk away from this, and remain best friends, and not have any weirdness afterward—it would be a win.
My goal was to have something casual. A no-strings-attached, hot, sexy fling.
I’d managed to do it with a man I trusted immensely.
Would it make me greedy to ask for more?
I knew he’d said he thought about it often too, but he’d never asked for it. And we both knew he was used to having a lot more sex than I was. Sure, we fooled around every night, but I was sure he had needs that he’d been neglecting for me.
“What’s going through that head of yours, Jeege?” He grabbed a carrot stick off the platter I had sitting on the counter and popped it in his mouth.
“I was just thinking about your needs.”
He tipped forward a bit with laughter and then flashed me that sexy smile. “My needs, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m sure you have needs, right?”
“Sure.” His tongue swiped out along his bottom lip. “And they’re all being exceeded at the moment.”
“But you must want more? You must be dying to have sex, right?” I shrugged. “I mean, you don’t appear moody or irritable, but maybe you’re struggling on the inside.”
“I’m not struggling on the inside.” He chuckled and then raised a brow, stepping closer. “Are you struggling, Jeege? Do you want this cock inside you?”
I gasped, just as the doorbell rang, and I heard him chuckling as he walked away.
Maybe I was struggling.
He’d been the best teacher I could have asked for.
I’d had enough orgasms to set me up for a lifetime. At least once a day since we’d started this agreement, and on several evenings he’d doubled down and given me multiple orgasms in one night.
Maybe it was time to make an amendment to our contract.
I hopped down off the counter, just as Jovi, Bass, and Tatum walked into the kitchen.
“You’re not sick, are you?” Tatum asked. “Your cheeks are all flushed.”
Jovi placed her hand over my forehead. “You don’t feel feverish.”
Cutler had a wicked grin on his face as he moved past me and grabbed beers for everyone.
“No, I’ve just been running around, getting everything ready.” I cleared my throat before hugging them one by one, just as Phoenix, Cannon, and Brody walked in.
We all got our drinks, and we brought a bunch of appetizers outside as we settled around the big outdoor table.
Game night was one of my favorite things to do, and back when we were in college, I’d tortured most of these guys and made them play many times.
Jovi, Tatum, and Cannon were new to my favorite pastime, but they were excited about any excuse to get together, drink beer, and sit outside by the water.
“So the first game is Taboo,” I told them. “We need to get into groups of two, and then your partner has to give you clues, but you can’t say any of the words on the card you choose, so you have to be creative.”
“I’m a visual learner,” Cannon said over a mouthful of nachos. “I need to see someone play.”
“Yes. His listening skills are less than impressive,” Phoenix grumped.
“Are you still pissed off about the raincoat mix-up?” Cannon rolled his eyes, and all the guys fell back in laughter.
“Dude. I asked if you had a fucking raincoat that I could borrow for a hike for a team-bonding thing for the firehouse. You brought me a box of condoms.” Phoenix shook his head in disbelief.
Cannon’s lips turned up in the corners. “Lots of people refer to condoms as ‘raincoats.’”
“Why would I need condoms to go on a hike with my fucking coworkers?”
“I never hike without condoms.” Cannon shrugged and then winked at Jovi, who was sitting next to him laughing, and Bass glared at him. “You never know who you’ll run into. And I brought you the magnums. A little ego booster. So, you’re welcome.”
“I’m done talking about this. The guys had a field day with it, and I’m sure that’s why I ended up in bed with the flu last winter, because I’d been forced to hike in the rain without a fucking raincoat.
” Everyone was laughing now, aside from Phoenix, who took a pull from his beer and then glanced at me and Cutler.
“Let’s have the pros do a round, and then everyone can see how it’s done. ”
“Great.” I pulled out the buzzer and glanced at my best friend. “I’ll read and you guess?”
“Sure. Tatum can do the buzzing,” he said, and we explained that she needed to make sure I didn’t say any of the words that were listed on the card, and if I did, she’d hit the buzzer.
She nodded. “I’ve got this.”
“Okay, I’m starting the timer.” I cleared my throat and pulled the first card. “Your uncle Ro won the title in this sport.”
“Professional boxer.”
I smiled. One down. I pulled the next card.
“I had one of these growing up, and her name was Maxine.”
No hesitation at all as Cutler smirked at his friends. “Pet. Pig.”
Cocky, but justified.
Next card. Hmmmm… This one was a bit more tricky, only because the clues listed on the card limited what I was allowed to say. I took just a beat to think, and it came to me quickly. “First part of your nickname growing up.”
“Beef.” His gaze locked with mine.
“Name you called Dirk when he flirted with me.”
“Jerk.” He smirked. “Beef jerky.”
“Yes.” I pumped my arm in the air. I pulled the next card. “Okay…happiest place in the world?”
“Disney World.”
“And what is my favorite thing to eat there?”
“Cotton candy, Jeege.” He smiled. I wasn’t allowed to say ‘theme park’ or ‘Disney,’ so this was a way around that.
Next card. “This was a famous man, and his last name is my mom’s first name.”
“Elvis Presley.”
I nodded as we got a few whistles and laughs.
“Damn. Could these two be any more in sync?” Cannon laughed.
We still had time on the clock, and I reached for another card.
“First concert I ever went to.” I raised a brow at my best friend.
“Backstreet Boys.”
I was laughing hysterically as I reached for another card because the time hadn’t run out yet.
We were absolutely killing it.
“‘Show me the money!’” I said in my best theatrical voice.
“Jerry fucking McGuire,” Cutler shouted, just as the timer rang and he jumped to his feet and high-fived me.
“They got seven on the first try.” Jovi was shaking her head and smiling at me. “I don’t think that’s the norm.”
“Boom. That’s how it’s done, my friends.” Cutler sat back down and reached for his beer.
“Well, shit. None of us are going to be this good at it.” Brody threw his arms in the air.
“Phoenix is your brother, so I’m guessing you two would do pretty good,” Tatum said as she pursed her lips. “And Bass and Jovi have that sibling advantage, so I’m guessing Cannon and I are going to be the weak links.”
“Speak for yourself, Tater Tot. I’m never a weak link. I’ve got you, girl.” He winked, and Tatum fell forward laughing.
Cannon was a serial flirt, and Phoenix rolled his eyes and glared at him. “She’s too young for you. Get your filthy thoughts out of the gutter. I say we split the teams up so no one has an advantage like what we just witnessed.”
Tatum only laughed harder. She and Phoenix had grown up together, and she was one of the few people that I’d noticed he wasn’t a total grump to.
“For the record, Nix, I’m a year younger than you.” She shot Phoenix a warning look.
“And he’s older than me.” Phoenix flicked his thumb at Cannon.
“I’m a year older than you, you wanker.” Cannon howled in laughter. “Always so protective of Tater Tot.”
Phoenix shot him the bird as Cutler came up with a plan.
“Let’s break up the teams. I’ll write everyone’s name down, so pick a name, and as long as it’s not your own, that’s your partner.” He tore some paper out of the notebook, and I quickly helped him write everyone’s name down and folded them up.
We broke into teams.
Me and Bass. Cutler and Tatum. Phoenix and Cannon. Jovi and Brody.
And I’d never laughed so hard in my life over the next hour and a half.
Phoenix and Cannon were up one last time, and they’d already fought endlessly on their last few turns.
“I’ll ask the questions this time,” Phoenix said.
“Good. I’m better at answering than asking,” Cannon said, and I tried not to laugh because Phoenix was already annoyed with his partner.
“I’ll do the buzzer for you,” I said.
Cutler started the timer, and Phoenix pulled the first card.
“When you were a sophomore in high school, this happened to you.”
“I had sex with Sophie Miller,” Cannon said, leaning back in his chair confidently with a wicked grin on his face.
“How would the card know that you had sex with Sophie Miller?”
“No clue, but it was a good year.”
“Focus, dickhead. Try again,” Phoenix grumped, and we all laughed because they were hilarious together.
“I won my first bull riding title that year.” He nodded.
“Again. The game would not know that.”
“You said it happened to me sophomore year,” Cannon said with a smirk. “So the game knows something.”
“It is not that. Should I pull another card?” Phoenix asked, clearly agitated.
“Fuck that. We’re not quitting.” Cannon stroked his thumb and pointer finger over his jaw. “I also had sex with Taylor Walters. I got suspended for streaking on the football field on a dare. Thank you very much for forcing me to do such an offensive act, Brody, you big dickhead.”
The buzzer rang.
“We got no points.” Phoenix threw his hands in the air. “Not one fucking point.”
“Your clues were lame, my dude. Step up your game. What was the answer?”
“Bee sting. You got stung by a bee your sophomore year of high school.” Phoenix glared at him.
“Big fucking deal. Lots of people get stung by bees. I hardly remember it.”
“You had an allergic reaction. I was with you,” Phoenix snapped. “I had to call 911, you fucker. It was a big fucking deal.”
“When did you get so sensitive?” Cannon stuck his finger in his mouth and then shoved it in Phoenix’s ear, and before I knew it they were wrestling on the ground.
Two grown men.
One was laughing, and the other was trying to feign annoyance, but he finally gave in and laughed before he pushed to his feet.
We spent the next hour playing Pictionary before we decided to call it a night.
And every time I looked up, I found Cutler’s eyes on me.
We had a conversation to finish, and I knew he wasn’t going to let it go.
And I had no intentions of letting it go either.
It was time to adapt our contract.