“It was a pleasure meeting you.” Marcus slings his arms around my shoulders to give me a quick, friendly hug.
Since I’m juggling a cooler and a picnic blanket, I return his farewell with a one-armed hug. “The pleasure was all mine.”
After promising Emily and Noah he’ll make sure I get to my car safely, Slater and I stroll down the nearly isolated parking lot.
“They’re so cute together.” I wave goodbye to Emily and Noah driving out of the lot in a rusty truck before shifting on my feet to face Slater. He has his fingers lodged down his throat as he makes gagging noises. I giggle at his playfulness. We were strangers only hours ago, but I already know he isn’t a fan of public PDAs.
Slater stops at the side of a black Harley Davidson. “This is me; where are you parked?”
I’m not surprised he rides a motorcycle. His whole persona screams biker.
“I’m over there.” I point to my BMW parked two spots down from a large black truck.
“Okay, hold up. I’ll walk you to your car.”
He dumps some containers into the saddlebags on his bike before twisting to face me. The caution on his face makes me smile. He’s panicked that he’s giving me mixed signals. He shouldn’t be. He’s a cutie, and any girl would be lucky to have him, but there are no sparks firing between us whatsoever. Slater knows it. I know it. Hell, the entire world most likely knows it. . . except perhaps Nick.
“I can manage,” I assure Slater, stopping him mid-stride.
Certain a smile can’t relay my thanks for a wonderful afternoon, I lean in to give him a friendly hug. He returns my gesture, just more awkwardly than mine.
When I walk to my car, my pupils widen. Nick is stepping out of the black truck parked two spots up from my car, his chest thrusting up and down as his narrowed gaze shoots daggers at Slater. He’s clearly pissed.
After several terrifying seconds, he nudges his head to his truck, wordlessly demanding I get in. I shouldn’t love the arrogance beaming out of him, but I do. My palms are slicking with sweat just from the dominance he’s exuding while his senses are clutched by jealousy.
Noticing my wavering constraint, Slater warns, “Think about it.”
Nick’s already narrowed eyes slit even more. He’s giving Slater clear signals to back away. . . so does my head when I read the sticker on the back of his truck.
My other ride screams my name.
When my eyes missile to Nick, he winks. His cockiness seals his fate. You can’t change a player, and I don’t date players—nor do I have sex with them.
Cranking my neck to Slater, I mouth a silent goodbye before hotfooting it to my car. Dirt kicks up under my feet from my mad dash. I’m so eager to leave, I’m practically running. When my eyes unwillingly float to Nick, a victorious grin stretches across his face. He thinks he won. I haven’t reached the same conclusion.
His foolishness is unveiled in the most brilliant way when I jackknife to the left. His mouth gapes as his brows furrow. When I reach my car, I throw open the door, toss my picnic blanket and cooler inside, then curl into the driver’s seat. I muster a fake smile before reversing out of my spot like I’m outrunning a tornado.
A dust cloud rises in my wake when I leave Nick and Slater standing across from each other in an intense standoff.
Chapter Ten
Nick
When Jenni’s car rockets out of the parking lot like a mad woman, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust, Slater’s chuckle pummels my chest. “You just had your shit handed to you on a silver platter.”
Smirking like the smug fuck he is, he kicks over his motorcycle, then takes off in the direction Jenni went. I stand still, frozen and confused as fuck. I could have sworn Jenni was ready to give me what I wanted. It’s been an afternoon of mixed messages, but I thought our plans tonight were sealed after our exchange on the beach.
I spotted Jenni the instant she glided down the stairs of Bronte’s Peak nearly three hours ago. Her teeny tiny shorts and midriff top had my dick paying careful attention to every move she made. That’s not surprising considering her outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination. Nearly ninety percent of her skin was on display, and I wasn’t the only one taking notice.
I’ve lost count on the number of times I clenched my fists today. Slater’s corny ass jokes were rewarded with Jenni’s knockout smile, but anytime I gained her attention, all I got was a smirk.
That pissed me the fuck off.
I only turned up to the BBQ today because Noah said Emily was bringing her friends. I generally avoid these types of get-togethers like the plague. I spend enough time with my bandmates practicing five days a week and performing at Mavs every Friday night that I don’t need to spend my Sundays with them as well.
When Jenni headed to the cooler for a drink, I realized that would be my only opportunity to speak to her without her posse of male fans listening in. I couldn’t have my bandmates discovering my plan, because the instant they know I’m interested in Jenni, they’ll warn her to stay away from me.
When I asked Jenni if she wanted to go for a walk, her light blue eyes weren’t the only set fixated on me. Slater was eyeballing our exchange from the side, but thankfully, Marcus stopped him from interfering.
