We left the pool to check on the guys. Tyler and Jason were standing around a very ill-looking Miles.
Jason said, “Connor got him a shot, and he puked. I think we call it.”
“Where is Connor?” Ryder said as Connor came up behind us with water and a towel.
Miles said, “No. No way. You guys paid so much money to be here. I’m ok. I’m done drinking, maybe forever, but I’m ok.”
Ryder’s jaw flexed, and he shared a glance with Jason. “No, you need to go home and sleep this off. No use forcing yourself. We’ve had fun, but Jason is right. Time to call it.”
“Tough shit, I’m not leaving.” Miles coughed so hard it turned into a gag. We stood there watching for a second before he spoke again. “Too much fucking money. No way.”
Tyler sat next to Miles. “It’s expensive, yeah, but you need a bed, dude.”
Connor looked like he was going to be sick, too. He wouldn’t meet my or Ryder’s eyes. Instead, he spoke to Jason,“So sorry, man. He said he hadn't had another drink yet, and he looked okay.”
“I am okay!” Miles said. “My system just rejected it. But, boot and rally, right?”
Jason waved Connor off with a nod. “It’s not a big deal, and not your fault. We just need to convince Kilo here that he needs to sleep.” Connor slunk back and let the rest of us talk.
“What if I take him back, and you guys stay?” I said, finally stepping into my best man's duties on the last day.
“No, he’s my brother. I’ll take him back. I’m not drinking anymore anyway,” Ryder said.
Jason shrugged. “I can take him back. It’s not a big deal.”
Jason and Ryder stared at each other. No one wanted to leave Tyler and Connor unattended with a tab tied to all our cards.
“I’ll stay, you guys go,” Jason said. “We’ve got a few more hours left, anyway. Shame to waste it.”
That settled it, and Ryder got a rideshare. There were a bunch in the area, and we were out of there within five minutes. Getting Miles in it was a hell of a lot easier than the night before. Up to his room, too.
“Thanks, guys. You really are the best of men,” Miles said, lying in bed, about to pass out. He opened his mouth to go on, but stopped himself. Then said, “Please don’t let me sleep too late. We’re going to a nice dinner, right? I don’t wanna miss the last night.”
Ryder nodded. “Yeah, man. We’ll wake you up when they get back.”
“If they get back.” I laughed.
“Nah, Jason’s there,” Miles said. “They’ll be back in one piece. Hopefully.”
“Hopefully so will Jason’s peace of mind,” Ryder said.
It wasn’t lost, even on my oblivious self, that Ryder and I were alone. The guys were at the pool until that afternoon. We had hours to ourselves, with so much left to be said between us.
After walking to and waiting for the elevator in silence, Ryder said, “I’ve been dying to relax by that pool without them since we got here. Down?” I was surprised his first words to me weren’t something of substance.
I smiled, both relieved and not. “Yeah, man. Sounds good.”
We ordered drinks at the pool bar, a light beer for me, a Sprite for him, and found loungers far away from anyone else. It was so fucking weird. There was all this tension between us, yet there wasn’t. Ryder sucked my fucking cock the night before, then I’d said I wasn’t all the way straight, and… he was just chill. Totally unbothered. Like there was nothing we needed to talk about.
“Oh shit,” Ryder said once we sat down.
“What?”
“Do you remember that girl from last night? Rickie?” His eyes stayed on his phone. “She just followed me.”
Was that his way of seeing what I remembered? Subtly bring it up? I didn’t know who he was talking about. What girl? There were no women in our room last night, that was for sure. And it was one of the hottest—wait…
I took out my phone. “I got a request this morning too, but had no idea who it was. Fuck. Yeah. Now I remember. I’ll follow back.”
