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59

“Henley, your house is just divine, darling.” Taryn smiles as she walks around his downstairs area.

Henley smiles like the cat that got the cream.

Ugh, this is the night from hell. I knew I shouldn’t have come.

I sip my wine, unimpressed. It will never be yours, bitch.

We are having a glass of wine at Henley’s before we head out tonight.

But what if he actually does like Taryn?

He doesn’t.

“Did you see the backyard, Taryn?” I call. “Come and I’ll show you.”

She follows me into the backyard and sees the swimming pool. “Oh my god, I can see myself here,” she calls.

Me, too, with cement blocks tied to your feet.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” I look around while thinking of what to say next. “This is awkward,” I whisper as I lean in close to her.

“What is?” she whispers back.

“This whole situation.” I glance inside to where the boys are. “Promise you won’t say anything,” I whisper.

“What?”

“I think Mason likes you.”

Her eyes widen. “What?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “He can’t keep his eyes off you.”

“Oh.” Her face falls. “Really?”

“I know, and he’s so hot. Special ops and all. I’m so disappointed. I really liked him . . . and then to find out that Henley only organized this night out because he likes him too.”

Taryn’s eyes widen, and she looks toward the house and then back to me. “What the fuck?”

“I mean”—I shrug—“I’m only speculating, of course.”

“You think Henley likes Mason?” she gasps. “He’s into men?” she squeaks.

“Shh, keep your voice down,” I whisper. “I don’t know . . . maybe?”

“Fuck it. I had plans for him.”

Cancel them.

“I mean . . . go for it if you want. I just thought I should let—”

She cuts me off. “No, you did the right thing.”

“So what are you going to do?” I whisper.

Taryn looks into the house. “Maybe we should have a group thing? That way nobody gets left out. We can all get what we want and fuck each other.”

I bubble up a surprised giggle. Out of all the things I thought she would say, that was not it.

Help!

Henley

I sip my beer. “Fuck . . . Taryn.”

“I know.” Mason nods. “Dude, I know she’s your date . . . but, fuck me. Those tits.”

I roll my lips to hide my smile. This poor dumb fuck has no idea. “I think she likes you,” I tell him.

“Who, me?” He points to his chest.

“Yeah. She’s checking you out every chance she gets.”

“Really?” He frowns. His gaze flicks to the back door, to where the girls have gone.

“You could . . .” I shrug casually. “I mean, if she’s into you.”

“You want to swap dates?” Mason whispers.

“Not really . . . but, I mean, I see the way she undresses you with her eyes. I don’t stand a chance.”

Mason thinks hard. “But Juliet . . .”

“She’s not that great,” I lie. “I feel like Taryn is better suited to a guy like you.”

Mason nods as he contemplates his perceived choices.

There are no choices, fucker. You can’t have Juliet.

End of story.

“No. I want Juliet,” he says defiantly.

Taryn interrupts us as she walks back in through the door. “We’re ready to go.”

Mason stands. “Here’s my hot little date.” He puts his arm around Juliet, and I stare at the two of them together.

Don’t even fucking think about it.

Juliet

Our Uber arrives, and we walk out to meet it. “I’ll sit in the front seat, Mason,” Henley says as he opens the car door.

Taryn bends over to climb into the car. She’s wearing a white wetsuit dress that leaves nothing to the imagination.

Honestly, where does she even buy this stuff?

Henley watches her ass and raises an eyebrow at me.

Don’t even . . .

“No, sit next to me, Henley,” Taryn calls out of the Uber.

Henley climbs in beside her.

I’m glad he’s having fun. That makes one of us.

The drive is long. Taryn and Mason jabber on, but I can’t concentrate. All I can think about is Henley’s thick thigh muscles pressed up against mine.

“Ha, ha.” Taryn laughs out loud as she tells a story.

“You are kidding me.” Mason laughs.

“One time when I was in Bangkok,” Mason continues.

“Do you ever wonder how that country got that name?” Taryn replies. “I mean, I do. All the time. Bang cock. Go figure. Like back in the day, I wonder, were the people of the country just banging cocks the whole time?”

“Never thought of it like that.” Mason laughs out loud. “You’re incredible, Taryn.”

I roll my eyes. Seriously?

For fifteen minutes I listen to the most mundane stories of all time, and Henley hasn’t even looked my way.

The Uber pulls to the curb as we arrive at the club, and we all climb out.

Mason and Taryn walk in front, and Henley puts his hand on my waist as he ushers me through the crowd. My hormones go into overdrive at just a passing touch from him.

Suddenly I feel off.

I want to be here with him but under much different circumstances. I want to be alone and on a date, just the two of us, with no lies or other people.

What started out as a fun playing-hard-to-get game has somehow lost its sparkle.

Fuck.

Stop overthinking it.

We walk through the super-crowded club. As Henley walks in front, he glances back and, sensing my mood shift, frowns down at me. “What’s wrong?” he whispers.

“Nothing.” I force a smile.

We arrive at a small table; it’s high, with stools around it. “Here?” Taryn asks.

“Looks good.” Henley smiles. “I’ll go and get some drinks. What do you all want?”

“Thanks. I’ll have a beer,” Mason says.

“I’ll have a vodka, lime, and soda.” Taryn smiles. “Thank you.”

“Um.” I twist my lips as I think. I’m not sure what to have. “I’ll just have . . .”

“Cocktail?” Henley asks.

“A margarita?” I ask hopefully.

“Sure.” Henley gives me a swoony smile, and I melt a little inside.

“Where are the bathrooms?” I ask Taryn.

“Over to the far-left wall.” She points.

“Okay, back in a minute.” I make my way over to the far wall and then head down a corridor that leads to the bathroom.

I look in the mirror. The girl staring back at me doesn’t look familiar. She looks flushed and flustered. Challenged, but more than anything, I can see a fear deep in her eyes. Because the girl in the mirror knows she’s in over her head.

We just need more time.

Stop overthinking and enjoy it.

Just because our relationship isn’t textbook doesn’t make it mean any less.

Time. It’s just a time thing. I know he feels this connection too.

I drop my shoulders as I give myself a pep talk. It’s fine.

I make my way back to the others to find them laughing and talking. They actually get along great; they’re the ones that should be dating. I glance back over to the bar, where Henley is waiting in line, and I move over to the corner out of sight of the others so that I can watch him uninterrupted.

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