Chasing Temptation (Chasing Love 2)

“You’re an idiot,” Sebastian said, but he couldn’t help smiling a little. Huck had a way of always bringing out the humor in a situation. Which was nice since Sebastian hadn’t been feeling overly humorous since he’d left Penny last night.

She’d rocked his world. Not in a simple sex kind of way, but in a weird way that left his chest sore. As if she’d reached in and clenched his heart.

“Why am I even here?” Sebastian asked, checking his watch.

It was Tuesday, and he had a late afternoon meeting starting soon. The only reason he’d come to Sam’s was because the mom and pop store was only a few blocks away from his office.

“Because you’ve been ditching us and kind of a douche lately,” Colt said over his shoulder. “Alex starts biddy-ball next week, and you’re the one with the basketball skills.” He handed Alex a small-sized basketball to try out.

Bass wouldn’t say he was an expert. While all of them had played some kind of ball in high school, he had played basketball in college, and to this day, throwing the ball up, banking some shots in his driveway, was how he de-stressed.

“What’s a douche?” Alex asked, bouncing the ball twice before it hit his foot and rolled to down the aisle.

“Good luck explaining to Lily why her son now knows the word douche,” Bass said.

Colt just shrugged and wrangled the ball for Alex.

“Uncle Bass is just being grouchy. Grouchy and douchey are kind of the same thing, but let’s not say that word, okay?”

“Is it a bad word?”

“Yeah…” Colt said. “Your mama would have my ass if she heard you say it.”

“Ass is a bad word too, Uncle Colt.”

“I think it’s best you just don’t pay attention to your Uncle Colt, kiddo,” Bass said. He grabbed a size five ball from the top shelf and handed it to Alex. “Try this size.”

Alex bounced it. “I like it!” He bounced it a few more times.

“Alex should ignore me, but you should listen,” Colt said to Bass. “Do you have a date for the wedding?”

“I don’t date,” Bass said in a bored tone.

“Yes you do, you just don’t date consecutively. But since you don’t have someone lined up, Jenna’s friend is coming in to be her third bridesmaid—”

“And you and Jenna have gone into the matchmaking business?”

“Come on, she’s not going to know anyone, and she’s staying at our place while we’re honeymooning.”

Bass exhaled. He didn’t mind showing the woman around or being a friendly face. Actually, it would be smart to set up some kind of date for the wedding itself. Yes, the last day of his and Penny’s arrangement was the rehearsal dinner, but come the wedding the next day, they’d be done with their secret fling.

“I can tell you’re thinking about it.” Colt grinned.

“Why are you so interested in me dating or not?”

“At some point it would be good to see you settling…or at least moving in that direction.”

“Says the man who rode the circuit and hopped from town to town for how long?”

“Yeah, that was what I did. And it got old. I’m just saying, it’s nice having someone that really gets you, you know?”

No, Bass didn’t know. But it was all his buddy talked about since he and Jenna had gotten serious. He’d spent the last several months watching his engaged friends giggle and swoon and even make out every damn time the other one was within arm’s reach.

If he were being honest, which he wasn’t, a small part of him might admit that he wasn’t jealous of his friends, he was envious. Of course, that small part got stomped out by his better logic, reminding him why he kept things short term. So short term that the only person who’d come close to really understanding him was Penny. A revelation that both intrigued and terrified him.

“This is hard,” Alex said, getting Bass out of that conversation. Thank God.

“Yeah, but you’ll learn,” Bass said. “Sometimes things that are difficult, like basketball, turn out to be the things you enjoy the most.”