“Well, you two have fun. I’m going to go enjoy my beer under the pavilion.” So she wouldn’t see the man she’d been exclusively having sex with for the past three months making arrangements to have sex with another woman. Even if he was doing it or planning on doing it, she didn’t need it to be right in her face.
When she turned, Easy grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She steadied the glass in her hand before the beer could splash over the rim.
“Tess, we ain’t done,” he growled.
She dropped her gaze to where he held her and then raised it again to his face, slightly lifting one eyebrow in a silent message.
When he realized what he had done, he quickly released her wrist and added, “With what we were discussin’.”
She tilted her head and widened her eyes just enough so only he would notice. “We can talk about it some other time.”
“No… We can’t.” He peeled Brandy’s fingers free from his shirt. “Not tonight, Brandy, soon’s I’m done talkin’ to Tess, I gotta go do somethin’ for Trip.”
He did?
“After that, then,” Brandy said. “If you give me your key, I can be waiting for you when you get back.”
The sweet butt was nothing if not persistent.
As much as she wanted to hate Brandy right now, she couldn’t. She’d always been cool with Tessa and the sweet butt was only doing what she was there to do. Take care of the guys.
Tessa couldn’t hold that against her. She also couldn’t blame her for setting her sights on Easy, especially since Tessa had done the same.
“Not sure when I’m gettin’ back. Another night.”
Brandy’s eyes bounced back and forth between Tessa and Easy. “Sure. Another night. I’ll be sticking around for a while, so if you get back before I leave…”
“Will get with you if I do.”
Tessa pinned her lips together. Did Easy realize with that bullshit excuse he’d now have to make himself scarce for the rest of the night?
“I’m heading out to the pavilion since it’s a gorgeous night. E, if you want to finish our… discussion, then meet me out there.” With that, she skirted the bar and headed toward the side doors.
When she got to the pavilion, she didn’t turn on the string lights that hung from the beams, she didn’t sit at one of the picnic tables. Instead, she climbed into the hammock someone had hung between two posts. She had no idea who did it, but everyone appreciated it.
She was pretty sure it had been “christened” several times and only hoped it had been washed clean after the last time by the rain.
She left her beer on a nearby table since after taking a few sips on her walk across the courtyard, it only made her stomach worse. Or maybe it wasn’t the beer at all but Brandy trying to get down Easy’s jeans tonight.
She shifted her weight until the hammock began to sway slightly, hoping it wouldn’t make her feel more nauseous. Tucking an arm behind her head, she listened to the distant hoot of an owl and the surrounding chorus of crickets. If she tilted her head enough, she could see the night sky full of twinkling stars.
She sighed. She had it good here. Life right now was better than she ever thought it would be. She should appreciate every damn second of it.
She needed to do better. Be better.
That included not fucking up a man’s life because she was being selfish.
“Move over.”
She raised her head enough to see a tall, dark shadow approaching. “Will this hold us both?”
“Gonna find out.”
“Someone might see us,” she warned.
“Nobody’s gonna see. If I didn’t see the fuckin’ thing movin’, wouldn’t have even seen you. Will keep an ear open, too.”
“You know how hard it is for two people to get out of a hammock?”
“Nope.”
“Guess we’ll find out if someone comes along.”
“Yep.” He tapped her hip. “Move your ass over.”
She scooted over enough to make some space, then clung for dear life as the hammock rocked and rolled when he climbed in next to her.
Once he was settled, they were jammed against each other since it was a tight fit.
“If this breaks, E…” Her fingers clutched the side waiting for it to come crashing down.
“Ain’t gonna break. Saw Dozer in it lookin’ like an overstuffed burrito. If it can hold him, it can hold us.”
“I think the two of us together are heavier than Dozer.”
“Not by much. Bet you ain’t more than a hundred pounds.”
Tessa snorted. Men were horrible at judging women’s weight. If he thought she was only a hundred pounds, she certainly wouldn’t correct him.
He released a long, soft sigh as he dug around inside his cut, every move he made making the hammock swing more. He pulled out a hand-rolled and a lighter from wherever he had them hidden and tucked the cigarette between his lips. The flame from his Zippo cast a glow on his face while he lit his smoke.