This is Reckless (Checkmate Duet 3)

She bites her lower lip and smiles above me. “I was hoping we’d both win.”

And with that, I flip her over, part her legs, and finally give in to what we’ve both been seeking. I slide inside her, and my world tilts on its axis. The moment I hear her first moan, I nearly lose myself. The joking, the playfulness, the teasing; it all vanishes the moment we connect, and there’s nothing funny about it. It’s perfect.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

COURTNEY

Present Day…The morning after the wedding

I peel my eyes open and see the sun glaring through the window. I hate that damn sun. And fuck that window, too. Jesus, I feel like I ran a 10k marathon last night. My feet are most likely swollen from wearing those damn shoes Viola made the bridesmaids wear, and I can feel the pins jabbing into my skull from having my hair done. Being Viola’s maid of honor was a blast, but between the over-drinking and the too-tight shoes, I’ll be paying for it for at least a week.

It takes me a minute to clear my eyes and realize I’m not even in my own room. I’m in Drew’s room, which could only mean one thing.

Last night wasn’t a dream.

Once I sneak out, I head to the bathroom and look at myself.

Oh, God.

I drop the sheet and hop into the shower. The warm water beads hard against my back as I try to come to terms with how I woke up this morning. Naked. In Drew’s bed. With Drew.

Memories flash through my mind, and as much as I enjoyed, like really enjoyed, last night, I can’t help wondering how this changes everything. You can’t just sleep with your best friend and have everything stay the same. Especially when you live with them. There’s no escaping it. I’ll have to face him and then what? Will it be weird? Awkward? Will he break my heart the same way Toby did?

Could I even bare it if he did?

I can’t stop the questions from flooding my brain, but I can make a plan. Yes, that’s exactly what I need. A plan.

I just need to figure out what that should be.

As soon as I’m out of the shower and wrapped in a towel, I grab my phone. I can’t text Viola because she’s on an airplane headed to London, but even if I did, what would I say? So, hey, I slept with your brother last night. The one I’ve been crushing on for the past three years and now I’m freaking out. Any advice?

I send her a text anyway, knowing she won’t receive it until she’s connected to Wi-Fi.

I groan to myself and smack myself in the forehead. How the hell did this happen?

That’s a rhetorical question, by the way, because I know exactly what happened.

Alcohol and zero inhibitions.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror, beating myself up, when I remember the other half of the equation. It wasn’t just me, obviously, but Drew. He wasn’t a one-night stand kind of guy. Hell, he was barely a ‘moving on from Mia’ kind of guy. Oh my God. I start panicking as I put it together.

Was I his rebound? Sleep with someone else to get over the girl you really love?

Just the thought makes me nauseous. Drew wasn’t that kind of guy, but who’s to say this wasn’t the start of a new habit for him?

I feel sick.

The self-doubt and uncertainty are eating me alive, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to go out there and face him.

Finally, I decide to text Kayla. Desperately, I hope she’s awake and can give me some sound advice before I stay in the bathroom forever and hide.

C: I did something crazy last night. I’m freaking out a little.

K: Well, that makes one of us. Logan was a bust.

I try to keep calm, but my fingers fly across my phone faster than my thoughts, and I can barely keep up with them.

C: After Drew and I cabbed home, we ended up in his bed and now I’m hiding in the bathroom freaking out because OMG what the hell did I do?!

K: Wait… WHAT!

C: I KNOW! Help me! I’ve NEVER done this before, Kay! I don’t even think I can look at him.

K: Why are you freaking out? You’ve been after Drew forever. Isn’t this a good thing?

One would think…but I’m not so sure.

C: We both had too much to drink! What if he tells me it was a mistake and he regrets it and I’m left looking like a moron and feeling even worse than before. I don’t know that I could handle it if he tells me ‘we need to talk’. I WILL DIE.

K: Well maybe it took some liquid courage for him to finally come to terms that he has feelings for you and doesn’t regret it at all.