Page 13 of Wanting the Winger

I appreciate his concern about my health, but at the same time, it’s humiliating.I’ve had irritable bowel syndrome since I was fourteen.I have to be careful about what I eat and always know where the nearest bathroom is.

Who could blame Bash for not being interested in me?No man’s checklist for his dream woman includesprone to sudden diarrhea.It’s why Shane and I have never spent a night together.I have my place and he has his, and I’m nervous about us living together once we’re married.

Carter sits down across from us at the dining table, his plate as loaded up as Bash’s.

“So Lainey, anytime you’re ready to share embarrassing childhood stories about Bash, I’m all ears.”

I glance at Bash and laugh.“I always thought Bash and Eric were the coolest.I don’t really know anything embarrassing about him.”

He knows lots of embarrassing things about me, but I know I can trust him not to blab.They’re ancient history now.

“Oh, but there was the mustache.”I glance at Bash, who rolls his eyes.“That was pretty hilarious.”

Carter’s face lights with amusement.“Tell me more about this mustache.”

“What year was that?”I ask Bash?“Were you a sophomore?”

He nods.“It was for my team’s no-shave November.But since I have more male hormones flowing through this honed body of mine, my stache was more impressive than anyone else’s.”

I wrinkle my nose.“Was it, though?”

“It got me a date with a college girl.She thought I was twenty.”

My eleven-year-old self would have been crushed to know he went out with a college girl.Or any girl, honestly.I cried over the homecoming and prom photos my mom took of Eric and Bash with their dates because I wanted to be the one next to Bash more than anything.

“Then she saw that you looked like one of those hairless cats between your legs?”Mara quips.

“Nah, I didn’t make it past the first date without a driver’s license.”

After dinner and dessert, which is a decadent flourless cake I don’t dare risk eating, we return to trivia.Carter and Bash go into Carter’s study for a while, but I still feel very comfortable with Suki and her friends.By the time I leave, I have all their numbers in my phone, and they have mine, too.

“Did you have fun?”Bash asks on the drive home.

“I had an amazing time.Thanks for bringing me.”

“You’ll be seeing a lot of them while you’re here.That’s pretty much my Cleveland family if you add in a few more of my teammates.”

I remember a text from Shane earlier.“Hey, Shane wants to come visit this weekend.Is it okay if he stays at your place?”

He presses his lips together, his jaw tensing.After a few seconds, he says, “Yeah.”

I knew he didn’t like Shane, but I wasn’t expecting this.“We can get a hotel room.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Are you ever going to give him a chance?”

He shrugs.“He’s not good enough for you, Lane.That’s never going to change.”

I exhale heavily and turn to look out the window because there’s no point in continuing this conversation.It ends the same way every time.

My own brother is okay with me marrying Shane.I can’t for the life of me figure out why his best friend has a problem with it.

ChapterFive

Bash

“You’ve gota great setup here for a pool and hot tub combo.Here’s my card if you ever want to talk about options.I own a pool construction business.”

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