Page 34 of Sweet Temptation
“Oh, it’s like that?”I sign and say before throwing the ball at Jamie next to him.“Go deep.”
“Boys and their balls,” Brea giggles. “Now... did you say yes to the date?”
That gets my attention, especially when Lexie slides her sunglasses up into her hair and sits forward. “I did. I haven’t been on a date in over a year. I figured what can it hurt?”
What the fuck?
“Ohh. The guy from West End? He was hot.” Saylor closes her book and licks her lips. “When are you going? Where is he taking you?”
“He’s picking me up tonight at eight and taking me to dinner in Cape May.”
She’s got a fucking date? With the dude in the pink polo shirt from the bar?
The football hits me square on the chest. “Eyes on the prize, Beneventi,” Linc laughs, and I groan.
“You going out with a stranger, Lex?” I ask, and the row of sun-worshipping women all glare at me.
“That’s how a date works, Lucky. You meet a stranger you like. He asks you out. You go. You eat. You kiss. You come home and decide whether he’s worthy of a second date,” Aurora lectures me like I’m fucking stupid.
And maybe I am.
Theoretically, I know Lexie hasn’t lived like a nun for the past ten years. But she never really showed a ton of interest in dating either. She was never hurting for a date for a dance or a party, but in all the years we’ve known each other, she’s never dated anyone long-term.
Not that I have either.
“Look, Lex. You stunned him stupid,” Brea mocks, and Linc throws her over his shoulder and runs with her into the ocean, with Aurora and Saylor jumping to their friend’s defense and following them in.
When Lexie gets up, I sidestep and block her. “You know anything about him, Lex?”
“Why, Lucky?” She plants her hands on her hips and glares daggers my way. “Are you going to run a background check or something?”
Why the hell am I asking? “Just making sure you’re not doing anything stupid.”
“Says the manwhore. Yeah, I’ve got it. Thanks.” She steps around me, but I grab her arms, stopping her, and the contact sears my fucking soul.
“You ever wonder why I dated so many girls, Lex?”
She yanks her arm away with confusion dancing in her eyes. “Nope.”
I watch as she walks away.
“If he hurts her, I might need help burying the body,” Lochlan jokes.
“If he hurts her, I’ll kill him myself.”
LEXIE
Date a man who opens the door, then smacks your ass when you walk through it.
—Lexie’s Secret Thoughts
“Ithought this was a girls’ weekend.” Aurora sits on my bed, stalking the hell out of my date because unlike Lucky, who wasn’t actually going to do a background search, Aurora is our resident FBI-level internet researcher slash stalker. If you need to find something out about anyone, Aurora is your girl. “You’re really ditching us for a guy whose favorite movie isSuperbad?”
“I mean... maybe he’s got a great sense of humor?” She’s not wrong, and I probably shouldn’t have said yes when Brice texted earlier, but what were the chances he was down here this weekend too? How could I say no? I guess I could have... I considered it. But then I thought about why, and I got mad at myself because my reason isn’t a good one.
I haven’t been home long, and I could teach a master class on ignoring Lucky Beneventi. I refuse to let a years-old crush deter me from enjoying a night out with a hot guy. What’s the point?
“It’s just dinner. I’ll be back after, and we’ll still have the rest of the weekend.” I look at myself in the mirror and adjust the thin black straps of my gauzy maxi dress. “Please don’t be mad.” I spin around to face her and pull her to her feet. “I haven’t been on a date in so long.”
