Page 27 of Lucky Shot
He snorts, slapping my leg.
“That guy? He’s a dick. He’s not worthy of you. I’m not going to tell you to move on and write him off because of this. You’re allowed to feel how you feel for as long as you need to. What you’re not allowed to do is believe the trash that came out of his mouth. Understand?”
Roux sighs. “I just… I’m never going to be as… hot as these guys on the beach.”
“You just need to get a tan, Roux. You’re pasty.”
He huffs and pinches me. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.” I shift him around, not allowing him to look away. “I promise you. If you weren’t my brother, every man on this boat would be in line for you.”
He looks at me skeptically.
“I’m serious. I was informed this morning that they’re all locked into some bro code,” I tell him, shrugging. His eyes widen. “Yeah, I know. I mean, cool. I don’t want our healthy competitive rivalry to turn into me slamming their faces into the boards because they messed with you, so I suppose it’s for the best.”
Roux smiles and I’m happy to say it’s authentic.
“Don’t listen to other people or let them bring you down, Roux. That will only ever come from a place of misplaced hate or jealousy. Now come on. Let’s get onto the island before all the silver foxes you were eyeing are taken.”
He laughs. “I’ll walk over with you, but you’re cramping my style. I don’t think brothers were meant to be wingmen.”
“Huh! Shows what you know. I’d only chase away those that aren’t good enough.”
“I’m afraid you’d think everyone isn’t good enough.”
He’s not wrong. “Fine. Make sure you make it back tonight, though. I don’t want to freak out and send the entire island looking for you. Or twenty-plus athletes. That could be scary.”
Roux winces. “Noted. I’ll be home.”
* * *
“Hey.”
I shift on my stool to look at the man who spoke. He’s probably close to my age, with dark hair and light eyes. He has a nice smile. “Hey,” I return.
“Mind if I join you?” he asks, gesturing to the stool beside me.
I shrug. “Sure.”
He sits and orders a martini then shifts to be slightly facing me. “You been here before?”
Taking a sip of my cocktail, I nod. “Yep. For the past several years, I stop in for a few days.”
“Just a few days?” he asks. “How do you get to see this place in just a few days?”
“Repeated visits,” I say, smiling. “Life is busy, but someday I’ll spend more time here. You?”
“About ten years ago, my boyfriend at the time won a four-night, five-day trip with everything paid for, including airfare. So we tacked on a few more nights to make it a week’s vacation. I swore that I’d come back here, but you know, life got away from me. Then I became single, which means that the trip is all on my dime now and, as you said, life is busy. This year I said fuck it and booked ten nights.”
“What’s been your favorite part?” I ask.
He tilts his head and scans the area, as if the answer will pop out at him. “Honestly, I can’t even choose. I’ve been here for three days so far, but have you seen the book of things to do? It’s abook!Even in eleven days, I won’t get to everything I want to.”
I nod and look at the water for a minute. “I think the views are pretty spectacular.”
“Definitely. Meeting people from all over the world. Every walk of life.” He leans in. “Did you see the freaking yacht parked at the docks?”
As I try to hide my smile, I nod.
