Page 13 of Game Misconduct

five

. . .

Bex

one year ago

The swim-up bar is my new best friend. Elsy and Wyatt are being lovey-dovey in a cabana, so I’ve attached myself to Audrey Turner, her boyfriend Seb Henry, and his three brothers. I can look, but I can’t touch. Joe, the eldest, has a girlfriend, but she didn’t join him on the trip. Luke is the pretty one—he’s on the Aces with Wyatt, so I’ve met him a few times—and Mikey is the youngest, barely legal at nineteen or twenty.

Audrey is part of my book club back in Boston. She and Seb have been dating since last summer, and I have a sneaking suspicion he’s about to propose. The way he looks at her… swoon. I want someone to look at me like that. I know it won’t happen, though.

Luke swims up to the stone barstool beside mine, resting his corded forearms on the bar. He gives me an easy smile.

“How’s it going, babe?”

Babe.

With Nick, it felt sleazy, but with Luke, I know he means no harm by it. Even if he weren’t, like, ten years too young for me, he’s not about to risk Wyatt’s wrath by sleeping with me.

“Not bad. You?”

He runs his hand through his wet hair, the light brown strands darker than usual and sticking up everywhere. “Been better, to be honest.”

Okay, if he’s putting it out there…

“Me too,” I admit.

A shy expression washes over his face, uncharacteristic for the confident playboy I know him to be. “Really?”

“Yeah. Want to talk about it?”

The bartender ambles over to us. I order a frozen daiquiri, and Luke asks for a beer.

“Not really. Rather drink about it,” he says.

“Well, if you need to talk, I’m here.”

For a second, a smirk tips his lips, but then his face falls again, and he blows out a breath.

“Thanks, B.”

The drinks are set in front of us, and I take a sip of mine. It is potent, and this particular bartender has a heavy hand. I’m certainly not complaining, though.

I’m a few sips in and the alcohol is hitting my veins when I turn to Luke. He swivels to face me, expectant. “Yes?”

“I slept with someone I shouldn’t have, and I can’t tell my best friend about it.” The words fall out before I’m ready for them, but once I’ve said them, I can’t take them back. I’m not sure I want to.

A devious gleam brightens his eyes. “Are you talking about me?”

Unable to help myself, I throw my head back and laugh. “Not going to happen, honey.”

“Why not? I’m a fucking catch.” He’s pouting now, but despite his laughter, I sense a tinge of frustration in his voice.

“Because you’re way too young for me.” I pat his arm. “If you were five years older, it would be a different conversation. Besides, my brother would kill you, then me, then you again.”

“It doesn’t have to be anything serious. One night only. A vacation fling.”

And just like that, my good mood sours. “Yeah, that’s what got me into this mess.”