“Fine.” Jesus, she could be annoying when she wanted to, particularly because she knew me better than anyone else. “I need a distraction.”
“From?”
“Some girl. My neighbor.”
Her gaze, which had been mostly focused on her path, flashed to the screen, and she raised a brow. “Really? Did she just move in? This is the first I’m hearing about…”
“Avery.”
“Pretty name. What’s she like?”
Sexy as fuck. Legs that went on for days. Hair that smelled so good it could get you high. Lips meant for my cock, and tits meant for my mouth. “She’s difficult to read.”
“But she’s caught your attention.”
Brakes squealed in my head. “Hold on, Laurel, this isn’t like that. She isn’t someone I plan on getting serious with.”
“Why, because you might actually stumble on something with substance? How tragic!”
“While your sarcasm’s appreciated, it’s unnecessary. She’s not the monogamous type.” Not according to her fucking merry-go-round doorway of dates. “I just want to get to know her.”
“You mean sleep with her.”
“Well … yeah. That too.”
“God, Noah, if it’s all just sex, who cares what she’s like.”
“I do.”
“But why? I mean, if it’s over by morning, what difference does it make.”
She had a point. “I don’t know. It’s the way the game’s played.”
She growled, and the sky shifted to interior ceilings. I recognized the crown molding from her place and waited as she took a guzzling sip of water and blotted the sweat off her brow. When she was refreshed, she looked at the screen, the sternness of her stare reminding me of our mother’s serious look saved only for threats of grounding and loss of privileges when we were children.
“Margaux cheated on you four years ago. How much longer are you going to let someone else’s actions control you?”
And there it was. The stinging truth I still hated to face.
“This has nothing to do with Margaux. Why would you even bring her into this?”
“This has everything to do with her, Noah. Come on! You’ve spent years getting over what she did. Enough wasting time.”
“I’m not wasting time.” But now I regretted calling my sister. “Look, I didn’t call for a lecture.”
“No, you called because a woman caught your eye and you want to know how to keep it superficial when your nature insists you find something with depth. You’re not some philandering bachelor. Once you accept that, you’ll be happy again.”
“Laurel,” I spoke slowly so there could be no misunderstanding. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Why not?” Her sharp tone gave me pause.
“Because I’m not.” My debating skills were taking a hit today.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I can’t help you.”
Irritated I brought Laurel into this, I quickly shut it down. “I don’t want help. I just wanted a distraction—”
“Well, keep looking for one, Noah. If you find one big enough to get this girl out of your head, I’ll believe it was just a casual sex thing. But if you can’t, then you have to admit it might be time you move on and put the past behind you. You’ve always been a serial monogamist. Sleeping around isn’t your style. That’s why you’re bored.”
When I got off the phone, I made dinner. My sister’s final warning lingered in my thoughts. We were close in age, but she always seemed so much wiser when it came to relationship things. Maybe she was right.
No, I knew she was right. Random hook-ups had always bored me, but the thought of trusting someone again deterred me from anything long term.
One-night stands were fun but redundant. The same old meaningless conversations, the getting to know you and knowing there was never going to be more than a few frisky fucks…
After a year it got tiresome. I’d fucked my way through several women, obliterating all traces of the girl I was supposed to marry.
Once I could hardly remember Margaux’s scent or the sounds she made when she came, I kept going, working to erase her face and laughter from my memory. I still knew what she looked like, but there were several other women stacked on top of my memories of her now, so it kept her away from my surface thoughts.
There was only one memory I couldn’t erase. Margaux and Shane, my ex-best friend. They were married now. She finally got the spring wedding she’d always dreamed of. Who the fuck knew who Shane’s best man was? We always assumed we’d be up there with each other. But I also assumed he would never be the sort of guy to stab me in the