The Troublemaker - Cathryn Fox Page 0,19
he’s pushing against my palm and growing thicker by the second.
I laugh. “When I’m with you, yeah, and you’re one to talk.”
He puts his hand on the small of my back. “Come on.” He walks me to the bar, and orders shots of tequila.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I ask.
“No, I’m trying to get me drunk,” he says, and for a brief second I spot something in his eyes. Something sad and dejected, something that wraps around my heart and squeezes tight. What is going on with him? He’s usually light and playful but I’m suddenly sensing something deep and serious. What kind of demons does this man have?
“So you’ve never thought about marriage?” I ask.
“Nope,” he says quickly, so quickly I can’t help but think he’s not being truthful, with me or himself.
“What do you have against marriage?”
Instead of answering, he holds his fingers up, gesturing for two more tequila. They come and he hands me one.
“Were you hurt?” I push, wanting to know what makes this man tick.
“Let’s just say I don’t have what it takes to do long-term, Kins. I’m pretty much a two-week kind of guy.”
“You bail after two weeks?”
“Something like that.” This man has so much to offer. What the hell is he afraid of? He doesn’t seem commitment phobic to me, but if he’s telling me he bores after two weeks, who am I to say otherwise? I’m about to ask why, what it is about long-term that frightens him, but he takes a big drink and gestures to the dance floor.
“Dance with me,” he says and I close my mouth. If he’s redirecting the conversation by dancing, it’s definitely a conversation he doesn’t want to have.
We hit the dance floor, joining our friends, and soon enough the hours disappear, so does the tequila. By the time Jules is ready to toss the bouquet, I’m so buzzed and having so much fun, I’m game.
I muscle my way through the girls, and they all laugh and throw their arms around me. Jules looks over her shoulder, and grins when she sees me. She tosses the flowers and if a scout from the NBA was here, I’d be their first draft pick, because let me tell you, forget energy drinks, tequila’s what really makes you fly. I jump high and snatch the bouquet right out of the air and everyone laughs and claps when I land and take a bow.
“And here you said you were afraid of heights,” Cason says when I saunter over to him, all proud of myself.
“I got air, huh?” I ask, smelling the flowers. The room spins a little around me.
“Want to get some air, for real,” Cason says. “Jules and Rider are leaving, and it looks like everything is settling down.”
“Fresh air, yes, please,” I say and he puts his hand on my back to lead me out to the strip. The heat of his palm seeps under my dress and curls around me. I shiver.
“You cold?” he asks.
“Hot,” I say.
“Yeah, you are,” he says and nibbles his bottom lip.
“I think we might have had too much tequila.”
“It’s possible,” he says with a laugh.
Cheers break out down the block and I snatch his hand. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”
We practically skip down the strip, dodging pedestrians. Our feet come to an abrupt halt when we spot Elvis. “What’s going on?”
A girl leans into me, and says, “Impromptu marriages. I don’t think they’re real though. Just for fun.” She looks at my flowers. “Is that a bridal bouquet?”
“Yup.”
She lifts her hand. “Over here,” she says, getting Elvis’s attention.
“I do have the honeymoon suite,” I say to Cason.
He arches a brow, and he’s so damn hot, I could melt at his feet. “Think we should put it to use?”
7
Cason
I roll over and peel my tongue from the roof of my mouth. Jesus, how many shots did I have last night anyway? Kinsley moans in protest as the bed dips and I climb from the sheets, tuck her in and make my way to the bathroom.
I take one look at my sorry self in the mirror and if I had pants on, I’d have jumped straight out of them. I wonder if Kins got the license plate of the truck that ran me over. Probably dinged her, too. We both work super hard at our jobs, and I haven’t really drank in a long time—neither of us has. I guess we both made up for that last night.
Brain still foggy, I