Isley:Not as much as you have!
Frey:Rue’s working behind the bar with the gigantic bear…
Ziggy:You have a gigantic bear of your own… and why are we group messaging when we’re all together?
Frey:‘Cause I don’t want Jupiter to know we’re talkin’ bout his brother, of course!
Lennon:Is Monty getting a round of drinks?
Wilder:He looks like he’s drooling over Kendrick. You heard what he said when we got here. I think he’s gonna get his wish. I’m so jealous, that guy can toss me around any day.
Ziggy:I think Monty’s gonna get a whole lot more than he wished for with the move Kendrick just pulled!
Frey:What move? What did I miss? Being short is definitely a disadvantage.
Isley:Ask Booker if you can climb on his shoulders. You forget I’m smaller than you, and you aren’t the only one missing the action.
Frey:He lets me climb…
Hollis:Please, no! I do not want to know what my future brother-in-law likes in the bedroom! Haven’t I said this before? And Monty, remember we have an early start in the morning.
Frey:Stop being a party pooper. I’m sure Monty will manage to get… up!
Chapter Seven
Monty
How he acted normal through the following couple of hours, Monty couldn’t say. He was conscious of his phone having buzzed repeatedly, meaning the group chat was blowing up. He’d not chanced taking it out because he really wasn’t ready for what he might read. They had all looked suspiciously eager to chat after meeting Kendrick. Monty had gone back and forth on whether he should let on that he had gotten an invitation to Kendrick’s place after the bar closed, but in the end he’d caved and told them.
Monty got it, the guy was sex on legs, and he had said he wanted a playmate for the night. He wasn’t doing anything except what he’d said. Then Rue got added to the mix, and Monty didn’t want to have to explain any of that to his friends.
Hell, no!
He’d kept the one sexual interlude they’d had to himself. Yes, he liked to gossip, same as the rest of them, just not about real personal stuff. Especially when it came to Rue, who was a veryprivate person. He might have hurt Monty’s feelings with the cold-shoulder treatment, but that didn’t mean he’d spill his guts over it.
Was it wrong to direct any conversation towards Cassidy? He liked the guy, but ‘needs must’ and all that jazz. They had all seen Cassidy leave with the bar owner—they couldn’t stop talking about the move Trey executed!
“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay here if we leave?” Ziggy’s question came with a searching glance in Rue’s direction.
“I’ll be fine, I’m not worried ‘bout Rue. My extracurricular activity away from workis none of his business.” He held Ziggy’s gaze, hoping that he didn’t notice how fast Monty’s pulse was beating at his throat. He had never been great at lying. Evading, he was a pro at.
“I’ll leave my cell on, just call if you need me.” Ziggy was all heart.
Monty nodded. “Thanks, and don’t worry, I’m sure I can handle Kendrick,”—he winked slyly—“if you catch my drift.”
Ziggy rolled his eyes, chuckling. “If you think so!”
Monty didn’t breathe easy until all his friends had gone and he couldn’t see any sign of anyone else staying on the ranch.
Having stopped drinking, Monty chugged a gallon of water to ensure he was less tipsy than he had been. He wanted to remember tonight for a very long time!
As he’d offered to help, he moved about the emptying bar, picking up glasses and wiping tables, filling time as his excitement grew. Monty didn’t care about how late it was or getting any sleep. The way he felt, he was sure he could bounce off the walls for hours with the reward Kendrick was offering. Rue naked… or that’s what Monty thought he was suggesting with the‘fuck… yes’.
A vivid recollection of Rue’s reaction to Monty’s bold statement. Yeah, that was going to fuel many nights when hewas alone. Because the second Kendrick had crowded in behind Rue, meeting Monty’s gaze with a heated one, Cassidy’s earlier warning about threesomes wandered through his mind and sat begging for attention. Until that moment, Monty hadn’t fully believed his brief fantasy could be a reality.
Did he feel bad about Kendrick being the conduit to getting more of a naked Rue? Whatever this was they were doing, they were consenting adults, Monty reminded himself.
Time ticked by in slow motion and Monty felt his skin burn and crawl, every nerve ending firing at the possibilities of what was to come. The desire was so overwhelming it left Monty momentarily scared of the ‘what if’s’ that would come afterwards, when they had to leave.
