“That makes sense,” she said and made her way to the bar.
“Shots!”Chris bellowed, arm flinging in the air.
“You don’t need shots,” Cynthia said, turning from the bar and facing her soon-to-be husband.
“Don’t be a buzzkill,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be a drunken fool,” she countered.“You’ve had enough.”
“I put a ring on your finger, and suddenly you think you can tell me what to do?”
Wyatt’s hand landed on Chris’s shoulder.“Tread lightly, bud.”
“Yeah, tread lightly.”Cynthia’s tone sliced through the air.
They glared at each other, and I inhaled, waiting for the explosion.
It was obvious they loved each other, but once a fight was instigated, there was not much anyone could do except sit back and wait to clean up the carnage.
Chris scoffed, rolling his shoulders like he could shake off the warning along with Wyatt’s hand.Wyatt’s grip tightened.
“Relax, I’m kidding,” Chris said, though his tone lacked the humor his words promised.
Cynthia didn’t laugh; she slid his beer out of reach and replaced it with a glass of water the bartender had conveniently placed there.She waited for a second as if she were waiting for him to say something else.For a moment, I thought he would.But then he exhaled and snatched the glass of water, downing half of it in one go.
“See,” he said.“I know when to stop.”
Cynthia’s lips parted as if she were going to argue, but then her lips snapped shut.Smart.There was no getting through to Chris when he was drunk.It was either let him roam free or battle a stubborn mule.
Wyatt released Chris’s shoulder and patted his chest.“Proud of you, buddy,” Wy said, and my eyebrow rose.Wyatt must have caught my expression because he silently shook his head at me as if to say,don’t worry about it.
The tension in the small hotel bar eased, and the boys continued with their antics.Cynthia ordered a glass of champagne, downed it in two sips, and placed the glass on the bar.“I don’t want to abandon ship,” she said.“But it’s been a long day.”
“And we have a long day tomorrow,” I said as relief slammed into me.“Let’s be old and go to bed early.”
Her laugh was welcomed after the uncomfortable standoff.She went over to Chris, said a few words, and came back to me.“Ready when you are.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
“Aren’t you going to say good night to Wy?”
“Right.”Uncertainty weighed me down as I dragged myself toward Wyatt.He stopped talking as I approached, head tilted.
I motioned over my shoulder.“I’m going to head up.We have an early day tomorrow.”
“Do you need me to go with you?”
His hand gripped mine, and he squeezed.We stood there as if neither of us wanted to let go, and for me, I didn’t.I wanted to drag him upstairs and finish our conversation before we were interrupted.Figure things out because while we wanted different things, there was one thing I couldn’t change.I still wanted him.
And he needed me.
Exhaustion lined his eyes.His easy smile was starting to crack at the edges.It had been a long day, and his social meter was flashing red.
I bit my lip and held his gaze.Once upon a time, that look meantI’m tired, let’s go upstairs.Even if we didn’t always make it to sex, I knew how to pull him away without anyone questioning it.
And there was only one way to do that.
I stepped closer, raking my hands up his chest, fingers curling into his collar.
