“Didn’t Ian just buy a beach house in Florida?” Lacey asks, bringing me back to the conversation. “We could go catch a game down in Florida and have a beach vacay at the same time!”
“Ohhh yes, he did! Think JJ can convince him to let us use it?” Ellie asks.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Florida, so I’m okay with that, but who’s Ian?” I cut in.
“Another twenty-three-year-old sex on skates that plays hockey with my brother and Levi,” Lacey shares. “Stay awayfrom that one though, he knows he’s sex on skates—never a good thing.”
“How many times do I have to tell you I am not dating or sleeping with a twenty-three-year-old in this lifetime. I’m basically thirty, that's just weird.”
“Too bad, because he’s definitely the type of guy that can help you cross off number eleven,” Ellie chimes in.
“God, yes! According to all the trashy tabloid websites, he is quite the giving lover and very well endowed, if you know what I mean,” Lacey adds with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“Moving on. Do you girls really think he’d let us borrow his beach house?” I say, changing topics.
“Of course! He and JJ are tight, plus you are living in his old room. He was Levi’s roommate for a couple of years,” Ellie states.
“Perfect! Lacey, since you love crossing things off, how about you add Beach Vacay as number twelve,” I say, winking at Lacey.
“Smart. I think Ian can actually help you cross quite a few things off your list,” she replies. “His parents own a cattle ranch and horses. It would be the perfect date really, an overnight horseback ride with a picnic supper, followed up with a night of hot, sweaty sex under the stars. What more can a woman ask for?” she ends with a sigh.
“Oh my God! Enough with this guy!” I say, laughing at the dreamy expression Lacey has on. “How come you don’t have some fun with him?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“He’s not my type. Plus, JJ would kill me if I dated or slept with one of his teammates.”
“That’s not true. He knows you’re a grown ass adult that can make her own decisions,” Ellie interjects with an eye roll. “But while we’re on the topic of men and sex, we really need to spice this thing up. I mean if you’ve never had a life-changing orgasm,I doubt you’ve had much spice in your life, Ellie cuts in as she concentrates on the list. “I’ve added a few things . . .”
Number 12: Girls Beach Vacay, obviously
Number 13: Sex outside
Number 14: Sex in a truck
Number 15: Sex in public
Number 16: Get a tattoo
“You want me to get a tattoo?” I turn to her, shocked.
“Yes. In the book I’m reading, the badass main female character got a tattoo while moving on from her shitty ex,” she says, looking at me with a straight face.
“The chances of me getting a tattoo are slim to none,” I tell her with my own straight face.
“We’ll see about that,” Lacey sasses. “Add skinny dipping in there.”
“Good idea. Number seventeen: Skinny Dipping.”
“Kiss in the rain,” Lacey adds.
Chapter 5
After the boys weekend at JJ’s family cabin, I head home for a quick minute and then head out to the family ranch for Sunday supper.
Pulling into the long dirt path we call a driveway, I feel the sense of peace I always do the moment I spot the chocolate-colored porch that wraps around my childhood home. After all these years, nothing has changed. I’ve seen pictures from when the house was first built, and it still has the same white exterior, solid wood door, and black shutters framing every window of the two story farmhouse. Other than a fresh coat of paint or stain every few years, nothing has changed in the last fifty years.
I spot my dad’s tall frame and dark head of hair out by the riding ring that sits to the right of the house. He’s watching my younger sister, Sadie, slowly work her horse Lovely around some barrels. The girl might not skate, but already at sixteen she has universities sending offers; the girl can barrel ride like no one’s business. Parking next to my mom’s blue SUV, I send a wave to Sadie and my dad knowing that they didn’t even hear me pull in—too concentrated on their training. Shaking my head with asmile, I skip the first step of the porch knowing it’s still wonky, even though my mom has been telling my dad to fix it for the past three years. I swear he hasn’t done it yet just to get a rise out of her. My dad always says, “Get a woman who you can get a rise out of here and there . . . the minute you can’t anymore you know you’ve lost her.” To which my mom would most likely react. But I guess he’s right, because they’ve been happily living together for twenty-four years and counting.
My parents are high school sweethearts. They met on their first day of high school and had me two years later, at the age of sixteen. My dad said he knew she was the one the minute he spotted her long jet-black hair and green eyes. He always says,“She’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve seen.”
