Page 2 of About That Rule

His gaze went to his phone, which made him smile again. “I’m sure she told me at some point, but I forget. Her text…well, it was visual, if you know what I mean. It wasn’t like her name was displayed anywhere.”

Gabriella pretended to gag. “So gross.”

“Why did you give her your number?” Samantha wasn’t as prudish as her friends. She didn’t wince at one-night stands and loved playing the field.

“The sex was insane, so when she asked for my number, I gave it to her out of pure orgasmic exhaustion. Besides, we leave tomorrow, who’s going to kick a gift horse in the mouth, you know? One more fuck won’t hurt.”

Elena scrunched up her nose, still repulsed by him. “Not only is that disgusting, but you didn’t even get the saying right.”

Jason grabbed a rogue mimosa and took a sip. He put the glass down and tilted his head at her. “I always use a condom, so it’s not disgusting. And, on the bright side, I get vacation sex one more day, so I shouldn’t have bitched about the text. Sammy, what did you and Nate do after I left? You were slamming drinks and dancing like crazy.”

Samantha put her head on the table and groaned. “I barely remember you leaving. In fact, I don’t remember much after Elena and the rest of the party poopers left.”

Noah nudged his sister. “I’m not a party pooper. I have training as soon as I get home. There’s no break for me before soccer season starts. I need to stay hydrated and healthy, not hungover and exhausted. It will be brutal if I’m not prepared.”

“Brutal, but worth it,” Jason said, way too much happiness in his voice.

It had to be from the sex.

Samantha, on the other hand, needed to drink as much water as possible so she was up for round two of celebrating. It was the last day of vacation. She wanted to cram in one more night of getting wild into this trip. It wasn’t going to happen if she felt like shit.

NATE ROLLED OVERand his stomach debated throwing up. Hangovers were a different beast once he hit thirty. Now that he was thirty-one, his body was revolting against him. He swore his liver put him on probation from his partying last night.

Not that he had any regrets.

This hangover was worth it though because…well, he was in Vegas. That, and last night, he celebrated the news of his two friends eloping. Such an epic move he never expected from Rafe and Charlotte. Like usual, though, it was just Sammy and him still at the bar having fun by the end of the night. In their group, they were always the ones who stayed out way too late, having way too much fun. Since they were kids, they had been ready to cause trouble.

Last night was no exception. It was blurry what happened after Jason left the bar with some woman he met while dancing. He vaguely recalled getting in and out of cabs and laughing with Sammy when she pulled a bottle of champagne out of her purse.

Women and their purses. It was like a bag full of surprises. When she showed him the bottle of Chandon she had stashed in her purse, which she said was for emergencies, a handful of pens, pepper spray, and a pack of gum fell out. It was like watching Mary Poppins search through her bag. He bet she had aspirin in there, which he could use.

Fuck this hangover.

When he rolled over, paper crumbled beneath him. He squinted at the receipt. He’d ordered a pizza. No surprise there. He was always hungry when he drank too much. Even though it had been a while since he’d been as drunk as he was last night, old faithful pizza showed its face.

He pulled the sheets over his head to block the sun from shining in. There had to be a way for him to get more sleep. According to the pizza receipt, there was a strong possibility he hadn’t gotten back to his room until four a.m.

Today was the last full day of vacation. Staying in bed sounded like a waste, even if his body was begging for hydration and sleep. But if Samantha and Jason weren’t moping in their hotel rooms, he had no excuse to lay around. Grabbing his phone, he texted Samantha.

Tell me you didn’t get out of bed.

Her text back was almost immediate. It was only a picture of her, and it made him chuckle. Not that she was funny looking or anything. Actually, if Nate hadn’t grown up with her, he would have been the first to admit how hot she was. Even if she was struggling in the current text.

Her long, dark brown hair was thrown into a sloppy ponytail with strands of hair sticking up everywhere, and her dark brown eyes were covered with sunglasses. Samantha was someone with a perpetual smile on her face, but in the text, she was frowning. To top it off, she was in her wrinkled dress from last night.

Another text vibrated in from her.

If I made it out, you better too.

Not the response he’d been hoping for. He crawled out of bed to get ready, figuring food would help his current state. After he showered, brushed his teeth, and got dressed, he sat on the bed, debating whether he should just go back to sleep. Guilt set in. He didn’t get to see this group of friends often since he lived in New York and they resided in California where they’d all grown up. His phone went off again.

You better get down here. I can’t be the only hungover mess.

So much for more of the elusive sleep.

Nate took a quick selfie of how miserable he looked and sent it back to Sammy. She would get a kick out of it. He went to delete the picture and saw some from the night before. These snapshots should have been funny.

Swipe after swipe, his night was pieced together.