Second Opinion (4 page)

Rachelle and I were friends first, but I’d always wanted more. Her dark eyes, olive skin, and perfect body—soft and toned at the same time—pulled me in, clenched at my heart, and never let go.

Never. Not even after everything we had been through. Not even after she had broken my heart.

Twice.

So here I was, still in love with a woman who I could never have, a woman who fucked me up for all other women who would follow her. Alyssa, poor sweet and sexy Alyssa, was just one more woman on that list.

Rachelle was the reason why I led the life I did. I kept trying to find something—anything—that would feel like it felt with her, but I couldn’t. No one compared.

Sure, there were a few I’d slept with more than once or twice, but after the third or fourth time, I knew I’d never feel half of what I felt for Rachelle. It wasn’t fair to the others when I always compared them to her, so I tossed them out and moved onto the next one.

I wasn’t trying to replace her.

I was trying to move past her.

But my heart was stuck on her, and it threw my life into a slow motion dance I absolutely loathed with a dark passion.

I was forced to listen to that radio station that plays all the oldies as I was growing up, and one of those songs started playing in my head.

“Love Is All Around.” One of those catchy songs from the sixties by some band I couldn’t remember, but it was legit. Love was literally all around me. I saw my friends falling in love, getting married, and having kids. Hell, my best friend was about to marry my sister. Soon enough the two of them would have kids running around and they’d be calling me “Uncle Grant.”

But none of that shit was on my radar. I was fully aware I had thrown up a protective shield after what Rachelle did to me, but I was in no position to take that shield down. Maybe ever.

After Alyssa left later that night, I went straight to bed. I was exhausted after another round of sex—okay, two rounds—with her, and I had a long day ahead of me the next day.

But worse than that, I was confused.

I was still thinking about Avery.

I had just spent the entire day with another woman, but Avery never left my mind.

I glanced at my phone, knowing her number was in there.

Would it be weird to text her? Just to see how she was doing?

I hadn’t done it yet even though I had seen her the past few Fridays at our softball games. We hadn’t had much time to flirt since that first game. Somehow someone always ended up sitting between us or interrupting our conversations. But that didn’t mean she’d left my mind.

Yeah, texting her would be weird. I wanted to, but I reminded myself she was off limits.

But maybe it wouldn’t be weird to text her about the bachelor party. That was why she wanted to exchange numbers in the first place, and now the wedding was only four weeks away. We’d need to get our plan together fairly soon.

I supposed we could easily talk about it while we drank beer before or after one of our games, but she was on my mind, and a part of me wanted to text her so she’d know I was thinking about her.

I pulled up her contact info.
Does two weeks before the wedding for the bachelor party work for you? —Grant Carpenter

I kept it simple and direct. I focused on the reason why we exchanged numbers in the first place. If the conversation led to other topics, well, it wouldn’t be because of me.

I couldn’t help my smile at her quick reply.
Works for me. I’ll find out if it works for Q. You don’t need to sign your texts.

Didn’t know if you would know who I was. —Grant

You texted me with your number the night of the engagement party. —Avery

I laughed when she signed her name.

What are you planning for the bachelorette party? –G

Naked pillow fights, dildos, Jello shots, and lots of male/male porn. –A

I could get on board with naked pillow fights, but not when it involved my sister.

Please never give me the image of my sister in a naked pillow fight again. –G

My apologies. That was the pre-party before we pick her up. –A

Now that’s an image I can get on board with. –G

What do you have planned for the bachelor party? –A

Hookers and blow. –G

Such a stereotypical bachelor party. –A

Fine, then. Naked pillow fights with strippers. Cigars and scotch. –G

Now that sounds like fun. Wish I could be there. –A

I wanted to write back and tell her I wanted her there, too. I wanted to write back and tell her I wanted to get into a naked pillow fight with her. I wanted to tell her how I wanted her to strip for me.

But I didn’t.

This was my sister’s friend, and I already knew I wanted nothing more than a night with her. And she would probably just be another in the line of women who would want more than a night or two.

I was an asshole, but I wasn’t enough of an asshole to do that to one of my sister’s friends. Not again, at least. I respected my sister too much for that, and I didn’t want to hurt their friendship because I was terrified of a relationship. I’d already done it once, and I couldn’t do it again.

So I did the most gentlemanly thing I could think to do, and I ignored her comment.

Let me know if that weekend works. –G

Her reply was slower, and I had a feeling it was because she wanted to continue the direction of our conversation. I didn’t mean to hurt her by cutting it short, but it was just easier that way.

Will do. Night, G. –A

Night, A. –G              

CHAPTER 4

Somehow we had made it to the weekend before Quinn and Reed’s wedding, and we were in the final game of our co-ed softball tournament. We had made it to the championship game after a season of ups and downs, but mostly ups. Our record was four and one, and really we had a team of extreme all stars. I forced myself to avoid Avery, knowing it was dangerous to get involved with her even though I found myself drawn to her.

I felt the sexual tension between us, but I couldn’t give in. It was an uphill battle, but it would be stupid to hook up with her, to give into one night when I knew she deserved more.

Every week when I arrived at the bar for happy hour before the game, I glanced around the room to see if she’d gotten there before me. And every time my eyes met hers from across the room, whether she’d gotten there first or I had, I felt the heat pass between us. Her eyes sought mine out as much as mine sought hers, and that was the thing that scared me more than anything else.

Softball had been an all-around great idea. Our team had bonded together, sharing stories after the games while we drank beer together. Since most of us were involved in Quinn and Reed’s wedding, our bond was only that much stronger, and as the weeks grew closer and closer to their wedding date, I could feel the excitement spreading through the team.

Even though Quinn was my little sister, I found myself looking at her through a new lens. She’d become a friend to me in many ways, especially now that she was marrying one of my closest friends. I found myself enjoying spending time with the two of them as a couple, and I briefly wondered what it would be like to spend time with them on a double date with Avery.

I banished the thought as I threw another strike. I needed to focus, but I was severely distracted. I was fairly certain the distraction came from the girl in the tight turquoise tank top standing on second base behind me.

Our league played on a time limit. We were in what would be the last inning, and we were down a run. I needed one more out, one tiny strike, and then we needed to score two runs to win.

The winning team got a two hundred dollar gift certificate to the bar plus a trophy. Two hundred at the bar meant a really fun night, but more than that, I had a strong competitive streak.

I threw another pitch, and this one was a little inside. The ump called a ball.

Fuck.

I pulled down on the bill of my baseball cap, lowering it down on my forehead. It was a nervous habit when I was playing ball. The sun was shining in my eyes, and all I could think about when I needed to be focusing on a strike was the fact that Avery was standing just behind me.

I chewed a little harder on the wad of gum in my mouth, snapping it loudly. It was another nervous habit.

I tossed the ball in, and the girl at the plate whiffed, missing the ball completely.

That meant we were up to bat.

Brandon was up first, Avery was on deck, and I was in the hole.

Brandon grounded right between first and second, managing a base hit. Avery was up next. She glanced at me before she walked to home plate.

“You’ve got this, babe,” I said, trying to be encouraging as I saw the nervousness in her eyes. She nodded once and took the plate.

She swung at the first pitch, which was totally outside. The strike unnerved her, so I yelled out some more encouragement. “Wait for your pitch, Ave!”

The next pitch was another ball, and she stood back as it crossed outside of the batter’s box. She glanced back at me, and I grinned.

She turned back to the pitcher, and when the ball came her way, she hit it. Hard.

Impressively hard.

Hard enough to turn me on a little.

But that was nothing new.

The ball flew between first and second base, landing in the perfect spot for right field to take too long to get to it. Brandon flew past second and landed on third as Avery ran through first. Our dugout cheered like a bunch of maniacs for Avery, me included, and then I was up. 

I could do this. I just needed to hit it hard enough for Avery to score. I just needed a triple.

The first ball came at me, and it was a definite ball. I waited.

The next one was outside, so I waited again.

The third one was mine. I swung my bat and felt the familiar crack when the bat connected with the ball. There were few other feelings as satisfying to me.

I hauled my ass to first, checking where the ball ended up. It fell between left and center field, all the way back to the wall, which meant whoever was playing those positions would have to run their asses off to get the ball.

I had this.

I glanced back and saw the team high-fiving Brandon. Avery was ahead of me, just getting to second as I rounded first and headed her way. I was fast, and I found myself gaining on her. She was almost to third, and I was just by the shortstop.

“Ave, head home!” I yelled. I was right behind her, and I heard the yelling before I saw it happen.

She ran across the plate just as the ball came in. The catcher missed the ball coming at her from left field, and the ball bounced off of her mitt and headed right toward Avery. I watched in utter horror as the ball headed toward her. It was like everything happened in slow motion, and I yelled out, “Ave, watch out!”

She turned toward me and the ball whizzed just past her face. If she hadn’t turned at the sound of my voice, it definitely would’ve hit her, most likely either in the back of the head or the face.

I ran across the plate with a grin despite my near heart failure.

We won.

It was a close call, but Avery was fine.

I grabbed her around the waist and lifted her, twirling her around. “You scored the winning run!” I yelled as the rest of our team rushed on the field to issue hugs and congratulations. I set her down, and she threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her, and I couldn’t help what I felt in that moment. Holding Avery in my arms was fucking unreal.

It was heaven.

I wanted more of it.

I definitely wanted more than one night of it.

She pulled back and looked at me. Something changed as our eyes locked. Suddenly no one else was on that field, and I had the strong urge to kiss her.

I wanted to feel her lips on mine as we celebrated our victory.

But it was all wrong, so I glanced away as I let her go, opting to man-hug the guys in celebration before shaking hands with the other team.

Our victory hug was just one more moment I was mentally collecting in my memory box of Avery Peterson.

CHAPTER 5

I rolled my eyes behind my sister’s back at Avery. I watched as she stifled a giggle. My sister was always a handful, but make her the bride and she was unbearable with the amount of attention she required.

Quinn was going on and on ad nauseam about the agenda for the next day as we stood in the hotel lobby after the wedding rehearsal. My stomach was growling and I was ready for the awesome dinner scheduled to follow.

“We get it, Curley Q,” I muttered.

“I just want to make sure,” she said, her voice full of anxiety.

I threw my arm around my sister. “Everything will be fine. I will take care of any issues.” It was my job both as best man and as brother of the bride to ensure everything ran smoothly. And by ensuring everything ran smoothly, I really meant that it was my job to make sure we got our money’s worth out of the open bar at the reception.

The bridesmaids looked to me gratefully. I wouldn’t have kicked any of them out of bed for eating crackers, but only one held my attention. And it happened to be the same one who had been holding my attention since Quinn and Reed’s engagement party. It was probably poor form to hit on a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding, but I wasn’t exactly known for behaving when it came to women.

I thought back to Avery’s words at the engagement party, to the night when I almost kissed her at her car, and to our victory celebration at home plate.

Somehow I convinced myself it wasn’t really all that bad of an idea to hook up with her. I had to get her out of my system.

I just needed to wait until after the wedding.

Then she would be fair game.

I felt her trying to catch my eye again, but I didn’t give in.

We didn’t need any wedding day drama, after all.

We headed toward the restaurant in the hotel for dinner, or, as I liked to look at it, the reward for dealing with the wedding rehearsal. Little placards sat at each place setting, and I found my name.

The bridal party sat at a large round table. Reed and Quinn were seated beside one another, and the rest of the bridal party formed a circle around them in the order of where we would stand the next day. I was between Reed and one of his friends from Wisconsin, Paul. They’d played ball in college together, so Paul and I talked baseball when Quinn finally stopped talking about the wedding long enough to give us the chance. Another groomsman, Dean, sat on Paul’s other side. Apparently he’d gone to college with Reed, too.

I’d rented a hotel room for two nights, and I had nowhere to go that night. While I didn’t want to deal with a hangover on the day of my sister’s wedding, I figured a few extra drinks wouldn’t hurt anything. I had nowhere to drive and all I had to do was press the elevator button for the ninth floor.

I was feeling good by the time dinner was served. And by the time we had finished our rainbow trout with potatoes, I was starting to get loud.

I wasn’t
exactly
drunk, but sober had left about two hours earlier.

And with my sobriety went the whole idea of not hooking up with a bridesmaid. Suddenly it became a rock solid idea.

The more beer I consumed, the more fuel was added to the heat between us.

Quinn and Reed stood when they finished eating to talk to family and friends at other tables. That left a vacant seat beside me.

I turned toward Paul to continue our discussion of which teams sucked the most in Major League Baseball when I felt a hand on my arm.

“Grant, I need your help.”

I turned toward the voice purring like a kitten in my ear and locked eyes with the same gorgeous brown ones that had been glancing in my direction all night.

I grinned and her face lit up. Somehow my smile tended to have that effect on women, especially when I turned it on full blast.

“What can I do for you?” I grabbed my bottle and took a long drink of my beer. It gave me something to do while I thought up my next line.

“Veronica and I got some stuff to decorate the bridal suite tomorrow. We need your help getting into the room.”

I thought quickly. “I’ve got it covered.”

“Thanks, Grant,” she said, squeezing my bicep.

I liked her hands on me.

I wanted more of that.

“Anything else I can do for you?”

“I can think of a few things.” A wicked smile broke across her face.

I raised an eyebrow in her direction.

I reasoned with myself through my beer-induced haze. I didn’t have a date for my sister’s wedding. I had decided to go solo because my choices weren’t very appetizing, for one, and for another thing, bringing a date to a wedding sent all the wrong messages to women.

Women loved weddings because they loved seeing the bride, they loved making judgments about everything from the flowers to the cake, and they loved the idea of happily ever after.

Apart from the false sense of hope, I wasn’t about to bring some random girl to meet my family.

I’d never brought home anyone to meet my parents, including Rachelle. I was intensely private about my personal life, although my sister had gotten a pretty good idea of what I did in my spare time. She’d stayed with me for a while when Reed had been living with me.

But not bringing a date meant my dance card was essentially empty barring the requisite bridal party dances. And that meant I’d have plenty of time at the reception the next night to get to know Avery.

Unless, of course, she was bringing a date to the wedding. I wasn’t sure how to ask that question without sending the wrong message.

Avery broke into my thoughts. “Save me a dance tomorrow, okay?”

I lowered my voice and leaned in toward her. “I’ll save you more than a dance, Avery.”

She stood and pushed in her chair, and then she leaned down, giving me an excellent view of her tits spilling over the top of her dress. “I’ll be looking forward to more than a dance, then.” She smiled wickedly and walked back to her chair.

“You catch any of the game last night?”

Paul was talking to me, but my mind was still on Avery’s words as I watched her walk away.

Fuck it. Fuck manners. I wanted her and she wanted me. It was going to happen.

But for my sister, I’d wait until after the wedding. As much as I wanted to throw Avery over the very table where we were sitting, I’d hold off. I’d be the good older brother and let my sister shine on her wedding day, and then I’d fuck Avery stupid.

Paul was going on about some play from the game the night before, and I was paying absolutely no attention to him. I shook my head to clear it. I registered that he was having a conversation with me while I was focused on what it would be like to slide my cock into Avery.

The waitress came by with dessert, interrupting our very one-sided conversation. Quinn and Reed took their seats again and I ordered a cup of coffee to filter the beer. Everything was back to normal. Well, almost everything.

The problem now was that I couldn’t stop glancing across the table at Avery.

She was engrossed in conversation with Veronica. I studied her face for a minute. She was a beautiful girl. No, beautiful wasn’t a strong enough word. She was gorgeous. Stunning, really. Her hair was long and blonde. She laughed at something Veronica said, and I watched as her eyes lit up. Her eyes darted to mine for a second, and I saw something change in hers.

They went from sweet laughter to something much, much hotter.

She caught me staring, but I wasn’t ashamed. I held her eyes for a moment, and this time she looked away first, back to her friend.

She’d definitely gotten my attention.

The rest of the dinner was a blur of gifts and thank yous. I had to hand it to Reed; his groomsman gifts were some of the best I’d ever received, and I’d taken part in quite a few weddings. I had more flasks and engraved pint glasses than I knew what to do with, and I hadn’t actually used a flask since college.

He handed me a silver bucket with “Grant’s Beers” engraved on the outside, and the bucket was filled with beer and a few other gifts including a Cuban cigar, a bottle of
Red Breast 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey
, a bottle of wine, and a subscription to a Bacon of the Month Club. The bottle of wine had a label on it with an engagement photo of Quinn and Reed along with a picture of an owl and their names. 

I watched as the bridesmaids opened their gifts, too. Quinn had gifted the jewelry she wanted them to wear the next day along with a spa certificate and a bottle of the Quinn and Reed wine.

All in all it was a great pre-wedding celebration. I forced myself to cool down by sitting with my parents and drinking water while Quinn made the rounds with Reed. I managed to avoid eye contact with Avery for the rest of the night, opting to leave her wanting more.

I headed up to my room solo, certain it was for the best. It was the only way to ensure I’d have no regrets the next morning.

I took a quick shower and settled into bed, finding I couldn’t sleep because I was too horny.

I could think of only one solution to that problem.

As I palmed my cock, I thought about Avery and her smile. I thought about how the next night, it would be her hands, her mouth, her pussy wrapped around me instead of my own hand. We’d just talked about how we’d be doing more than dancing the next night, and I think we both knew what that meant.

Just when I was working up to a fantastic, very much needed release, I heard a soft knock on my door.

Motherfucker.

I pulled on my boxers and a pair of shorts, doing my best to hide my straining erection. I glanced through the peephole to see who the offender was, and I wasn’t surprised to find the very girl I’d just been imagining as I pleasured myself.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let her finish the job.

I opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb, gazing at her. I saw her eyes flick down to my abs, a bit lower, and up to my chest quickly before meeting my own eyes. I just continued to gaze at her, waiting for her to speak.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey.”

“I, um, didn’t get a chance to say goodnight.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you came all the way to my hotel room just to say goodnight?”

She nodded. “Yes.” Her voice was soft and sexy, and my already hard cock somehow tightened up even more.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar?”

She nodded and tucked some hair behind her ear. “Yeah. I’ve gotten that before. Are you going to invite me in? Or should I plan on standing out here all night?”

I leaned back, granting her an entrance.

She walked into the room and glanced around. I followed close behind her, and she turned and opened her mouth to say something.

Her words were lost as my mouth came crashing down over hers.

She stiffened momentarily as if I’d surprised her, but then she moaned and wrapped her arms around my torso. Her nails scratched across my back, and from that one motion, I knew she’d be an animal beneath the sheets.

I pushed my erection toward her hips, prompting another loud moan.

Our tongues twisted hotly together, her lips and her body soft beneath my fingertips.

I grabbed her upper arms in my hands and pulled back from our kiss.

Her big brown doe eyes looked up at me in confusion.

“Why are you stopping?” she asked breathlessly, those powerful eyes full of lust.

I shrugged and she moved back toward me. I gazed down at her, wishing I could but knowing I couldn’t.

I sighed in utter frustration. “Believe me, I don’t want to stop. You’re fucking hot as hell and I want to slam you onto my bed and fuck you all night. But my sister is getting married tomorrow, and I don’t want to do anything that might fuck up her day.”

Avery’s lips turned up into a smile. “Despite what they say, Grant Carpenter, you’re a pretty damn good guy.”

“Who exactly talks shit about me?”

She shrugged. “Just an expression.” She shifted and pushed her tits toward me. I wasn’t sure if it was just the way she was standing or if she’d done it on purpose, but all I could think about was burying my face between them.

“Stop staring at my breasts.”

“Stop shoving them in my direction.” I smiled. “Sorry. Was I that obvious?”

She nodded.

“You’ve got quite the pair on that sexy body.”

It was her turn to smile. “Thank you.” She started walking toward my door, and I automatically followed her. She turned with her hand on the door handle. “So if not tonight, what about tomorrow?”

“I’m one step ahead of you, Avery.”

She raised an eyebrow and I stalked toward her. She backed up against my door.

I leaned one of my arms on the door above her head and grabbed her around the waist with the other. Her hands rested on my chest.

“You have only one choice for tomorrow night,” I said, pressing a kiss to the sweet skin on her neck.

“What’s that?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly as my lips kissed a path from her neck to her lips.