Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
He hooked his arm through mine and pulled me close. “A guy would be lucky to have you, and it’ll happen. When it does, all I know is he better treat you right, or he’s gonna have Marcus to deal with.”
I barked out a loud laugh. “Volunteering him to beat people up for me?”
Corbin winked. “Of course. What are friends for.”
We went into the elevator, and I dropped my head onto his shoulder. I was all up in my feels today, and I couldn’t understand why. “I love you.”
“I love you too. You know it’s because of you that we all even have each other, right?” I shook my head. I wasn’t so sure about that. “When we were kids, you wouldn’t take no for an answer until Declan became your friend. Then you talked him into coming to find me when I needed someone.” In middle school, there’d been a marching-band accident when Corbin and his trombone had gone tumbling. He’d run away upset, and I’d talked Declan into going to find him. “That very night you asked me to be your friend, and you never left my side. You got Dec to open up to me, and though Marcus and I had been talking online, we likely wouldn’t have made the move to meet in person if I hadn’t told you about him. You put it all together. You’re the heart of us, Park, and one day someone else is going to love you for that heart just like we do.”
I wiped the lone tear that leaked from my eye, annoyed that it had set itself free. “Can you find him and tell him to hurry?” I joked, earning a laugh from my friend.
“Who knows, maybe he’s in Vegas right now. Maybe you’ll see each other and everything will fall into place. This will be the beginning of your romance.”
Now it was my turn to chuckle. “I think you’re forgetting my horrible luck with men.” No way would my romance to end all romances happen in Vegas. Corbin was out of his mind.
We had a drink downstairs while we waited for the guys. Marcus arrived first, followed by Declan and Sebastian, and we spent the evening enjoying each other’s company the way we always did.
After dinner, we were walking back to the hotel, Declan with his arm around me while Sebastian was talking to Marcus and Corbin.
“What did you do today?” Declan asked.
I shrugged. “Just hung out. Elliott messaged to apologize for flirting with me and asking me out so much.”
“Good. I don’t trust him.”
I didn’t either, but at this point, I didn’t trust many people anymore. “It was nice of him, though,” I replied, surprising myself.
“Parker…”
“What?” When he just looked at me, I groaned. “I don’t like him. I don’t even know him. I mean, he’s fucking hot, but dating hot guys hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I’m just saying it was nice of him. Nothing more.” He opened his mouth to respond, but I said, “Let’s not talk about me. You and Bastian still look deliriously happy.”
He tossed a look over his shoulder at his boyfriend. “Still can’t believe he chose me.”
“He’d have to be an idiot not to choose you.”
“It’s going to be hectic this summer. He’ll be gone, promoting his movie, and like, what the fuck am I supposed to do? Go with him to events? Red carpets? I don’t know how to do that shit.”
“But you will. For him.” It was hard for Dec sometimes. People would take photos of them together at the beach or out to lunch and post them online. He wasn’t comfortable with that kind of thing. Still, he nodded. We both knew he would. And I loved seeing Dec like this. Loved knowing he would never be alone, even if Marcus, Corbin, and I weren’t around.
But a small part of me couldn’t help being jealous because I wanted that too.
“You’ll do fine,” I added, and he would.
We’d just made it into our hotel’s bar area when Sebastian was spotted.
“Holy shit. Are you Sebastian Cole? And that’s your boyfriend, right? The podcast guy. Can I get a photo with you both?”
One person became two, then three and four. The second there was a break, Sebastian and Declan sneaked away to their room. I understood. They couldn’t get any peace.
At that point, we ended up all saying our goodbyes and heading up to our rooms.
I still didn’t respond to Elliott.
The next morning, the guys showed up in my room for coffee and pastries before they headed back to Southern California, and then I was alone.
CHAPTER THREE
Elliott
I didn’t try to get ahold of Parker again. I’d said my piece, made conversation, so now it was up to him. There was no reason for us to continue speaking anyway. We weren’t friends. He clearly didn’t want to go out with me, and I wasn’t sure anymore if it was a good idea for me to go out with him. I was having fun at this point in my life and couldn’t see myself settling down anytime soon. Parker was hoping for that. While I was looking to enjoy a few nights with someone, he was looking for the person he would spend the rest of his life with, and I just wasn’t there yet and didn’t know if I ever would be. I wasn’t anti-relationship, but it had to be someone really fucking special for me to want to change things up. I’d never been the guy to get attached romantically. I loved sex and dating. I liked men and having fun. But I’d never been in love, never craved a commitment from anyone.