Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“He has until Saturday.” Holden chuckled.
Colby patted me on the shoulder. “Well, my vote is to go for it. It’s been long enough.”
“I know everyone’s feelings on the matter, thanks.”
Just then Lala entered, carrying Hope. “Is the game still going on? Are we back too soon?”
“Game is over, and it’s never too soon, baby. I missed you guys.” Holden kissed Lala’s cheek and the top of Hope’s head.
Lala handed the baby to Holden and walked straight over to me. “What’s going on, Brayden? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I’ve been busy. It’s good to see you, though, Lala.”
“Busy is code for moping,” Holden cracked.
I glared at him.
She flashed me a sympathetic smile. “I heard about…everything that happened with that woman from the project upstate. Billie and I were just talking about it, actually.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
“Nothing bad.” She chuckled. “We were saying life has some crazy twists and turns.” She looked around the room. “Each of you guys has had crazy things happen when it comes to women, but you all came out on the other side. You won’t be any different, Bray.”
Holden arched a brow. “What did I have happen that was crazy?”
“I’m your crazy.” She winked. “But I mean, look at the way Devyn and Owen met, for example. They had a one-night stand, and he didn’t even know she lived in the damn building. Crazy coincidences do happen.” She looked at me. “Although, your coincidence was something else.”
“Pretty sure my coincidence takes the cake.”
Lala leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “Well, if you’d known you’d dated her daughter, you never would’ve pursued Alex. In some ways, it’s kind of nice that you didn’t know, as hard as it was to find out the truth. Because I think this whole experience has really helped you grow as a person, Brayden. You’re like a big brother to me. I’ve known you for a long time, and honestly, out of all of the guys, I thought you were the least likely to settle down, to fall in love. You proved me wrong.”
I pointed to Holden. “Pretty sure your husband was the least likely to settle down for a long while.”
She smiled. “That’s what it looked like on the surface, but I think even Holden was more open to love than you. But you’re a changed man now. Consider the Alex thing as a learning experience. Whoever gets you next might actually have a chance they didn’t before. Now you know what it’s like to form a connection with someone.”
“Well, I appreciate your insight, Lala. But I feel no more ready for a relationship than I did before. If anything, I’m more hesitant to have my heart broken like this ever again.”
“You can’t see it, but you did grow from this,” she insisted.
It was hard to see the bright side of any scenario that didn’t involve Alex and me together. Growing and maturing for some nameless, faceless woman I hadn’t met yet brought me no comfort.
Holden laughed. “You’re trying to get him to recognize his emotional maturity, and I’m just trying to get him laid. He has an opportunity this weekend. You should be encouraging him to take it. That’s what he needs to get over things. Forget love right now.”
Her face lit up. “Oh, you have a date?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t said yes yet.”
“She asked you out? Confident girl.”
“Yeah. She’s great, but…”
Her eyes widened. “You’re making her wait for a response?”
“I don’t want to mess with her if I’m not serious.”
Lala smacked the counter. “See? I told you. The old Brayden wouldn’t have thought that way. You wouldn’t have cared if you used her for sex. You have totally matured, Brayden. This is proof.”
I sighed. Maybe I had matured. But what good was maturing and being ready for a relationship when the one person you wanted that with was gone?
***
A little while later, I went back to my apartment no clearer on whether to take Lacey up on her offer, despite the well-meaning encouragement of my friends.
I took a shower before bed, and as the warm water rained down on me, I closed my eyes and thought about her—not Lacey, of course. That would have been too good to be true. Alex consumed my mind. My dick grew hard the moment I conjured the memory of fucking her against the wall. The two times we’d had sex in Seneca Falls were very different experiences—the first angry and frantic, the second slow and emotional. The second was goodbye. We’d both known it. That would always be bittersweet.
I usually tried not to think about the sex. It was too damn painful. But moments like this, alone in the shower, my body aching for her, the memories came flooding back. When Alex had come to my hotel room that night, it was the last thing I’d expected. I’d never forget that shock. There were many things I’d never forget—the look of hunger in her eyes when she’d told me she wanted to know what it was like to fuck me, the urgency I felt to take her right then and there. I’d never forget how wet she was as I sank into her, as if she’d been aroused before she came to see me—the way her beautiful blond hair felt in my hands as I fisted it, her incredible smell, the sounds she made. God, I missed her. Not only because my body needed her, but because she was the only person who made me feel whole.