Out of Left Field

Chapter 15 - The Rest Of Forever (Chris)

Chris

"So... when you gonna tell her?"

With a beer in my hand, I leaned back on my elbows against the bar at The Base Lounge. I shrugged, my eyes sweeping over to where Sloane and Cami played pool. "Soon."

Everyone knew I was in love with her. Everyone. Everyone except her.

Maybe her. I didn't know.

Neither of us has said it, but it's getting harder and harder for me to keep in. Every time I wake up next to her, every time I watch her come to life over a cup of coffee in the morning, the words dance on my tongue, begging to be said.

It's been almost two months since that night in this bar, her jealousy sparked by a couple of cleat chasers in red lipstick. I hadn't even paid attention to them, but I saw the anger flare through her cerulean eyes and knew she felt it too.

The last thing I wanted to do was scare her. If I admitted too soon that I was in love with her, it could freak her out. So I would wait. I would give her time to feel everything that I was feeling and as someone who's always been able to read her pretty easily, I knew she was getting there.

I watched as she sank the 8-ball, throwing her hands up triumphantly, almost whacking Cami with the pool stick. Cami threw her head back, the groan she let out reaching my ears from across the noisy room. I chuckled as Cami slapped a twenty into Sloane's hand, a grin plastered on her lips.

She stuffed it into her pocket and skipped over to us, throwing her arms around my shoulders. "Drinks on me tonight!"

My free hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her body into mine. I loved the way her eyes gleamed in the low light, softened by a slight haze from the alcohol she'd already consumed. "I thought you were already paying."

"Oh, did you?" She laughed, a small hiccup slipping through her words. "Considering you make more money than I do, I think I will volunteer you to pay for all of my drinks for the rest of... forever."

My damn heart fluttered at that word. I always thought I would have forever with her. But never like this. I always assumed I would be the sad, single man watching her from the sidelines. Cheering her on on her wedding day while I broke on the inside.

Just a man hopelessly in love with his best friend.

But now, I had a real shot of spending the rest of my life loving her the way I so desperately wanted to.

Tonight didn't seem like the night to talk about anything that deep, so I decided not to bring any attention to that.

"Come on. I barely make more than you."

"Someone who refers to at least a few million as 'barely more' doesn't get to make that call."

"Really? And how much were those shoes?"

I watched as she rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at my lips.

She tapped the heels of her limited edition Gucci stilettos together. "I worked hard for these heels!"

I laughed, kissing her forehead, "I know you did, baby."

She melted into my body, her chin resting on my pec. The pure adoration in her eyes made my heart thump wildly in my chest. "I love it when you call me that."

My hand ran up and down her spine. "Yeah?" I loved being the one to call her that even more.

She nodded, heavy-lidded eyes staring back up at me. "You know what I love even more?" I quirked an eyebrow as she stretched onto her tiptoes, her lips grazing my ear. "Good girl."

I smirked, my hand sliding down to rest on her ass. "Careful, Pip. We're in public," I lowered my voice so only she could hear me.

Her fingers tangled in my hair, nails scraping against my scalp. "That's never stopped us before," She whispered, her breath tickling against my ear.

I swallowed, my dick coming to life behind my zipper as I remembered the last time we were in this bar together. A few too many drinks were had and the next thing I knew, we were both peeling off clothes in the men's bathroom.

I cleared my throat, leaning away from her just a tad. "That was a one-time thing."

Sloane's right eyebrow raised playfully.

"Two-time thing." I amended, also remembering the time before that.

She shrugged, her fingers brushing through my hair. "Could be a three-time thing."

I laughed, kissing her cheek before whispering. "I'd much rather wait until we get home. Because here, you have to keep quiet. And baby there's nothing I love more than hearing you scream my name."

I felt her shiver against my body, her thighs subtly clenching together. "Can we leave?"

A laugh bellowed out of me. I lifted my beer to my lips and finished it off. I dipped my chin in the direction of the front door. "After you, Pip."

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she pulled the twenty from her pocket and slapped it on the counter. Dom and Cami both rolled their eyes at the same time, both of them probably wondering why we weren't sick of each other yet.

I shook my head at the giddy look on her face, like the two of us weren't going at it like bunnies almost every night.

"You guys are gross," Cami laughed, shaking her head while she threw back the rest of her drink.

"You guys are jealous," Sloane teased, winking at Cami and blowing her a kiss before disappearing into the crowd and heading towards the front door.

I laughed again, "That's my cue." I offered a salute to my two friends and headed towards the front door knowing I would follow this girl to the ends of the earth if she asked.