The Players (TP4)

22 - Google

Ryan

Adam appeared on the pool deck. Ryan asked, "You want to swim?"

"Yeah maybe. I guess Jack's busy with his in-laws. I forgot it was just Emma's birthday."

"Yeah, I know. He was good though. The kid told me about last year, before Maddie. He wasn't like that when he ran in the morning."

Ryan attempted to ask Jack if he was all right. He had made mistakes with his brother in his past but was willing to move forward. In retrospect, he should have been more empathetic. He had loved and lost, not nearly the same as his brother, but it helped mold him into the man he had become.

The rugrat's birthday wasn't the happiest day, and he wasn't surprised he hadn't been invited to celebrate. Allie, as usual, had the task of shopping for the three-year-old. She picked something from Amazon, so he had a wrapped gift he could drop off.

Adam said, "Maddie saved him."

"Maddie's special. He skipped poker last night. I cleaned house and was treated like a king."

"Why's that?"

"I served margaritas to the wives, and it's safe to say the husbands enjoyed their wives' happy buzz."

Ryan smiled thinking about Kristi's face when he approached with a pitcher full of pink liquid. Even though he wasn't one for sweet drinks, he had tasted it and knew it was strong. Every time the laughing drifted in with the night air, their husbands smiled. Ryan added this to his mental list against marriage, need a buzz to ensure they'll give out. Not that he had a sex life.

Will jumped out of the pool and mumbled something about working at the lobster pound. Ryan wished he could stick around. "See ya tomorrow?" Will just waved.

He mentioned he liked that kid to Heidi when she called to check up on him.

"He and Lana are close. If you're nice to Will, she'll cut you some slack for being..."

"For being what?" He felt offended.

"For being so Ryan."

"Thanks a lot." Why did women hate him so? By women, he meant the ones not interested in his wallet or his bed.

"You know I love you like a brother, Rye, but you're a player."

"Says the woman who fixed me up with all her friends. Just so you know, I've been with no one but myself since Isobel."

"Thanks for clarifying and just so you know, I'm not introducing you to any of my friends. I've learned my lesson. My friends are off limits."

So he found himself friendly with a teenager and a client who everyone thought was a nice guy, but was the real player. Adam confirmed Ryan's suspicions when he took off his shirt to climb in the pool. He had fresh scratch marks on his back. Ryan had been with a few women who liked to dig their nails into his skin but seeing Adam's back made him angry. He wanted to suggest Adam keep his shirt on around Lana, but he had promised himself he wouldn't intervene. He would not let personal business interfere in a client relationship ever again.

Lana

The weekends with Adam passed by so quickly. She definitely liked him a lot. It surprised her he hadn't tried to get further with her. A man his age had to be an experienced lover, but he wasn't desperate to get in her pants, up her dress or whatever the expression was. She lay in bed at night and thought about his hand all those places. Sex was never a problem in her marriage, well except at the end because they were out of sorts over his infertility. Even though he sought it elsewhere, she had never once turned him down. The day before her marriage ended in a public bathroom was the last time she had sex. Remembering the last time, it had been good but knowing what she knew now it was all guilt on his part. What kind of man screws two women at once? Anyone who allows it to happen is just as guilty as the prick himself.