I stare out the window at the fresh snow that’s begun falling. I love fresh snow. It’s so…untainted. “This might actually be the first girl I break some rules for, Miles.”
“Shock, awe, stupor, aghast, agog.”
“What are you doing?” I ask, turning to Miles as he continues watching the road.
“I’m giving you adjectives for the word shock because I’m in major shock right now.”
“Why are you giving me adjectives?”
“It’s just something I do with Kate when she’s looking for a better word in her book. I thought I could make it a thing between you and me too.” His face looks so hopeful. I almost feel bad for crushing it.
Almost.
“Nah, man. I’m going to have to pass on that one.”
Miles rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I’m just saying I’m amazed you’re breaking any rules for this chick. Since the day I met you, you’ve been playing musical beds with chicks left and right.”
“Nothing is changing there,” I confirm, eyeing him seriously so he fully hears me. “I’m not getting into a relationship with the chick. She has serious baggage that I’m not interested in saddling myself with. You know I don’t do serious after watching what my dad did to my mom. I’m never going down that path. I just exchanged phone numbers with her, so musical beds is an option. That’s all.”
“Fair enough,” Miles replies, nodding thoughtfully as we stop at a red light on Pearl Street. “Still, though, exchanging numbers is not something you’ve done before.”
“I know,” I reply with a deep breath. “This one makes me do weird things.”
He huffs out a laugh and reaches over to fist bump me. “Hell, you met her at a bait shop—it’s already weird. And since I met my girl in a tire shop, I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that weird can be hot.”
“Hot and temporary,” I add for good measure. “Just because you’re Mr. Monogamy doesn’t mean I have to be.”
Miles pulls his hand back and nods seriously. “I hear you, man. Musical beds, it is.”
“Exactly,” I reply with a relaxed smile.
Minutes later, we pull up in front of Pearl Street Pub and Cellar. Miles and I started hanging out at this low-key bar when he first moved to town. It’s sort of a hole-in-the-wall type of place with a chill staff and awesome grub. Plus, as one of the only places on Pearl Street not packed with college kids or tourists, it’s a favorite of mine.
We walk into the low-lit, wainscoted pub, and once my eyes adjust, I see Kate’s fiery red hair piled on top of her head back by the pool tables. We make our way over to where she’s sitting, and I see her friends Lynsey and Dean are beside her with several of the guys from Tire Depot and a couple of my buddies from college who have gotten to know Miles since he moved here a couple of years ago.
My top mechanic hands me a beer out of the bucket of ice as I see a big tire-decorated frosted cookie cake sitting right in the middle of the table. “You guys didn’t have to do all this,” I state, shaking my head. I hate being the focus of everyone’s attention right now.
“Yes, we did,” Miles says, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve been working hard lately, and you deserve to have some fun.”
I roll my eyes, moving around the table to say hello to everyone else. Kate yanks me her way, and says, “Sam, you remember my friends Lynsey and Dean, right?”
“Happy Birthday, Sam!” Lynsey exclaims and reaches over to clink bottles with me. Lynsey’s a little on the kooky side, but so is Kate, so I can see why their friendship is so strong. Kate’s guy friend Dean, on the other hand…I’m still a little leery of him, but I paste on a smile for him and do my best not to smirk at his plaid blazer.
Suddenly, I hear Miles bellow, “There you are, Megan! Come over here and meet my best buddy, Sam! He’s technically my boss at Tire Depot, but I don’t like to remind him, or he gets a big head.”
I turn to shake hands with whoever Miles is talking to, and suddenly, I feel like I’ve been kicked in the nuts.
Or actually…the taint.
Yeah, this feeling right here…it’s too deep for a nut kick. This panic-seizing, gut-twisting, body-tremoring attack overwhelming all my senses has a taint kick written all over it.
Because I’m staring into the stunning blue eyes of my ice fishing companion from the past two weekends.
“Sam, this is my baby sister, Megan, visiting us all the way from Utah. Megan, this is my best friend, Sam.” Maggie’s smile falters with recognition as Miles, her…brother—oh fucking fuck, her brother—drapes his arm over her shoulder and smiles back at me.
Like a moron, I instantly bring my beer to my lips and take three slow glugs. Whatever I can do to avoid touching her outstretched hand right now because I’m convinced the second I touch her in front of her brother, Miles will know I’ve thought about her naked no less than nineteen times.
And now I’m thinking about her naked again.
I nod stupidly and continue to chug my beer like a damn college frat boy as Miles and Maggie watch me curiously. Finally, I pry the cold glass from my lips long enough to give her a head nod.
A fucking head nod.
Only douchebags who call a girl basic would give a fucking head nod.
I look down at where she’s still holding her hand out for me to shake, and God help me, my traitorous eyes scan the rest of her body at the same time. Her perfect round tits are covered beneath this short black lace dress. It’s way too fucking dressy for the likes of Pearl’s, but hell if she doesn’t look sexy. She’s wearing black plaid tights and little ankle boots with a big ass heel that bring her up to my chin. I’d gotten used to her being at my chest in her snow boots. The same boots she was wearing when I kissed my best friend’s little sister in my fucking fishing hut.
My mind instantly begins trying to remember everything I said to Miles about his sister in his truck earlier. Jesus Christ, this is bad.
Suddenly, Maggie reaches out and forcefully grabs my hand to shake. “Hi Sam, my friends call me Maggie. Miles is the only one who still calls me Megan…even my parents say Maggie. It’s nice to meet you…for the first time.”
She’s talking slow, and I feel myself nodding with buggy eyes as I attempt to swallow back the cotton in my mouth and ignore the sparks shooting up my hand from her touch. “Nice to meet you for the first time, too. How long have you been in town visiting?” Jesus hell, I sound like a robot on acid.
Her dimple flashes when she realizes I’m not going to spill the beans. “I just arrived a couple of hours ago.”
I unclench my jaw and belatedly realize we’re still shaking hands. “Today?” I can’t help but say it as a question because where the fuck has she been staying for the past week if Miles thinks she just got into town today?
“Yes, I was visiting my boyfriend in his hometown on the East Coast and decided to stay in Boulder for a few weeks before heading back to Utah.”
My eyes are blinking, and I can’t stop them because my mind is completely jumbled up right now. I can’t differentiate the lie from the truth. Is she still with her boyfriend and was lying to me? Or did she tell me the truth, and she’s lying to Miles?
This is why you don’t break your own rules, Sammy. Girls with baggage are never easy.
Finally, I find my voice, and say, “Well, I hope you have a pleasant visit.” I quickly yank my hand from hers and wave my empty beer bottle to Miles as he settles on the stool next to Kate. “I’m getting the next round. Nobody argue.”
I turn on my heel and hightail it over to the bar for some space to think. Propping myself on a stool, I thread my hands through my hair, reeling over what’s just happened. How the fuck did I not figure out that Maggie was Miles’s sister, Megan? They totally look related.
Does this mean I’m attracted to my best friend?
I shake that thought off instantly because Miles doesn’t have water balloon tits. Call me a barbarian but breasts are a must for me, I’m afraid. The bartender asks me what I’d like, and I reply, “Another bucket of Coors to stick my head into.”