AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Because I spot Olivia.
When I do, the sight hits me like a sledgehammer to the chest. She’s fucking stunning.
Her hair is tied in a tight knot, glistening under the soft lights. Her lips are bright red, her lashes long and dark. I don’t know if it’s the lighting, or some kind of makeup she has on, but her freckles stand out more than usual.
She’s breathtaking. Literally. I realize it’s been a couple beats since I’ve inhaled, and when I do, I feel a hitch in my chest.
My dick wants to rip out of my pants when she takes a step forward, and I catch of glimpse of what she’s wearing through the crowded dancefloor.
Her dark blue dress is plastered to her body. Strapless, tight, with the hem ending just above her mid-thigh. The swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips are highlighted to perfection.
As she walks to the bar, laughing about something with Summer and a couple of their other friends, I notice two guys close to them turn and feast their eyes on her.
My jaw muscles pop, teeth grinding as my grip curls tight around my glass.
I can’t expect guys not to look at Olivia with lust in their eyes when she’s dressed like that, but that doesn’t mean I have to fucking like it. Because I don’t.
I try to calm my irritation by lifting my glass and draining the rest of the drink. It might be expensive as hell, but at least it’s strong. A stiff drink is what I need if I’m going to spend the next couple hours in this place knowing Olivia’s here, dressed like that.
Hudson’s next to me, talking about something with Sebastian, but I notice him suddenly trail off mid-speech, leaving his words hanging in the middle of an unfinished sentence. I glance to my side and see his eyes riveted to Summer.
His jaw hangs slack, his eyes hazy with a drugged look. Our grumpy goalie is so smitten it isn’t even funny.
Okay, actually it is.
Summer turns around from the bar with a drink in her hand, and their gazes lock from across the room. The expression on Summer’s face changes, the amused grin she had from her conversation with her friends turning into a dreamier smile, an intoxicated look lacing into her eyes even though she hasn’t yet taken a sip of her drink.
Hudson sets his drink down and marches over to her.
“Who would’ve guessed Hudson would become the biggest lovebird out of all of us?” Sebastian says, a chuckle in his voice. He’s not feeling at all spurned by Hudson walking away from their conversation the second he saw Summer. He knows, like we all do, that Hudson’s so in love that it’s like he’s under a spell.
A twang of envy pulses in my chest when Hudson steps to Summer, grabs her firmly by the waist, and pulls her close to him and into a kiss.
My gaze flits to the left, to Olivia, and when it lands on her, she’s looking at me, too.
My blood thickens. Her long lashes and the dark outline around her eyes make her green irises pop with even more luminosity than usual. My breath catches in my chest as the rest of the room becomes hazy except for her.
“Definitely Tuck.” Hearing my name pulls me out of the daze. I break eye contact with Olivia to turn to the side, where Carter’s looking at me.
“Huh?” I question.
“We’re talking about who’s gonna be the last of us to settle down,” Sebastian says.
Lane nods. “Tuck. For sure.”
I narrow my eyes, feeling a strange prickling of annoyance on the back of my neck. “What makes you say that?”
There’s a defensive edge to my voice. Which is weird, because if you asked me four or five months ago who among the Black Bears would be the last to settle down, I’d have said myself, too.
Shit, I’d probably have insisted it.
But when my gaze slices to Olivia again, who’s now talking with her other friends and Summer, who Hudson has his arm slung possessively over, there’s an unpleasant, regretful burbling in my stomach.
Maybe it’s exactly that reputation that explains why Olivia won’t give me the time of day.
“Maybe the fact that you’ve literally said you never want to settle down,” Lane answers my question.
I guess he’s got a point there. I chew on my inner cheek, having no response.
