Double Coverage (6 page)

“Yeah, you’re hot and you know it.”

She shrugged. “It’s the dress. I took about five minutes to get ready for this party. If I was more self-involved, I would have at least spent an hour getting ready.”

He gestured up and down. “That’s five minutes of getting ready? Jesus, I wouldn’t want to know what you look like after an hour of primping.”

“My, my, my, was that a compliment?”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed what looked like a scotch from the bartender. “Don’t let it go to your head. You are fuckable, but almost every woman here is.”

“And you think you could get any woman here to sleep with you?”

He laughed. “Uh yeah, look at me.”

Piper gave him a long scan, starting at his feet, up his legs where his jeans clung in all the right places, up his torso that stood out like a proud peacock, to his face that had a delectable five o’clock shadow framing his jaw, all the way to his deep brown eyes and perfectly styled hair.

She shrugged, grabbed her drink from the bartender and said, “You’re nothing to write home about. You’re a bit too tall, your eyes are brown, and you act like a Neanderthal. Now, Ryker, on the other hand, I will be introducing my breasts to him.”

With that, she walked away, but not too soon to get a glimpse at Mason’s outraged reaction. That was satisfying, she thought, but she wouldn’t be fully satisfied until she saw her plan to fruition. She just hoped that Mason couldn’t tell that she was lying because he was, by far, the most attractive man at the party. And those eyes, she knew she just passed them off as brown, but they were more than that. They had character in them, charm and kindness when he was caught off guard. His eyes spoke words, words that, for some odd reason, hit Piper in the heart.

She walked over to Ryker who had a very flamboyant way of dressing that Piper found odd, but it also worked for the man. If it wasn’t for the undressing of her he was doing with his eyes, she’d think that he might possibly be gay. That thought was quickly squashed when he licked his lips and continued to stare at her breasts when she was standing right in front of him. She got to get a good look at him while he stared at her. He was probably about six foot, maybe a little taller, but not as tall as Mason and Jake and he had dark hair, green eyes and dark skin almost like Mason, but where Mason was ruggedly handsome, Ryker was pretty-boy gorgeous. His hair was thick and stood straight up in a messy, but tamed mop on the top of his head; his face was freshly-shaven, whereas Mason sported the five o’clock shadow. To top it all off, Ryker had a dimple in his chin that only kicked up the charm radiating off of him.

Piper grabbed his chin and lifted his head so they made eye contact. She had to admit, he was one gorgeous man, but for some odd reason, she found Mason more appealing. She shook that thought out of her head because she didn’t want to think of Mason as an attractive human…at all.

“Eye’s up here, pervert.”

Ryker chuckled. “When you wear a dress like that, all gentlemanly decorum is thrown out the window.”

“Oh, so you know how to act like a gentleman? That surprises me. I assumed you walked around with your tongue hanging out of your mouth, popping a boner with every woman you see.”

Ryker stood in silence for a second observing Piper before he busted out in laughter, which caused everyone to look at them. He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her toward the bar. Piper got a quick glimpse at Mason as she walked away with Ryker and she saw fury lacing those chocolate brown eyes. Perfect!

“You have a mouth on you; I like that. Do you do more with that mouth than come up with smart ass remarks?”

“I do actually, but your sorry ass will never find out.”

“Ouch. Pretty sure of that aren’t you?”

Piper nodded her head while taking another look at Mason. Ryker turned and looked at who she was stealing glances at. When he turned back around, he had a huge smile plastered on his face.

“So, you’re trying to make Dash jealous.”

“Dash?”

“Yeah, Mason. That’s what we call him on the field, well what everyone calls him. He is a good looking man, I must say…if you’re into gargantuans.”

“I’m not into gargantuans…I mean Mason. I’m just hoping for a little revenge.”

Ryker set the down the drink he was holding and rubbed his hands together. “Ooo, revenge. I’m in. Tell me what I need to do.”

Piper gave him a skeptical look. “Why would I have you help me? You’re friends with him; I never should have told you…”

Ryker didn’t let her finish. “Holy shit, you are the hot mess from the airplane, aren’t you?” She just nodded, causing Ryker to laugh some more. “Oh, this is so perfect. Come on, you have to let me help.”

Piper knew she needed Ryker on her side because she didn’t want him and Mason ganging up on her and blowing up her spot. So, she conceded and let him help her. After hearing her plan for revenge, he gave her a high five and told her how he could help. This was turning out to be a great weekend, after all.

Chapter 4

Mason watched two of his best friends dance their first dance together. The wedding was heartwarming and made him think that it could have been him and Brooke. Thankfully, it wasn’t. He dodged that bullet and he couldn’t have been more grateful. Brooke had not even approached him since the weekend started. It was kind of shocking, but he knew it must be because she didn’t want to start a scene. Even though she was a self-absorbed bitch, she still had a little bit of a heart and wanted to make sure the night was special for their friends. Thankfully, she already took off, right after the pictures because she had to get back to LA for her auditions.

Lexi was one of those brides who didn’t mind their bridesmaids looking good. When Piper walked down the aisle right before Lexi, he thought he might lose his mind. She pulled a Pippa Middleton and stole the show for a second. She was wearing a deep blue dress that went down to her feet and had a scoop neck that showed off ample cleavage and, the best part was, it had absolutely no back, leading her to not wear a bra and, boy, could Mason tell. It was as if her breasts were mesmerizing him. Mix that with the way her hair naturally curled down her back, he was a goner. The woman was infuriating beyond belief and rude, but Lord help him, he needed her. He needed to have her one night, get her out of his system and move on. Until he was able to have her, make her his for one night, he was going to be a man in a lot of pain.

She was all he could think about last night, even though she tried to tell him Ryker was more her type. He didn’t buy it, especially because of the way she kept looking back at him. He asked Ryker about the conversation he and Piper had last night and he told him all she could talk about was Mason. That made Mason’s chest puff out. He knew Ryker wasn’t competition.

Now that he was sitting down at the head table, he couldn’t stop himself from looking over at Piper. She was gorgeous, beyond any woman he had ever seen. He wanted her…badly. So, he sucked up his pride and walked over to her. He pulled out the chair next to her and sat on it backwards so his arms were resting on the chair back.

He decided to go with the sweet approach, even though, deep down, he knew he was a bastard. Anything to get his way into her bed, he thought.

“Hey. You look amazing tonight.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” Then she turned around and started watching Jake and Lexi again. Okay, this was awkward. The DJ called for other couples to join the newlyweds, so he took advantage of the opportunity.

“You know the best man and the maid of honor should really dance together.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as he held out his hand. She shook her head as if saying she couldn’t believe she was doing this and grabbed his hand. Victory. He led her out to the dance floor and pulled her in close. She fit perfectly into his body, every curve had a place to melt into. She felt like perfection. He could get used to this, he thought, but then shook that right out of his head. Boy, he needed to get this woman out of his system.

Trying to strike up a conversation, he said, “I like your tattoo. Do you just have the one on your back? Or do you have others?”

She looked up at him and studied his face as if deciding if he was trustworthy enough. He must have passed the test because she said, “No, I have more.”

He liked that. “Where?”

She held up her wrists where two birds rested on each wrist. “I also have two on my hip bones that wrap around to my back.”

Mason gulped. “That’s kind of hot.” She just shrugged. “What’s with the birds?”

“It reminds me that I have my freedom…finally.” She said the last word in a small voice. Was she actually opening up to him? This conversation had taken an odd turn, one he wasn’t ready for and one he didn’t want. All he wanted was to jam himself in her, fulfill his appetite and walk away. He didn’t want to get real with her.

He cleared his throat. “Well, that’s cool.” It was a stupid remark, he knew, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment. Time started ticking by without either of them saying anything and Mason started to panic. How come he lost all his ability to act cool around this woman? He looked down at her and he found himself staring into to liquid pools of silver. He felt a zip of emotional yearning run through his body, an emotional yearning he wanted nothing to do with. At that moment, the song stopped and Mason pushed himself away from Piper. She stumbled back and was caught by Parker.

The look in her eyes was pure fire. “What the hell is your problem?” she asked, while coming after him.

Think fast, think smart, and say something. “Uh, there was a spider on your dress.”

She looked down and saw nothing, then looked back at him. “You’re a dick, you know that?” Shit, there went his chances of banging the hottest girl here tonight, all because things got too intense for a moment. Jesus, Brooke really did a job on him.

He pictured his night turning sour, him alone in his hotel room, maybe treating himself to an X-rated film, but then she leaned in and said. “You’re a dick, but you’re a sexy one. Want to get out of here?”

Completely and utterly confused at the one-eighty she’d just pulled, Mason just nodded his head in agreement and followed her out to the beach. Maybe he was going to get this sex-on-a-stick out of his system after all.

***

Jake and Lexi nodded at the DJ, indicating they were ready for some more music, something upbeat to dance to. They made sure they got all the eating, speeches and whatnot out of the way first thing in the night, so they could spend the rest of their time dancing and drinking.

Lexi looked up at Jake, who had lost his tie and un-buttoned the top few buttons of his grey dress shirt. She loved that he didn’t mind showing off some pretty awful dance moves; it was endearing. She pulled him in closer to her and wrapped her arms around him, while looking around. She noticed Mason and Piper walking off together a couple of minutes ago, so she asked Jake, “Do you think she’ll be able to bring back the Mason we know and love?”

Jake looked in the direction that Piper and Mason walked off. “I don’t know, babe. He doesn’t really seem to care about much lately, especially since Brooke destroyed him.”

Lexi agreed. “He hasn’t really been the same lately, has he? He’s not the same Mason we went to school with. It’s as if Brooke turned his heart completely black and left him to be a womanizer who doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings. That’s not the kindhearted Mason we went to school with. Yeah, he’s still goofy and fun, but it’s as if his humor has turned dark. It’s no longer lighthearted.”

“He’s not that bad, babe. He’s just lost his way a bit.” Jake kissed Lexi on the temple and she reveled in the feel of his touch. “Besides, it looks like Piper is giving him a run for his money. I think it will be good for him.”

“She can definitely hold her own, no questions there. She’s always been very sassy and independent. She’s always been a free bird, hence the tattoos. It would be nice to see her settle down with someone, find someone to finally protect her. Who knows? Maybe they’ll find happiness in each other.”

Jake shook his head and laughed. “Can you imagine? I don’t think that will happen. Yeah, they are attracted to each other, but they’re like water and oil. They butt heads.”

Lexi nudged Jake. “Hey we butted heads at first, too. Don’t you remember your poor attempt at trying to talk to me at the football house party? And then those two girls came up to you and practically wrote ‘we are having a three-way’ across your chest?”

Jake pulled Lexi away. “We did not have a three way.”

Lexi chuckled and pulled her man back in. “I know you didn’t, but those girls were awfully persistent and ready to give you whatever the hell you wanted.”

“Can you blame them? You’re married to ESPN’s cover man of
The Body Issue
.”

Lexi shook her head and went to go get a drink. “I told you to not let that go to your head.”

They both sat down at their sweetheart table and filled their bodies with more alcohol. Hell, they were paying for it, so they might as well indulge. Lexi looked out at her wedding and watched as her guests danced, laughed, and sang to the oldies but goodies. This was, by far, the best day of her life.

They chose deep jade colors for the wedding, causing the purple, blue and teal linens to shimmer from the candlelight. Stringed bulb lights were hung across the dance floor, providing the only light for the dancers. It was romantic, but subtle. They didn’t want anything over the top because that was not who they were.