Hard To Handle (Teach Me Book 2) (6 page)

“Wha—” she started to ask, but didn’t get to finish before Hendy dipped her low, dramatically.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHT

I
S THIS FUCKING GUY FOR
real?
Zach felt his fingers, jammed into the pockets of his khakis, begin to curl into fists before he caught himself.

No. He was not going to be taunted by some gargantuan-sized man. He had thought Hendy was pretty cool. Hell, Hendy was a cool guy … until he’d put his hands all over Laney. Inhaling a calming breath, he ran a hand over the back of his neck, feeling the tense muscles. He needed to get a grip.

“I should probably let you know,” Lawson leaned in close to speak quietly, “there’s no way in hell I’ve got your back if you decide to take on that behemoth.” Straightening, he shrugged at Zach’s dirty look. “Just sayin’. That’s a death wish waiting to happen.”

“Some friend you are.”

“I’ll lie at your funeral and say you were totally winning.”

Zach considered it a moment. “Fair enough. We’re cool, man.”

“Righteous.” Lawson reached out to bump fists with him, Mac and Raine standing beside him. The newlyweds were so ridiculously happy they were both actually glowing. Shit. Now, he was waxing all poetic. He really needed to get a grip. Mac was eyeing him with a smirk and Raine had her trademark wide, infectious grin.

“Congratulations, again, you guys.” Zach winked at Raine. “Glad this guy finally came to his senses.”

Raine turned to smile adoringly up at her new husband. “Me, too.” Mac’s arm tightened around her waist as he pulled her in closer to press a quick kiss to her forehead. Zach watched as Raine’s eyes closed ever so briefly as if to savor that brief kiss. What he wouldn’t give to have this connection. His eyes found Laney out in the middle of the deck, still dancing with Hendy.

Mac spoke quietly. “It’s possible, man.” Zach’s gaze met his, as if to verify Mac was telling him what he suspected.

Returning his gaze to the couple on the dance floor, he shook his head. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Do you not remember how we saved his ass? We helped him get back his girl, dude. If we managed that, then anything’s possible,” Lawson declared adamantly. He slung his arm around Zach’s shoulders. “You’re just a lone stud muffin searching for your cupcake.” He sighed dramatically.

“What’s this talk about stud muffins?” Adam joined them, beer in his hand.

“Please don’t ask. You’ll only encourage him,” Zach groaned, tossing a thumb in Lawson’s direction.

Raine laughed, nudging Lawson with her shoulder. “Yeah, you shouldn’t encourage a grown man who wears an undershirt like this one.”

The guys groaned while Adam looked confused. “What did I miss?”

Mac answered drily, “While you were with the girls earlier, this dude showed us his undershirt.”

Lawson preened and began lifting up his dark green button-down shirt to show them what was beneath it. It was a shirt with a picture of a cat and the words, ‘Are you kitten me right meow?’ Zach shook his head with a chuckle. Only Lawson.

Adam threw his head back, laughing. “You’re classic, Laws. Just classic.”

Zach’s eyes darted to find Laney still dancing with Hendy. Just then, Hendy dipped her dramatically. Which sent him right back into fist clenching mode.
Damn it
.

Mac laid a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me, man. Anything’s possible.” He winked before tipping his head in Raine’s direction. “I speak from experience.” Raine gave Zach’s arm a squeeze before the two left to visit with others, leaving him lost in thought, gazing at their retreating backs.

“Well, I don’t speak from experience, but I still say anything’s possible,” Lawson affirmed with a nod.

Adam reached out and fist bumped Lawson. “Preach on, brother.” He turned to Zach. “Now, if you want any advice on seducing that tall, brunette goddess, we’re here for you, man.”

Lawson began, “Yeah, first you go get a cucumber and some lube and—”

“Or maybe start with something smaller. Like a baby zucchini?” Adam offered.

“But keep the cucumber on hand in case she looks at the small zucchini and says, ‘Are you kitten me right meow?’.” Adam and Lawson lost it, holding their sides in laughter.

Zach eyed the two men, shaking his head. “The only thing I want right now from the two of you is peace and quiet.”

Adam attempted to sober from the laughter. “I’ll be quiet.”

“And I’ll be peace,” piped up Lawson before he and Adam gave in to snickering like little girls.

Jackasses
.

“Quick question. You any good at dancing when it’s not on the sand?” a familiar female voice interrupted, behind him.

Turning, he noticed that some strands of hair from her fancy up-do had come loose. His fingers itched to smooth them back. Meeting Laney’s hazel eyes, he saw something flicker in them. Uncertainty? If so, it comforted him to know he wasn’t alone in that feeling.

He cocked his head, lips turning up into a smile. “Not certain. Feel like testing it out for any other potential dance partners of mine?”

Laney’s brows furrowed and she tapped a finger to her lips as if in deep consideration. “Mmm. I guess, in this case, I could take one for the team.”

Zach’s gaze focused on her intently. “You sure I won’t be your sloppy seconds?”

Fuck. Did I just say that out loud?
What was his deal with word vomit all of a sudden?

She threw him a sharp look. “That sounded an awful lot like jealousy, Mayson.” Looking away, he felt his cheeks grow hot. “Mayson? Wait. Are you blushing?”

Exasperated, he sent her a halfhearted glare. “Do you want this dance or not, Kavanaugh?”

* * *

Laney inwardly flinched, which was ridiculous because all he’d said was her name. Her last name. But, earlier, when Zach had comforted her down on that beach, he had called her Laney. Not Kavanaugh. Laney. And it had felt … nice. Which was so freaking stupid since it was just him saying her name.

And why the hell had she asked him to dance with her? This whole wedding romance crap was clearly contagious or something. It was just that she felt this pull … or something between them.

Carefully watching him, she narrowed her eyes. “Think you can give Hendy a run for his money in the dance moves department?”

“Any day of the week,” came his quick response.

Well. That was certainly interesting.

“Another slow song should be coming up soon.” Laney stepped closer to him, noticing his scent was a mixture of his musky cologne and salty ocean breeze. Laying a hand on his chest, she felt the firmness of his upper abdominal muscles but also noticed something else. His heart was racing, thudding heavily beneath her hand. Was it nervousness? Or was he feeling this—she wasn’t sure what to call it—energy between them?

Her eyes met his at the start of the new song that began playing, Michael Buble’s “Save The Last Dance For Me”. This was a pretty upbeat song, not really conducive to slow dancing. “Uh, maybe we should wait for a—”

Her sentence was cut off when Zach pulled her into the middle of the deck, in what was the designated dance floor, gracefully twirling her out before bringing her back into his arms. And once he started dancing—and, holy shit, the man was good—she was suddenly grateful her mother made her take dance lessons all through her childhood, because Zach was leading her in what she swore was something similar to a rumba. In his pair of leather flip flops, no less.

Ho-ly shit
. She was dancing the rumba with Zachariah Mayson. And he was really freaking good at it whereas she, well, wasn’t nearly as graceful. And, was the man singing the lyrics under his breath? While, there she was, quietly concentrating on counting steps, trying not to step on his toes.

“Just dance, Laney.” Her head jerked up from where she had been staring at his shoulder, unseeing, concentrating on her step counts. His eyes held hers. “Just relax and dance with me.”

Something, she wasn’t quite sure what it was, made the tenseness in her shoulders ease and the smile he flashed her made her return it. The next thing she knew, they were moving fluidly, as if they had been dancing together for years. The way he spun her out and back, his wide smile and those gorgeous eyes focused on her, she felt a bit of disappointment wash over her once the song ended.

Okay, no. That was a lie. It was definitely full-fledged disappointment.

The applause from everyone startled Laney while Zach appeared to take it in stride. He held their hands up before he took a bow, his slight tug on her hand an indication for her to bow with him. Laney’s mother came up to them, dabbing the corner of her eyes with a tissue.

“Oh, you two were amazing out there,” she sniffled before shooting a pointed glance to Laney. “Those lessons paid off, after all, didn’t they, young lady?”

“Oooh! You just got ‘young lady’d’! Burn!” Doc had slid up beside Momma K. His build was considerably slimmer than his former teammates, barely meeting six feet and slender but muscular. He had close cropped dark blond hair, piercing green eyes, and was currently wearing a blue Under Armour polo tucked into a pair of dark khakis with a brown belt matching his flip flops.

Roman was always referred to as Doc because of his last name. Ever since BUD/S when his instructors had made the connection between his last name and the
Back to The Future
movies, he’d been called Doc. She was sure it had to get old when people continually asked him where his Delorean was, or when her brother did the whole fake confusion and asked, “Hey, man, was it 1.20 gigawatts? I can never remember …” Yeah, her brother was an ass sometimes.

Laney was saved when someone began playing Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop”. Instantly, Hendy hooted, “O.M.G.! That’s my jam!” and ran to the center of the dance floor. Laney threw her head back in laughter, watching as her friend began doing hip thrusting moves. Doc joined him on the dance floor, abruptly turning his back to Hendy, sticking his ass out in his friend’s direction. Hendy didn’t hesitate in slapping Doc’s ass along with the beat of the song.

“Oh, dear Lord,” Laney muttered, hands covering her eyes. Thank goodness they were at a private home. Hendy was a wildcard, that’s for sure.

Mac and Foster joined the craziness, doing some sort of make-believe see-saw action, as if they were riding one on the playground. When they changed over to taking turns pushing each other on make-believe swings, Laney turned to her mother.

“Are you sure he didn’t eat paint chips?”

“Laney!” her mother admonished as she watched the scene before them with a mixture of horror and laughter.

Shrugging, Laney decided to join the crazy chaos. Catching Raine’s attention from where she stood with Adam and Tate on the other side of the deck, she tipped her head, asking a silent question. They nodded and began approaching the dance floor.

Laney was grateful for this part of the deck being composite instead of actual wood like the walkway to the beach. There was no fear of splinters, as she left her shoes off to the side and joined the madness on the dance floor, beginning to do the Pop and Lock. Raine was doing a hilarious rendition of Hammertime, holding the hem of her white dress, while Tate performed perfectly executed Cabbage Patch moves. Adam, Lawson, and Zach broke out a combination of the Sprinkler, Roger Rabbit, and Soulja Boy dance moves before Lawson decided to take it a step further. He swiftly removed his button-down as well as his undershirt and began to wave it around, helicopter style. Hendy and Doc both abruptly stopped dancing and pulled out some dollar bills from their pockets, waving them at him, yelling, “Take it off, baby!”

Yep, it wasn’t a wedding, SEAL style, unless there was some nakedness, shenanigans, and inappropriateness involved.
Thank God Lawson’s parents and Raine’s father are so cool
, Laney thought, regarding the trio sitting off to the side, laughing and talking amongst themselves. Her own mother was used to this, by now. Poor woman.

Suddenly, Doc went to the floor, lying face down, completely still. Laney and her friends looked at one another in alarm before she turned to her brother. Foster was doubled over, laughing at his friend. Noticing the women’s worried expressions, he shook his head and spoke over the music. “He’s doing the Passed Out move.”

Um, yeah. Maybe it was a SEAL thing.

Or maybe they’d all eaten paint chips at some point.

C
HAPTER
N
INE

“I
THINK THAT’S THE END
of it.” Momma K. dusted off her hands as she finished cleaning up the house from the wedding celebration. “Now, you two need to get some rest for your trip tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mac replied. He bent to press a kiss to the older woman’s cheek. “Thanks for all your help.”

“Oh, come here, you.” She wrapped her arms around the tall, muscular man she had come to think of as a son. “I love you both.”

“Love you, too,” Raine said, wrapping her arms around the two of them.

“Okay, then …” Momma K.’s eyes were a bit misty. “Let me get everyone out of your hair.”

Turning to where the others were still lingering, she called out, “All right, people. It’s time to leave the newlyweds alone! Out you go!”

“What?” Lawson gaped in outrage. “But, Momma K., now the really fun part is about to happen.” He wiggled his brows. “If you know what I mean. You know what I’m sayin’, right?”

She swatted him. “Lawson Briggs! Out!” They all noticed the corners of Momma K.’s lips twitching.

Zach filed out with the others, saying their good-byes and wishing the couple safe travels on their honeymoon to Turks and Cacaos. They had planned their honeymoon around work since students were on Christmas vacation for two consecutive weeks.

He walked down to where his car was parked, noticing Laney was off to the side talking with Tate in what appeared to be a serious conversation. He didn’t want to interrupt them, so he caught their attention, giving a brief wave. With a sigh, he got into his car, rolled down the windows, and backed out of the driveway. He figured the cooler night breeze might help soothe his disappointment over not getting to say good-bye to Laney … and truly end their interaction on a high note for once.