Page 16 of My Last Fling
“Why?”
I shrug. “They’re our friends, right?”
Linc looks hesitant. “Piper’s engaged to our best friend,” he says. “But he’s not here.”
I shrug. “We’re just saying hi.”
He sighs as I begin to walk toward the table. I know he’ll follow me. He’d never leave me hanging. Linc’s usually the quieter brother. He’s a little standoffish at times, but I know it’s just because he’s not very outgoing. He’s not big on crowds and he doesn’t always like meeting new people. But these aren’t new people. We’ve hung out with these women plenty of times since Piper and Luke started dating. This is nothing new. We won’t interrupt girls’ night. We’ll just say hi and see if they need a round of drinks on the house. It’ll be quick. And if Layna gives me that look that says she wants to meet up later, so be it.
The three women are laughing as we approach the table, but I didn’t hear what was so funny. I wait for them to notice the two of us standing there, but to my shock Linc speaks before they can.
“Do I get to hear the joke?”
The three women go quiet and turn as one to look at Linc. It takes Layna a second to notice me standing on the other side of my brother, but I can see the exact moment when she does. She smiles my way before lowering her gaze to the drink on the table before her. I smile at the other two women, making sure to keep my expression neutral. It’s far from the first time I’ve had to pretend in front of our friends that I’m not desperate to touch her. I can be casual.
“Just an inside joke,” Harlow says.
When Linc doesn’t say anything else, I decide that’s my cue to pick up the slack.
“Ladies,” I say, flashing them my best smile. “I trust you’re having a nice night out?”
They all nod, and Piper asks us if we want to join them for a drink or two. I do my best to hide my excitement at the prospect. This puts me that much closer to getting in Layna’s panties. Linc takes the empty seat beside Harlow, and I slide into the seat next to Layna. She does her best to act like she’s unaffected by my presence, but I fight back a smile when I hear her sharp intake of breath.
A server comes over and I order a round of fresh drinks for the table while we all catch up on one another’s lives.
“How long are you in town, Layna?” I ask as I hand out the drinks.
Piper speaks before Layna can open her mouth. She’s so excited she’s practically bouncing in her seat.
“She’s moving here!”
The shock of that statement hits me like a punch in the gut and I nearly spill my beer. Thankfully no one notices. My mind reels. Layna is moving here? Since when? She never mentioned she was even thinking about it. She was just here two weeks ago. What the hell. What does this mean for our fling? Will she want to end things? Take them to another level? I have so many questions and I can’t ask any of them right now.
“Really?” I say, turning to look at Layna. She doesn’t quite meet my gaze. “I didn’t know that was your plan.” The words are pointed, but I hope no one else notices.
She shrugs, unaffected. “It wasn’t at first. It’s a recent decision.”
A recent decision? Sounds impulsive to me.
As if she heard my thoughts, Piper echoes the same sentiment. The two women go back and forth for a few minutes with Layna arguing her decision and Piper expressing concern for her sister’s impulsiveness. She’s right, though. This kind of rash decision doesn’t sound like Layna. I wonder what made her decide to do it now. I wonder again what it means for me and her.
If she wants to keep things going, this works out well for me. It means I can have Layna whenever I want instead of waiting for her to come back into town and stealing her away from her sister. This will make things far more convenient. If she wants to keep things going, that is.
“What did I miss?”
I look up to see Luke standing next to Piper, smiling down at her. Harlow accuses her of inviting boys to girls’ night. Piper points to me and Linc.
“They’re here,” she says, defensive.
“That’s different,” Harlow says. “We didn’t invite them.”
“Hey,” I say. “We’re right here. We can hear you.”
The girls roll their eyes as Linc and I laugh. Suddenly, everything is back to normal. Luke slides into the booth next to Piper which puts Layna even closer to me. I suppose I could move to the other side and even things up, but then I wouldn’t be close enough to Layna to smell her subtle perfume or to hear her low laugh when Luke says something funny.
“Next round of drinks is on the guys,” Layna says. “Since they crashed our girls’ night.”
I don’t point out that I got the last round. Truthfully, I don’t care. I’ll buy all the drinks if it means I get to sit next to Layna for a little longer. When Linc asks Piper and Luke about wedding plans, I take advantage of the focus being on the two of them to lean closer to Layna.