Key West by Lacey Alexander (top android ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“I’ll remember that.”

He kissed her goodbye and she yelled, “Happy snorkeling!” as he left.

As he made his way home to shower and get ready for the lunch cruise, he realized he was still hard for Carrie. His cock just couldn’t seem to get used to her. He couldn’t recall ever experiencing anything like it.

When the cruise started, he felt thankful he was a baggy shorts kind of guy, given that it was a family activity with plenty of moms and dads and kids on board. He’d worn an extra big shirt, too.

And when he showed up at the Lizard, Shay, who knew him so well, noticed right away, big shirt or not. “That hot little chick has you in perpetual hard-on mode, doesn’t she?” She wore her usual saucy look—she had a way of flirting even as she was being jealous, of delivering every word in a sensuous tone.

“Yep,” he said simply, circling behind the bar.

She met him at the pick-up station with an order. “Two Long Island iced teas and a strawberry margarita. Did you fuck her all night?”

This was starting to get a little out of hand. He loved Shay—she’d been one of his first friends when he’d moved here—but she was starting to worry him a little where Carrie was concerned. “Why?” he asked pointedly. “Are you jealous?”

She responded with a thin-lipped smile. “Maybe.”

“Why?” He tilted his head. “You and I aren’t…” He wiggled a finger back and forth between them. “We’re friends, and we were convenient sex partners once upon a time. Why on earth would you be jealous?”

She swallowed visibly, retaining her always strong, confident expression. “Don’t worry, babe, it’s not like I think you and I are…anything. It’s just that…” Her face went softer, as did her voice. “I’ve never seen you like this. And I’m not sure I like it. It makes me feel…” She rolled her eyes, presumably at her own honesty. “It makes me feel…left out, not important or something.”

He let out a sigh of exasperation. “How the fuck can you possibly feel left out after yesterday?”

She tilted her head, her brown eyes going sad. “I guess I don’t like change much. Never have. I liked knowing you were there if I needed you. For sex or anything else. And even after we stopped fooling around, you never got serious with anyone, so I…I guess I always felt like I was number one in your life, sex or not. Maybe I’m just afraid you won’t be there for me anymore.”

Chris blinked. What was she talking about? “Just where is it you think I’ll be?”

She pursed her lips. “With her.”

It was like a little stab in the heart when he reminded Shay, as well as himself, “She won’t be here very long, Shay. She’s on vacation, remember?”

“I know. I guess you’re right. It’s just a feeling I have, though—like maybe you’ll leave with her or something.”

He shook his head. He was crazy about Carrie, more than he liked to admit, even to himself—but Key West was in his blood and when he’d moved here, he’d known it would be for life. “I’m not going anywhere, so you can relax. Okay?” He added a smile, hoping to snap her out of her maudlin mood. “By the way, she thinks you don’t like her.”

Again she rolled her eyes. “I practically made out with her. What does she want, a love letter?”

He chuckled. Shay, Shay, Shay. She was hard to take sometimes, but Chris knew that deep down she was as vulnerable as anyone—and she’d apparently forgotten she’d just let it show. “Just…be nice to her, okay? She feels like she’s in some sort of competition with you or something, and I could enjoy the memories of our little threesome more if I thought you two could be friends.”

She shrugged. “She’s a bit innocent for my taste, but…I like her fine. Maybe even more than fine, if you want to know the truth. For an innocent chick, she’s not afraid to play, and I dig that. Now make my drinks—I have thirsty customers waiting.”

Chris reached under the bar, grabbing two tall glasses for the Long Islands. When he rose back up, Shay still stood there, but her usual sassy smile had returned. “By the way, if you really thought this was going to be over between you and sweets at the end of the week, you wouldn’t give a shit if she and I could be friends.”

With that, she turned and walked away, her hips swinging back and forth with their usual flirtatious sway.

* * * * *

Carrie walked into the Lazy Lizard ready to knock Chris’s socks off. Somehow, every worry, every doubt, every leftover concept from her life before him, had faded with their lovemaking last night and she was feeling wilder than ever and ready for action. She wasn’t going to think about the future—tonight, only the here and now mattered. He’d shown her that good girls could be bad without repercussions and that she didn’t have to be such an angel to win his affections, so tonight she planned on living it up.

They made eye contact as soon as she entered the open-air bar, and she gave him a flirtatious smile as he watched her approach. “Hey, bartender,” she said, climbing up on an empty stool.

Leaning over the bar, he gave her a short but hot kiss hello, his tongue meeting hers. His grin told her he knew what she was up to, trying to surprise him with her outfit. “Very sexy look, angel. But I’m not sure I can call you ‘angel’ anymore.” His gaze glittered with unconcealed lust.

She wore a sexy black lace camisole, see-through except for the lined cups that held her breasts, with thin shoulder straps and a deep plunge in the center for lots of cleavage. It was technically underwear, but Carrie had decided to be daring and make it outerwear instead. Beneath her tight black mini,