Game (Gentry Boys, #3)(18)

I shifted positions, kneeling on the bed and increasing my rhythm, remembering when Stephanie had moaned the one word I’d badly wanted to hear from her.

“Please.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I growled in the empty room as I pictured ripping that damn shirt off her and plowing inside while she begged for more. “You wanted it bad. You’ve been thinking about it. Honey, you don’t know how much I loved making you come.” I said her name as I came hard and fast into my hand, gasping for breath. Yeah, I needed to have her again.

After absently wiping my own semen on my thigh I jumped straight into the shower. I turned the water as hot as it would go and stayed beneath the steam for a long time. By the time I got out I had resolved to go knock on her door. Maybe we could go to breakfast, hang out on the plane together later. I’d let her know I was up for something other than f*cking around, although I still planned to get to that again soon. I grinned as I dressed.

Two minutes later I was knocking on her door. I watched the peephole, waiting for the shadow to cross as she looked out. If she ignored me this time then I would just start talking to her from out here. One way or another, she was opening that goddamn door.

I knocked again and waited. She didn’t come to the door and there was no noise inside. I didn’t have her phone number or I would have tried that next.

When five minutes had passed I began to feel like an ass hanging out in the hallway and staring at a closed door. My own phone buzzed in my pocket and I rolled my eyes when I saw it was Creed. That boy didn’t believe in texting.

“What’d I do now?” I sighed, preparing to be yelled at for something.

“Truly’s making me call you to invite you to breakfast.”

“That’s a heartfelt offer.”

My brother snorted. “I’ve been having breakfast with you for nearly twenty three years. But I wouldn’t mind if you came along. We’re downstairs at the buffet.”

“Your generosity always astonishes me.”

Creed was bored with the conversation. “You comin’ or not?”

“Yeah.” I glanced around. “Hey, do you know if Truly invited Stephanie?”

“No f*cking idea.”

Really, I could throttle the beast sometimes. “Can you ask her, *?”

He grunted with distaste but I heard him relay the question to Truly.

“She’s gone,” he said when he got back on the line. “She hopped on an earlier flight.”

I was surprised. “She did? What for?”

“Hell, I don’t know, junior. Maybe there’s some grumpy chick convention back in Phoenix.”

“Oh.” I felt defeated. Then I felt stupid for feeling defeated.

Creed sighed. “Just get down here. Truly won’t let me sit down until you join us and I’ll be pissed if they run out of sausage while I’m waiting on your ass.”

I grinned. “Stuffing your face full of sausage? Sounds downright phallic.”

“What the hell are you talking about now?”

“Nothing. I’ll be down in ninety seconds. Time me.”

Truly Lee was looking as fresh and beautiful as ever as she stood next to my brother and waited for me to show up. I didn’t miss the glance of pure adoration she gave him, nor did I miss the way he returned the look.

“You sure as hell won the lottery here, brother,” I told him, swinging an arm around his girlfriend.

“I know,” he frowned, pulling her firmly back to his side.

Breakfast was pleasant enough. I carefully avoided mentioning anything about Stephanie, figuring Creedence would only gripe. Or even more alarming, he might see through me and figure out what I’d been up to last night when I disappeared from the reception.

After breakfast there wasn’t much left to do but check out and head to the airport. I wished I’d driven, like I originally planned. I disliked being caged in a cylinder as it hurtled through the sky. Plus, being with Creed and Truly was making me feel like the dateless tag-along dude. I wasn’t excited about sitting on the plane with them and listening to Creed trying to sneak a hand job. He was worse than I was sometimes, although I sure never heard Truly complaining.

There were even slot machines in the actual airport. I’d avoided the casinos these past few days, in part because I recognized my own restlessness. I knew how easy it would be for me to blow through what little money I had. But now we were leaving so I figured it couldn’t hurt to shove some quarters in. It scared the crap out of me when lights started flashing and quarters began pouring out of the machine.

People stared as I collected the mountain of coins in several plastic cups. I went to the counter and received four hundred and sixty eight dollars in paper bills. Before I headed back to the gate where Creed and Truly were slobbering all over one another, I stopped at a gift shop to purchase a book that had caught my eye.

Truly and Creed were waiting in line to board when I caught up with them. I shoved the book, a thin volume on the art of sports betting, in my back pocket and held the cash in front of my brother’s face.

“Dinner’s on me tonight.”

He stared. “Where’d you get that?”

“Slots. You want pizza?”

Creed rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you try going to the grocery store for once?”