Scott shook his head, the corner of his mouth turned up in a pitying smirk. “Maybe you do need a break. Get away.”
“Or move.”
Scott set his elbow on the table, pointing at Zane with his beer bottle. “You cannot move. I need you.”
“You’re drunk.”
“Half a beer in? I don’t think so. It’s the truth. You’re like a brother to me. And honestly, I think you need me. Who else is going to listen to you bitch about this?”
Scott wasn’t wrong. He grounded Zane and helped him stay away from his inevitable downward spiral. “Okay. So where do I go? I need a beach, preferably with lots of women.”
“It does not surprise me that you would say that.”
Zane let a quiet laugh leave his lips. Yes, he had been with a lot of women over the years. That was his escape. No strings attached, no messy feelings getting in the way. In high school, it had been to numb the effects of his fall from grace. The poor former rich kid proved an easy target for other guys, but the girls didn’t see it that way. His money and status might have been gone, but the body he’d spent hours working on in the gym and his face were still enough to turn a few heads. So he’d taken what he could get.
“If it’s the beach you want,” Scott said, “you should go down to the Bahamas. My aunt and uncle’s resort off the coast of Eleuthera. I can hook you up.”
Scott and Zane had talked many times about making that trip. Scott’s mom was Bahamian, but had moved to the US permanently after attending college stateside and meeting Scott’s dad. “Yes. Dudes’ trip. We’ve talked about it a hundred times. It’s perfect.”
“Sorry, man. You’re on your own. Brittney just got a promotion at work, and her schedule is crazy. It’s June, so the kids are out of school. I can’t just take off. Plus, if you’re picking up women, I think we can both agree that my days of being your wingman are over.”
Zane didn’t let the disappointment get to him too much. Everything was a downer of one sort or another. He was used to it. “Okay. I guess I’m flying solo. Can you text me the info? I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning.”
Scott shook his head. “Just give me the dates and I’ll take care of it. It’s on me.”
“I do not need your charity. This isn’t high school.”
“Will you just shut up and let me do something nice for you? Plus, I gotta keep you happy. I would be ridiculously bummed out if you moved out of Falling Brook.”
Zane glanced over at Scott. He didn’t know what he would do without him. He was the thing tethering him to earth. Keeping him from going off the deep end. “I’m not leaving. I might desperately need a few days on that beach to clear my head, but I’m not going anywhere.” He knocked back the last of his beer. “I have to at least stick around long enough to avenge this loss.”
“Black Crescent?” Scott asked.
“No. Tonight’s game.”
When Allison Randall saw her ex-boyfriend’s name on the caller ID, she flipped off her phone. Juvenile, but incredibly satisfying.
“Let me guess. Neil?” Allison’s best friend and business partner, Kianna Lewis, was perched in a chair opposite Allison’s desk, flicking a pen back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. They’d been discussing the state of their corporate recruiting business, which frankly, wasn’t that great.
“I really don’t want to talk to him. Ever.”
“Aren’t the movers at his house right now? What if there’s a problem?”
Kianna was so levelheaded. Allison needed that. She could get tunnel vision. And a little spiteful. “You’re right. I’m just ready for one of these conversations to be our last.” Allison plucked her phone from her desk and spun her chair around to peer out the window of her office, which overlooked nothing more scenic than a sea of expensive cars in a parking lot. Such was LA—asphalt and BMWs. “What’s wrong now?” she asked Neil.
“You could have hired a normal moving company, Allison. Hunks with Trucks? Seriously?” Her ex-boyfriend was not taking her departure from his life well. That was perfectly okay with her.
Allison snickered under her breath. Neil was in ridiculously good shape, and he loved to flaunt it. He took any excuse to whip off his shirt in public. Allison had figured he might as well spend the afternoon with a bunch of guys who were even more buff and cut than him. Served him right for cheating on her. “They hire college students, Neil. These guys need the work. For tuition and books. Just forget the name, okay?”
“That’s a little difficult when their ten-foot-high logo is emblazoned on the truck outside my house. The neighbors can all see it.”
What a drama queen. She
