Page 41 of Jackrabbit

Oh.

Colt made eye contact with Beau. He was sure of it. And that, coupled with that hazy fantasy he'd just dropped into, was getting him a hell of a lot hotter than Olivia was. His dick was starting to sit up and pay attention, and Olivia noticed. She made a soft, pretty noise and shifted her hips until she was rubbing against Colt’s increasingly obvious problem, and Colt's breaths were getting shorter, and Beau was draining his glass just like he had in Colt’s fantasy.

Except, unlike in his fantasy, Beau set down his glass with deliberate care and left. Took that slow, measured walk Colt had been imagining, but in the wrong direction.

And the second he was gone, Colt’s fire died.

Gently, he pulled back from the kiss.

He pushed her hair back from her face. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started this. It's—I've got a race coming up, and I need to keep my head in the right place, you know?”

“Like how some athletes go celibate before a game.” Olivia nodded even though she still looked sort of dazed.

Colt would congratulate himself for not hurting her feelings if he wasn't so busy being pissed that he couldn't even have a one-night stand properly. “Yeah. Like that.”

Licking her lips, Olivia stepped back and gave him a once-over. “Shame. But I understand. It was a hot kiss, though.”

“Yeah,” Colt agreed, remembering where his mind had spiraled. “Thanks for understanding.”

As she walked away, Xavier came and threw his arm around Colt’s shoulders. “Bruh. How'd you fuck that up? She was down bad the second you walked in.”

“Yeah.” James came up on his other side and watched Olivia go back to her friends. “Her friend told me she's been following you since your arrest. She was down badbeforeyou walked in.”

“Maybe Rourke's a shit kisser,” Xavier mused as he took a long pull on his beer.

“Nah, I saw his moves.” James nudged Colt with his shoulder. “He coulda had her in the alley out back.”

“Maybe Rourke is just down bad for someone else,” Xavier offered, and Colt turned to glare at him. Which only made Xavier's grin widen. He reached out and pinched Colt’s cheek. “You're so cute when you're embarrassed.”

“Yeah, you know what's not cute?” Colt pointed across the room at Liam stumbling up onto the stage where they were starting karaoke. “He's gonna puke on that stage. Is he even old enough to drink?”

James laughed and finished his lemon drop. “In three months he will be.”

“Yeah, someone slipped him some White Claws,” Xavier said. “Who knew he'd be such a lightweight?”

Colt snorted. “Everyone. Go get him before he falls off the stage, guys.”

With a dramatic sigh, Xavier grabbed James by the arm and they made their way over to Liam, who grinned and waved right before he tripped over his own feet standing still. The others had covered Colt’s tab, so Colt took the distraction for what it was and slipped out. He caught sight of Joyce flirting with some woman, a hand on her arm, and he grinned at her. She waved and blew him a kiss as he left.

It wasn't much cooler outside than it was in the bar, but the air smelled fresh. Like creosote. It was three weeks into monsoon season and they hadn't seen one drop of rain, so he hoped that meant the dry streak would pass soon.

“¡Oye, pendejo! ¿Dónde vas?”

Camila was sauntering across the parking lot in a black dress and strappy heels.

He changed direction and met her halfway. “It was loud, and I'm kinda tired. Boss left, Joyce has her a-game on, and I don't wanna see Liam get sloppy.”

“James was buying him drinks, huh?” Camila rolled her eyes. “That idiot. Every freaking time.”

“Yeah. He was about to serenade us all with Shania Twain when I left.”

Camila searched Colt’s face for a long second, reading him like she always did. “You good, babe?”

“Always.” Grinning and hoping it looked real, Colt tucked his hands in his pockets.

She didn't believe him, but she didn't pry either. “You wanna come to my place and watch movies?”

“Yeah.”