“I have an awesome solution for that.” I skip back to the car, grab my cup, and present it to him like it’s the greatest present in the world. “Drink up and you should feel contently happy about your sparkly self in a half an hour.”
“I’m not sure there’s enough tequila in the world to do that,” he says but slurps down the rest of my drink, anyway.
“All right, we’re all checked in!” Carrie Lynn comes walking out of the elevator, holding up a set of keycards. “Evan, you get your own room, and Lexi, you’ll be sharing with Emersyn.” She glances around the carport. “Wait, where is Emersyn?”
I take a cardkey from her. “She wandered off to talk to her boyfriend. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” At least I hope so. I haven’t seen her for about twenty minutes, so either she’s gotten lost or has found somewhere she can privately finish verbally tongue fucking her boyfriend’s belly button.
“Maybe I should go look for her. We’re on a pretty tight schedule.” Carrie Lynn smacks another keycard against her palm, staring at the exit of the carport. She mulls something over then looks back to us with her lips parted, about to say something. Then her jaw suddenly drops. “Oh, my God, Evan! Did you get into my glitter bin?” Steam practically comes out of her ears. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Cupid made us do it,” I sputter, not wanting to get Evan in trouble.
She blasts me with a dirty look. “Cupid made you do it? Really, Lexi? You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true.” I shoot Evan a discreet roll-with-me nod then put on my game face. “He came in here with his sparkly diaper and fairy wings and was all like”—I spread my hands out to my side—“ ‘look at me. I’m so sparkly and pretty. Bet y’all wish you were as sparkly and cool as me.’ And I was like ‘yo, cupid, dude, you’re wearing a diaper. You’re so not cool, but you are very sparkly.’ And he got all pissed off about the not cool remark, went through your bag, took out your glitter, and put it all over Evan as a punishment.”
Evan covers his mouth with his hand, choking back his laughter.
Carrie Lynn is quiet for a while. At first, I think she might be buying it, but then she crosses her arms and raises her brows. “I know you’re lying, Lexi, but I’m going to let you off the hook. And you want to know why?” Even though I really don’t, I nod. “Because I love glitter, and I think it’s meant to be shared. Plus, that excuse you just gave was really creative. I hope you’ll be able to put some of that creativity into arts and crafts time.”
My mood nosedives right into the bin of glitter. “Arts and crafts time?”
She bobs her head up and down, her eyes lighting up. “After we get settled into our rooms, we’re going to meet up in mine and make matching T-shirts!” And just like that, she goes from angry to elated in two seconds flat.
She may annoy me to no end, but I kind of envy her ability to get over stuff in the snap of a finger. It makes me feel the tiniest drop of guilt as I start racking my brain for how I’m going to fake food poisoning to blow off arts and crafts time. But I’m not about to back out on that plan.
I’m in Vegas, I’m drunk, and Evan looks way too hot in his glitter get-up not to go out.
Chapter 11
16 hours later…
Ugh. It feels like I’ve been run over by a truck. My head is pounding, every bone in my body aches, and my mouth tastes like coconut cream pie. I have no idea where I am, what’s going on, or if I’m even awake.
I force my heavy eyelids open and glance at a clock on the nightstand beside the bed I’m lying in. Ten o’clock—I look over to see sunlight peeking through the cracks in the curtains—in the morning?
I clutch my throbbing skull. “What the hell did I do last night?”
I rack my brain for an answer, but then someone moves beside me. Okay, maybe the question is not what the hell did I do, but who the hell did I do?
I carefully sit up, not wanting to wake up whoever they are. Then I lean over to get a good look, crossing my fingers I didn’t do one of my infamously stupid drunk, what-the-hell-was-I-thinking moves and sleep with someone like cupid from the corner.
The person is tucked under the covers, so I raise the blanket and peer underneath.
Dark hair, soft skin, lean arms, a tattoo curving down his side …
“Evan,” I gasp, covering my hand with my mouth. Then I do a double gasp at the feel of metal kissing my lips.
I jerk my hand away from my mouth and gape at the silver band on my … ring finger!
No, I didn’t. Please, say I didn’t. This wasn’t what I meant last night when I vowed to move forward in my life. This is way, way too forward too fast!
“Calm down,” I whisper to myself. “Maybe it’s not what you think. Maybe it’s just a joke.”
I lean back against the headboard as pieces of last night slowly creep up on me.
Evan and I are at the bar, sitting on barstools, leaning dangerously close to each other.
“I can’t believe the food poisoning stunt didn’t work,” I say. “Thankfully, we were smart enough to pull out that backup plan.”
“What backup plan?” His head angles to the side, his forehead furrowing. “You mean, getting lost in the crowd. Because that was an accident. There’s so many people on the street, I couldn’t tell what was right and what was left.”
“It might have been an accident for you,” I say. “But I totally got lost from the bridesmaid glitter posse on purpose. And so did Emersyn.”
His gaze skims the dance floor. “Where is Emersyn anyway?”
“She went back to her room for a little while, remember?” I ask and he unevenly shakes his head. “Like fifteen minutes ago, she said she had a headache and was going to go lie down. I think she just wanted to have phone sex with her boy toy.”
He shoots me an appalled look. “TMI, Lexi. Seriously.”
“Sorry, but it’s true.” I scoop up another shot and down it. “I’m jealous. I wish I was having phone sex right now. Or real sex. That would be nice.” I press my lips together as I feel Evan’s stare boring a hole into the side of my head. “Please stop looking at me like that,” I warn. “I’m serious. Stop it.”
“Stop what?” He plays dumb, but his eyes smolder with amusement.
“Looking at me all intense, like you’re picturing me naked.”
“Maybe I am picturing you naked.”
When warm tingles spill all over my skin, I try to shove the sensation away, reminding myself that just yesterday I was flirting with his brother. But I’m flustered, drunk, horny as a mother-effer, and Evan is right there, smirking at me, looking sexy as hell, shirtless and rocking the body glitter.
“I haven’t had sex in a year,” I blurt out. “But I can’t have sex with you, because I’m supposed to be moving forward in my life.”
“Oh, yeah?” He seems oddly entertained by my confession.
I nod, counting down on my fingers. “I have to get a job; get a place of my own, because having gnomes for roommates isn’t going to work; and I have to find a husband, preferably one who’s already got his shit together.”
He props his arm against the counter and rests his chin against his hand, his eyelids half lowered, his eyes glazed over. “Sorry, but I can only help you with one of those. And I’m not sure if I have my shit together. I’m still figuring that out.”