The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (125 page)

“Oh, my God!  This is
so
exciting.  Do you know who’s going to be there?” Camilla asks.

“I know Katy Perry’s going to perform.  But I read on the internet that Danny Glover is getting a humanitarian award, so he’ll be there.  Celebrities like Selena Gomez, Uma Thurman, and Adrien Brody will be there too.”

Camilla is so excited she can hardly get the words out.  “Oh.  My.  God.  Do you think Selena will take Justin Bieber?  That would be incredible.  Take me, please?  We’ll buy you a big dress and I’ll hide under the skirt. No one will ever know I’m there.  I’ll carry your purse.  Whatever you need.”

Evan just shakes his head.  “That little ass better
not
be there.”

“Oh, Camilla, I wish I could take you.  I wish we could all go.  I won’t know anyone there.”

“I almost forgot to tell you, Juliette.  I got a call from Joey Griffin yesterday.  He cleared his schedule.  He and Maggie will be joining us at our table.”  He puts his arm around my shoulders and traces tiny, invisible circles with the pad of his thumb.  I like spending time with Joey and Maggie.  Night After Night with Joey Griffin doesn’t tape on the weekends, and I know how much he values keeping a low profile.  He and Maggie don’t do a lot of red-carpet events.  I’m glad they’re making an exception.

Emmy is practically jumping out of her seat.  “Well, I want to go too, but not to see Bieber.  I want to see Adrien Brody.  Jette, promise me that if you see him, you’ll text me a picture of his tight little ass.”  Adam looks down at Emmy, giving her the evil eye.  “What?  I can’t help it if he makes my panties get all bunched up.”

He pulls her closer. “I thought I was the only one allowed to get your panties in a bunch.”

“You are, but Adrien’s on my list.  He’s number eight.  Remember?”

“Number eight?” Evan asks.  “What the hell does that mean?”

“Well, Evan, I hate to tell you, but for a long time you were number six on my list.  It’s my ‘Freebie List’ – the ten people I’d be allowed to have sex without getting into trouble.”

“What do you mean, ‘were’?  I’m not on your list anymore?”  I think he’s actually disappointed.

“Hells, no.  I’ve been in the bathroom after you, big guy.  The bloom fell off that rose a long time ago,” Emmy explains.  “But don’t worry, you’ve been replaced by Charlie Hunnam.  I couldn’t leave your spot open.”

“Who the hell is that?”

“You know, Jax from Sons of Anarchy.  I needed someone with an accent and he’s from England, so when a spot opened up, he slid right in.”  She giggles.  “Pun intended.”

“You know he’s just a guy right?  And that means he burps, he farts, and he takes a shit just like the rest of us,” Evan reminds her.

“Yeah, I know, but when
he
does, it smells like orange blossoms and peppermint sticks.”

“Adam, did you know about this list?”  Adam nods his head and shrugs his shoulders.  “Is there anyone we know on the list?” 

Again, he nods.  “Yeah.  Kaepernick is on there.  I figured we could introduce them.  That would be the quickest way to get him off that damned freebie list.”

“Don’t be so judgy, Mister Man.  Or I might be forced to tell them who’s on
your
list.” 

“I don’t give a shit who’s on Sparky’s list, as long as it’s not me!” Evan proclaims.

Once the laughter dies down, Marcus instructs Adam to deal.

“Okay, guys.  Seven-card stud.  One-eyed jacks are wild.  Ante up.”

Everyone tosses a chip into the pile and stealthily checks their hidden cards.  I have two diamonds, so when it’s my turn, I call and toss in another chip.  David used to organize games in the dorm’s lounge at school all the time. He was a real card shark.  I never won much, but I always enjoyed playing. 

The next round of cards leaves Evan with a pair of fours and Adam with two face cards.  The rest of us have nothing showing.  Marcus tosses his cards in disgust and leans back in his chair. “Fold.”

Evan’s foot is tangled with mine under the table.  During the next two rounds of bets and dealing, I’m left with little more than a pair of tens. 

Emmy looks at her cards and pouts. “Why do you keep giving me these crap cards?  I fold.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.  Let me make it up to you,” Adam tells her, pulling her playfully onto his lap as she giggles with delight.

Camilla shakes her head and folds, leaving me to battle Evan and Adam.  They each have two face cards showing, along with a pair of fours and sixes respectively.  Either could have a hidden three-of-a-kind.

When the river card is dealt, I end up with a pair of aces and tens.  Trying to decide whether or not to fold, I look at Evan, and he’s running his hand through his beautiful mop of chestnut hair.  I know exactly what that means.  He’s nervous.  He has nothing.  I raise the bet to ten, and both Adam and Evan take the bait.

There’s nearly a hundred dollars in the pot right now.  My pair of tens showing is the highest, so I have to show my cards first.  As soon as I uncover my pair of hidden aces, Evan throws his cards on the table.  One down, one to go.

Adam is smirking, and that’s not a good sign.  He adds a pair of sevens to his pair of sixes.  “Sorry, Jette, but this little card right here,” he turns over a one-eyed jack, “gives me a full house.  Dealer takes the pot.”

Damn.

“Hey, Sparky, do you like beating a bunch of girls and taking all their money?” I ask him.

“Everybody’s money is the same color,” he tells me as he slides all the chips closer.

“Last night, Sparky here was up until two in the morning playing online poker,” Emmy announces to the group.

“Really?  I heard that could get really addicting.  How did you get him to stop?” Reese asks.

“Oh, that was simple!  I told him he could either play poker or he could poke me.”  She gives him a big, wet kiss.  “He chose right.”

Emmy cracks us up.  Just as the laughter calms down, I look up to see that Derek’s finally arrived.  But he’s not alone.  Standing beside him, holding his hand, is the beautiful and elusive Shea Keilani. 

Silence falls over the room and all eyes immediately dart to the couple.

“Everybody, this is Shea.  Shea, this is everybody.”  She waves at us as her eyes scan the faces, landing firmly on Evan’s.

“Derek thought I should spend some time with all of you and form my own opinions.”  She looks over at him with an adoring smile on her face.  “He can be very persuasive.”

“Yes, he can,” Reese answers flatly.  I don’t think she likes what she sees.  I don’t know why.  She used to bring Shaun into the restaurant all the time.  She would even seat him at the bar and make Derek fix his drinks.

“Shea Keilani?” Adam asks, dumbfounded.

“The one and only.  You must be Adam.  Laci told me a lot about you too.  I was hoping you would be here tonight.”

Adam and Evan look at each other with panicked expressions on their faces.  I’m so conflicted.  On one hand, I’m thrilled she’s here.  Derek promised he would get her to change her mind, and here she is wrapped up in a big red bow.

But on the other hand, Adam and Evan look like the Ghost of Christmas Past just walked into the room.  Evan warned me to stay away from Laci, and now her doppelganger comes waltzing into our little gathering. 

Marcus rushes to find an extra chair for Shea and we all scramble to make room for them.  Derek and Shea squeeze between Emmy and me.

Evan stands and excuses himself from the group.  “Excuse us.  We’ll be right back.”  Evan holds out his hand and helps me up.  I guess I’m supposed to go with him.

Evan leads me into the bathroom.  “Juliette, can you tell me what’s going on here?  Why the fuck did Derek just show up with Keilani on his arm?”

I tell him in great detail exactly who Shea is and how she stumbled into our lives.

“So let me get this straight.  Auggie set you up with her and now Derek is dating her?”  Evan is rubbing his face hard, trying to get all the new information to sink in.

“That’s about right.”

“And you want her to plan our wedding?  You’re sure about this?”

“I am.  She’s very good at what she does.  And Evan, give her a chance.  I only met her briefly, but she’s nothing like her sister.  You’ll see.”

“I’ll try.  But if I don’t like what I see, it’s game over.  Got it?”

“Deal.”

We return to the game just in time for the next hand to be dealt.  Now there are nine people crowded around the table.  After the ante, Marcus deals the first round of cards.  Shea and Derek are playing too.

“So Evan, who are you playing Sunday?” Reese asks.

“We’re at home playing San Francisco,” he tells her.

Shea bursts out laughing. “Francisco! That's fun to say! Francisco ... Frannncisco ... Franciscooo ... ”

“Oh my God!  Did you just quote Elf?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I guess I did.  I’m surprised you know it.”

“It’s my favorite movie,” I tell her.  “We elves stick to the four main food groups –”

Shea finishes my sentence for me.  “ – candy, candy cane, candy corn, and syrup.”

We crack up laughing. 

“Listen, if you girls are done, I’d really like to finish this hand.  If it’s not too much to ask,” Derek complains with a big grin on his face.

I watch as the cards are dealt, bets are made, and wisecracks ensue.  Shea is fitting in quite nicely.  Derek has his hand around the back of her chair and he touches her a lot.  Sometimes he gives her shoulder an affectionate squeeze.  Other times, I see him moving a stray strand of her ebony hair behind her ear.  She leans in to his touch and she really seems to like him.

As Marcus deals the last card for the hand, the playlist shuffles and “Sweet Caroline” comes on.  It’s impossible to hear that song and not join in. 

Everyone echoes the chorus loudly and enthusiastically.  “So good, so good, so good!”  The loudest voice of them all is Derek.

“Hey, Derek, who sings that song?” Shea asks him.

“Neil Diamond.”

“Then how about you let him sing it?” she zings him.

“Oh, snap!” someone calls.  I really like this girl.  And by the look on the faces of everyone else, it’s unanimous.

The boys take a break and head over to the TV to get the scores from tonight’s hockey games, while the girls make some fresh drinks. 

“So what are we drinking to first?” I ask the girls.

Emmy leaps up and shouts, “Let’s toast to sex with the hottest men on the planet!”  Emmy is right.  Marcus, Adam, Derek, and Evan are all painfully handsome, each in his own way. 

Marcus is the tallest of the bunch, and he could easily bench two hundred pounds.  He embodies the term,
tall, dark, and handsome. 
He has creamy chocolate skin and shiny white teeth that beam from behind beautiful lips.  He’s got the neck and shoulders of a fighter or a wrestler, but a smile that will melt your heart.

Adam.  There’s something ruggedly Nordic about his features.  With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin there’s no denying the sex appeal he radiates.  He’s possessive, obsessive, and he loves with all his heart.  Emmy is one lucky girl.

Then there’s Derek.  He’s tall, trim, and fit, and whenever he flashes his mischievous smile, knees go weak.  He has a dark, sarcastic wit, and that’s a quality I find extremely sexy.  Derek teases, he flirts, and sometimes he crosses the line.  But he’s sweet, he’s smart, and he can dance like the devil.

The five girls clink glasses.  But Reese is careful to avoid contact with Shea.

“So Camilla,” Emmy asks, “how is sex after marriage?  I heard that once you say ‘I do’, you don’t any more.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear,” she says proudly, and then whispers to Emmy, “Married sex is a million times better.”  All the girls giggle.

“Okay, I have one for Emmy.”  Reese doesn’t have a shy bone in her body, so she asks her question loudly enough for us all to hear.  “I heard pregnant sex is unbelievable,” she says.

“Oh, my God!  I’m like super horny
all the time!
This one time last week, I had an orgasm that didn’t stop for almost half an hour.”

“Emmy, seriously?” Adam moans as the boys come back from the living room.

“If you don’t want to hear about it, then don’t listen,” she chides him.  Emmy makes everyone laugh.  She’s so blunt.  Nothing is sacred with her.

“First-time sex with a new boyfriend is pretty awesome, too,” Shea adds. 

Derek sweeps her up in his arms, dips her, and kisses her hard.  “Damn right it is.”

We gather back around the table to play the next round of poker.  Marcus and Evan are determined to get back some of their losses from Adam.  We play for two more hours.  Emmy starts to fade quickly, yawning and stretching every few minutes.

“I think it’s time I got this little lady home.”  Adam gathers their winnings and cashes out. 

“I’m sorry to break up the game.  Tonight was fun.  We should do it again.  Next time at our place.”  Emmy walks around giving everyone hugs and kisses as Adam follows dutifully behind.  When she gets to Shea, she grabs her enthusiastically. “Promise me you’ll come too.”

Shea looks at Adam as she ponders Emmy’s invitation.  “Sure.  I’d love to.  It’s really too bad Laci didn’t know you guys like this.  Things would have been very different if she had.”

Everyone follows suit and cashes out.  Reese hurries to slip out the door and avoid having to deal with Derek. 

As Marcus cashes everyone out, Evan steps out of the room to find my jacket, leaving me alone with Shea.  “I’m so glad you came tonight.  You’ve got yourself a great guy over there.”

“Yeah, I think so too.  Listen, if you haven’t found anyone, I would still be willing to work with you.  I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I didn’t really give you a fair shake.”  She fumbles around in her purse, looking for something.

When she looks up again, Evan is at my side, helping me into my jacket.  “I know I look a lot like my sister and she really gave you a hard time, Evan.  But I’m not Laci.  And you’re not the same guy she met either.  But if it’s too weird for you guys, I understand.”

We both stare at Evan, waiting for his decision.  “Why don’t you and Derek come over for dinner tomorrow?  We can talk about it and work out the details,” I ask.