The Bacelor: Make A Sex Deal

I shook my head. “Not going to happen.”

“No? You think you can fight it?” He smiled. “Let’s see how well that goes. Again, from personal experience, it only lasts for so long, and by the time you finally cave, you’re so fucking wrapped up in her that you don’t remember a moment before her.”

I remembered the moments all right.

But none of them compared to Oaklyn.

I drove my fingers into the sides of my hair and pulled the strands. “I don’t know.” When my gaze fell, I saw the drink in his hand and grabbed it, shooting back the remainder of the booze, even sucking it off the ice. I wiped my mouth and looked at Declan. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening to me.”

“I do.” He extended his arm, leaning back to really take in my face. “You’re falling hard for her.”

“No.”

“What, you think you’re so different from all of us, kid?” He nodded toward Dominick. “Different from what he went through with Kendall, his client’s sister, and how hard he fought against being with her? And different from Jenner and Jo and how he didn’t want to tap that because of her age and because she was his top client’s daughter? Jesus, those boys like to mix with their clients.” He chuckled. “And then there’s Ford and his goddamn nanny, who he swore he was never going to date. Now, they’re inseparable.”

“And you,” I gritted out through my teeth.

“And me, who was never going to settle down, never going to get tied up. I swore my life on it. Look at me now.” He pointed at his chest. “I’m straight up in love with that woman. I don’t care how much shit she gives me or how much hell she puts me through; she can do no wrong. I’ll treat her like a queen until the day she dies.”

“Jesus, Declan.” I sighed, avoiding Oaklyn’s table when I looked around the room. “I’m not saying I’m different from any of you guys. I’m just saying I’m not ready for all that.”

“You’re just not willing to admit you’re ready. But you’re fucking ready.” He cupped my shoulder a bit harder before he released me. “That’s all right. She’s not going anywhere. At least not this second, but I can’t promise she’s not going home with your boy tonight.”

A growl threatened to erupt in my chest as his words processed through me.

“You’re going to let that happen?” he goaded.

“I can’t stop it.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Like hell you can’t.” He pushed on my back until I was facing my sister, who was talking to Ford. “Hypothetically speaking, if they weren’t best friends and cousins and she wasn’t mine-which is a stretch at this point, I know-and I saw the two of them talking the way they are right at this moment, my hands would be balled into fists, and that motherfucker would be leaving this bar with blood dripping from every crevice, two black eyes, and no teeth.”

“Macon is my best friend.”

“Does Macon know how you feel about Oaklyn?”

“We’ve talked about her some.” I looked over my shoulder at Declan since he was positioned behind me. “But I haven’t told him. Shit, I haven’t even told you. You’re just full of assumptions.”

“Let’s not play that game again. But if I’m able to see it all over you, don’t you think Macon can too? And maybe he’s doing this on purpose. And maybe the reason he practically shouted the question across the whole fucking bar was to make sure you heard him ask her out.” He let those words simmer. “You know, to make you realize how you really feel about her. Because I’ll tell you one thing; the best way to challenge someone’s feelings is by taking away the one thing they want.” He leaned in closer, his face not far from the back of my ear. “And from where I’m standing, that looks exactly like what Macon is doing.”

Was Declan right?

That was something I hadn’t even considered-there was no reason for me to consider it.

Those feelings didn’t exist.

Do they?

This back-and-forth-I couldn’t take it.

I was just under the assumption that Macon wanted her, that he, for some reason, wanted to be her first.

Which made no sense.

Not when he knew we were in the middle of our lessons.

Not when he knew Oaklyn wanted me to be her first.

This was getting more confusing by the second.

“While you think about that,” Declan continued, “I want to give you a piece of advice. If you keep looking at Oaklyn like that, your sister is going to catch on, and she’s going to call your ass out. Not tonight-she’s had far too much wine for that to happen. But you know that woman has eagle eyes, and she sees everything. If you want to save yourself from that scenario and tell her in your own time, then I suggest you look away and watch yourself.”

“You act like I’ve been fucking staring at her since I walked into the bar.”

He moved around to the front of me. “Listen, kid, you can deny it all you want, but we both know there’s no one in this world who’s better at reading people than me. Don’t make me spell this all out. Just listen to what I’m saying and take it for what it’s worth.” He shifted again, this time to my side so we were both looking at Oaklyn. “You should have seen her face when you came in. She didn’t know what the fuck to do.”

I slowly glanced at him. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “That’s when I knew the feelings were mutual.”

I hissed out air as my head moved from side to side. “I don’t know, man.”

“Trust me.”

His chin rose again, aimed in the direction of the table, and I followed to where he was signaling.

Oaklyn was rising from her seat and heading for the restrooms.

“If you’re going to make your move, do it now,” he said.

“My move?”

“Yeah, my friend, I mean, claiming what’s yours and not your best friend’s.”

I held the back of my head with both hands, fingers stretched wide. “Shit.”

“And let me quickly give you another piece of advice. The restroom? Bad idea. There’s way too much family in this bar. The girlfriends will find out, and they’ll tell Hannah. Don’t go in your car either-you’ve had far too much to drink. Go outside. There’s an alley between the bar and the building next door. It’s the perfect spot.”