A Summer Affair (SAMPLE! NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

1- Liam (EDITED)

"Liam, you have to come to Vegas with us; it wouldn't be the same without you," Jackson begged as he raised his glass to his lips, downing the entire amber-colored drink in one swallow.

I lifted my bottle of beer to my lips and looked over Jackson's shoulder while taking a drink, eyeing the blonde beauty passing behind him. With my eyes locked on her, I spoke, "I don't know Jackson, I've got a lot of work to do around here, and there's some land I've been eyeing. Not to mention, I don't want to miss out on all the hot-looking ladies that have been visiting here lately. It's that time of year, you know..."

Jackson's head turned when he noticed my eyes were focused elsewhere instead of on him. He must have seen who caught my eye because he had a shit-eating grin on his face when he turned back around. "You do know that Vegas will have plenty of hot-looking ladies around. Besides, that blonde you're eyeing just walked over to her man. Come on, man, it'll be fun. It'll be the one time you can go out, have fun, and where you won't have to worry about anyone knowing who you are. Remember what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

Yeah, famous last words.

"I haven't been to Vegas in nine years. Not since Curtis drugged me into the Coyote Ugly bar on my twenty-first birthday, and he had the bartenders pouring liquor from a bottle down my throat. Not only did I drink that entire bottle of who knows what, but whatever it was, it got me drunker than shit, and it had me making an ass out of myself when I got on the stage and stripped all my clothes off, giving the bar crowd my version of what a Chippendale stripper does. I'm not so sure I'd like to show my face there again."

He laughed. "Oh God, I remember that," he paused for a second with a look on his face as if he was thinking hard about something, then stared at his bottle of beer while rolling it back and forth between the palm of his hands. "That night got us into a lot of trouble, especially after we ran into your girl—"

He had to bring her up, didn't he? "Let's not go there, alright?"

"Dude, when are you ever going to get over her? It's been nine fucking years. Anytime someone brings up her name, you get all worked up, and for what reason? She wasn't who she said she was. Get over it already. Go fishing, because we all know there's plenty of fish in the sea. You never know; you may finally catch the one that's worth keeping."

As much as I knew he was right, I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing I knew he was. I picked up my beer and took a long pull off the bottle while looking away from him. I've moved on, and I've been with many women since Kylie. I've just chosen not to give my heart to another woman so that she could do a repeat of what Kylie had done. I looked away from Jackson and back over to the blonde who caught my eye earlier. "She's not with that guy; another woman is sitting on his lap," I said, finishing the last of my beer.

Jackson gave me a look of disappointment, and as our waitress walked closer to us, he raised his arm, waving for her attention. "Two more beers please, and if you could find me a hammer, I'd also like for you to bring it to me. I need to knock some sense into my asshole friend over here," he groaned. "Also, bring us a couple of snakebites when you bring us our beers."

"Snakebites?" I asked, surprised. "And a hammer? You really want to fuck me up, don't you?"

"You're damn right I do," he growled as he leaned forward. "You're going to Vegas with us, and if you refuse to go, I'll figure out a way to knock your sorry ass out. I'll get you on that damn plane one way or another."

I sighed.

"You can leave for two days; it's not going to kill you. It'll be two days of fun. You never know; you might find that one woman who will turn that black heart of yours back to red."