Running For It by Allyson Lindt

Fourteen

Iwasn’t a pass-out-immediately-after-sex kind of person, but it usually numbed my brain. Tonight, though, as I lay curled up with Ramsey and Hunter, I didn’t want to fall asleep. This moment was perfect, and in the morning, it wouldn’t be.

“Do you turn into a pumpkin in the morning?” Ramsey asked.

It was a silly, poorly-phrased question, but I knew him well enough to recognize the meaning mirrored my thoughts. “Lyn made me take the day off, so I don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow.

“We should go be tourists.” Hunter didn’t sound tired either.

Just the thought of walking made my feet ache. “Not in those heels.”

“You have other shoes,” Ramsey said. “In fact, I’d bet you packed clothes, even though I told you not to.”

“I’m not taking that bet. It would be a poor way to start off a night on the strip, gambling on a loser.”

Hunter raised a hand, worked his jaw, then dropped his hand. “I’m not sure that makes as much sense as you think.”

“But you got my meaning.”

Ramsey sat up, tugging both of us with him. “Let’s go. Get dressed.” He was already on his feet. He grabbed his trousers and a tiny box fell out.

“What’s that?” Hunter’s suspicion amplified my ambivalence.

“It’s from Dottie.” Ramsey opened the velvet wrapped box to reveal a stunning ring nestled inside. The cluster of diamonds was as big as my thumb. “It’s been in the family forever. She wants me to give it to the person I marry.” Person. His wording may have been gender neutral, but the ring wasn’t.

Even if it were, it was only going to fit one finger at a time. “It’s pretty.” I tried to keep my tone light.

“Uh-huh. Stunning,” Hunter said flatly as he pulled on his jeans.

Ramsey snapped the box shut again. “What was I going to tell her?”

I didn’t have that answer, but I suspected if we kept this up for any amount of time, we’d need to figure it out.

Hunter took the ring from Ramsey, and shoved it in his pocket. “I’ll make sure it gets put in a safe.”

We finished dressing, and headed down to the strip. When we stepped outside, the magic that had started to evaporate, the pocket of the world I wanted to stay in as long as I could, was bright and vibrant again. I loved the lights of Vegas at night. I loved that even at one in the morning, there were people everywhere.

And as Ramsey wrapped arms around both our waists, I loved that no one knew us. There were no expectations for how any of us had to act.

“Where to first?” I was happy to just look. Wander. Escape with them. I was even willing to ignore my aching feet to have a few more hours of this.

“You know what I’ve always wanted?” Hunter leaned into Ramsey, nudging him into me and pushing all of us in a new direction. “Okay, not always, but let’s call it that.”

I had a few guesses, but no concrete idea. “Chocolate covered strippers?”

He laughed. “Definitely not. This relationship has the perfect number of dicks in it. I want my boyfriend to win me a prize at Circus Circus.”

“Ooh, me too.” It was childish and ridiculous and I loved the idea.

Ramsey snorted. “Not sure what makes you think I’m capable of that. Hunter’s the athlete.” He led us through the front doors of Circus Circus anyway.

“Ramsey Miller can do anything he sets his mind to.” Right now, I had no doubt.

“Ooh, I like that as a campaign slogan. We should have Debbie put that on all your pages,” Hunter said.

We followed the signs that said Arcade past slot machines, tables, and restaurants.

Ramsey shook his head. “Fuck Debbie.”

“Do. Not.” Hunter’s voice went hard.

A giggle slipped past my lips without my permission, and I bit it off. We were still joking, weren’t we?

Ramsey and Hunter both laughed, and I joined back in. This was like being drunk. Great, now I wanted to drink. No reason I couldn’t. No one was relying on me to be sober tonight. We’d already done the absolutely scorching sex thing.

We pulled up short in front of the arcade, and the laughter stopped. No lights were on, and the security gates were down.

Hunter pouted. That was adorable.

“Apparently I can’t do everything.” Ramsey was almost surprised. “Oh, I have a better idea.” He looked at Hunter. “You know that thing you said you wanted to see?”

Hunter shrugged. “The life sized Gundam in Japan?”

My laughter was back.

“With Violet,” Ramsey said, pointing us back toward the main floor.

Wait. What?

Hunter shook his head. “She’d never.”

“I’d never what?”

“She might if we put a few drinks in her first.” Ramsey kept talking as if I hadn’t said a word.

Which I didn’t appreciate. “Given what the two of you just did to me—with me, in me, on me—I don’t think I need to be drunk for much.”

Hunter sucked in a sharp breath. “You say that.”

“You’re killing me. You know that, right? I’m dead with curiosity...” I trailed off when we stopped at the edge of a pit, next to a Texas Hold ‘em table.

“We’ll start small, have a couple drinks, and work our way up.” Ramsey finally looked at me. “Hunter thinks you could compete. I tend to think he’s right.”

I thought that too, when I was winning one hand after another against friends. But Hunter was right about something else. “I’d definitely need to be drunk to believe that. This isn’t just for laughs around the kitchen table.”

“Nope. It’s better.” Ramsey pointed me toward a chair. “Five hundred in chips,” he said to the dealer.

What? “I can—”

Ramsey crushed his mouth to mine, cutting me off and stilling my thoughts.

I sighed when he pulled away.

“You can.” He nudged me until I sat.

I bid the minimum allowed with the first hand. Just me against the dealer. When I won, I left the money on the table for the next round, and Ramsey handed me a whiskey sour to celebrate.

The wins kept adding up until they didn’t. I frowned when I lost hand number nine.

Ramsey rested his hand on the back of my chair. “You’ve still got chips. Might as well play until they’re gone or you’re tired of the game.”

“But the two of you—

“Are fascinated,” Hunter said. “Keep playing.”

So I did. I lost track of how many hands I won or lost. Sometimes the chip pile was almost nothing, and others it was intoxicatedly large.

The drinks kept coming, too. Until I was making more mistakes than I should be. Until I was giggling more than I should be. Until more people were joining the table, because we’d flown past late night and into early morning.

My head was light and I was giggling maybe more than I should be, but the guy who had joined about five hands ago? Totally bluffing, and I was going to win big.

I put all my chips on the line. Not that I had a bunch left, but if I won, I’d be close to the five-hundred dollar mark I started at.

He flipped his cards, and I frowned.

Nope. He hadn’t been bluffing.

“C’mon, Taffy.” Ramsey tugged my sleeve.

I sighed in resignation, but it had been fun. When I stepped from my stool, my head swam. Oh, pretty lights. I stumbled and Hunter caught me with a laugh.

“We need coffee.” He leaned as much weight on me as I did him as the three of us made our way to the main floor.

Ramsey tapped Hunter lightly on the nose. “See why I love those smarts? That’s why he runs things. Always on top of the details.”

“Love. That’s sweet. You two are an adorable couple.” I swayed my hips, and something hard bit into me when I bumped into Hunter. “Is that a… something benign in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

“Only you, Taffy, would use a word like benign while you’re completely drunk,” Ramsey teased.

“I’m not drunk. You’re drunk.” I was a little drunk.

Hunter nudged me upright to reach into his pocket. “Oh.” His tone went flat. He was holding the ring from Dottie. “I wasn’t supposed to bring this with me.”

“You know what sucks most about that thing?” Ramsey was suddenly sad. “I’m expected to use that. I can’t hand it to Ravyn, who’ll look amazing in it no matter who she marries. I’m supposed to fall in love with some woman who doesn’t mind the trophy life wife—” his laugh was sad “—wife life, and who we like each other enough to exchange rings.” He watched Hunter the entire time he spoke.

I felt bad for him. For them. “When you put it that way, it would be easier for Hunter and I to get married.” I meant the comment to be funny. To lighten the mood. I was met with two blank stares. “I know. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, no one’s watching us like they watch Ramsey.”

“Must be nice.” Ramsey sighed.

Sunlight struck my face,and I pulled the covers over my head to block it out. My head throbbed in protest at the sudden movement.

“Did we… step in front of a train last night? This morning?” Hunter’s question was as sluggish as my thoughts.

Ramsey groaned. “What is that beeping?”

“Your phone. Pretty sure,” Hunter said.

My gut lurched up, then down, then in a circle over and over. I was less than delicate untangling myself from the men as I raced into the bathroom. As I was emptying the contents of my stomach, my hair was pulled back. Ramsey gently rubbed my back.

When I was spent, I sank back onto the floor, and prayed for the room to stop spinning. Thankfully no one had turned on the lights.

Hunter handed me a glass of water, and returned to leaning against the wall and rubbing his forehead.

Ramsey sat next on my left, mimicking my knees-to-the-chest posture.

“Neither of you look violently ill.” I was a little jealous of that.

Hunter rolled his neck. “We drink casually more often than you. But God, it’s been a long time since I got black-out drunk.”

Ramsey slipped his right hand under my left. “Oh, shit.” He held both up.

I looked down to see Dottie’s ring on my finger, and my stomach curdled again. “I’m just holding this, right?” Snippets of early this morning trickled back.

“Maybe the two of you should get married. Imagine how much that eases concerns about sneaking around.” Ramsey sounded sad.

Hunter’s face was illuminated by his phone as he scrolled through. His string of shit, shit, shit got louder the longer he stared. “I don’t think you’re just holding it.”

“I’m not agreeing to this,” I argued.

Hunter tilted my chin and met my gaze. “Please? Marry me?”

When we’d gotten to the chapel, they wanted a marriage license, and the courthouse wasn’t open yet. Did that stop us?

“Hang on. I know a guy.” Ramsey already had his phone out.

I swallowed hard as my gut threatened to revolt again. Holy fuck. I’d married my ex-but-not-boyfriend’s boyfriend.