Chapter 6

chapter

six

Colton

"Quit scowling. Joy is the one who picked this place. I offered to take you to a bar or something," I say to Eli.

He watches my ball roll into the gutter. Again. Wow, who knew I sucked so badly at bowling.

"I'm not scowling. This is my face." He stands and comes to get his ball.

Neither of us are stellar at this, but he has managed to at least get a three digit score going.

His first roll knocks down four pins. He turns to face me. "Joy calls it my resting grump face." His entire demeanor changes when he talks about his fiancée.

"Got any wedding jitters?" I ask.

"Not even one." His final roll on that turn slides right in between two pins catching nothing but air.

"You two boys are about the worst I've ever seen," an old voice comes from behind us.

Eli gives a smile. I guess that's a smile. "Hi, Mr. Landry. This is my, uh, colleague, Colton."

"Colleague? Nah, we're buddies. This is Eli's bachelor party," I say with a grin.

"Bachelor party you say. Oh that's right, you're marrying that sweet little thing from Texas." He points a wrinkled finger at Eli. "Are you sure you deserve her?"

"I'm absolutely sure I do not deserve her. But I love her, and I seem to make her happy," Eli says.

Mr. Landry pops Eli on the back with a chuckle. "That's the attitude, my boy." He turns around and waves to his friends. It's a group of about seven octogenarians. They shuffle in our direction. "Come on, boys, we've got to give out the advice."

I look at Eli and raise my brows. The advice ? I mouth.

Eli is still scowling, but he gives me a slight shake of his head. The old-timers gather around and sit in the multi-colored plastic seats around our lane.

"Which one of you youngsters is getting hitched?" one of them asks. He's got to be the oldest and the smallest. He's frail, but stands upright and his eyes are bright.

"Me, Mr. Stanley."

"Marry the woman who when you think about her being with another man, it makes you want to run that jackass over with your Buick," Mr. Stanley says.

I laugh because I can't help myself. Though I'll readily admit that the thought of another man touching Hannah makes me want to buy a fucking Buick.

"Floyd, tell ‘em yours," another one says.

A balding man with a round face and a rounder belly grins widely. He leans forward, bracing on his elbows and knees. "Find her button." He sits back, arms crossed over his chest as if those three words hold the secret.

The other old-timers snicker and elbow each other like they're a bunch of teenagers.

Eli looks at me and I shrug.

"Her button?" Eli asks.

"Her sex button. It's hidden, but once you find it, she'll never say no when you want some bedroom fun," Floyd says with a wink.

"Oh, her clit," I say.

"Do you want me to draw you a diagram?" Floyd asks.

Eli swallows, and then chokes. Somehow he manages to croak out a "no" while shaking his head.

"I think he's good on that front," I say.

"Yeah, I'm good," Eli says after a huge swallow of beer.

"Hey boys, what are y'all up to?" Joy's cheery voice comes from behind us. Eli turns and stands so quickly you'd think his ass was on fire.

"Yep, that boy is in love," one of the old men murmurs as Eli leaves the seating area.

But then I'm right there with him when I see that Hannah is with Joy.

She looks amazing in jeans that mold to her curves and a v-neck dark purple sweater that accents her fantastic tits. Her golden hair falls around her shoulders in waves and she's smiling at me.

My heart beats her name out in morse code.

Mine . She is mine.

Eli sweeps Joy up in his arms and kisses her.

Hannah eyes the group of old men who have wandered off to their own bowling lane. "What was with the geriatric club?"

"They were giving Eli some marital advice."

She smiles broadly.

Mine .

"Anything good?"

"Well, one guy—his name was Floyd—told us about a woman's sex button."

Her eyes round. "He did not!"

I nod. "He did. Said if you find that, she'll always say yes when you ask for sex."

"His wife plays the organ at the Lutheran church." Then Hannah pauses, gives me a secretive grin. "That does explain why she's always smiling though."

Joy and Eli walk over to us. "Have you boys been causing trouble?" Joy asks.

"Us, not so much, but those old guys have potential," I say.

"True fucking story," Eli mutters.

Hannah's phone rings. "It's the babysitter, I'll be right back"

The three of us head back over to the seating area of our lane, game completely forgotten.

Eli glares at me. "I just need to know if you're here for a hookup or if you want something real with my sister."

I swallow. "Something real. I definitely want something real. I know she's scared though."

"Of course she's scared, man. She's got Abby and that jackass Troy really did a number on her. She hasn't dated at all since Abby was born."

"I don't want to hurt her," I say.

"You hurt her, I hurt you. It's that simple." There is not a hint of teasing in Eli's tone.

"Eli," Joy says.

"I could use some advice," I say. I glance around the alley to see if Hannah has returned, but she's still standing across the large space holding the phone to her ear.

"What do you want advice for?" Joy asks. "You can ask Eli anything."

Eli glares at Joy, though it's admittedly the most affectionate glare I've ever seen and she just rolls her eyes.

So I take a deep breath and go for broke. "The truth is, I've always seen you as a bit of a father figure. I was such a fan before I sold my first book."

"Motherfucker!" Eli yells, coming to his feet. "I'm ten years older than you. What do you mean father figure?"

"Just go with it, babe," Joy says. She tugs him back down to his seat. "I think all Colton is saying is that he looks up to you, respects your opinion and your wisdom." She looks at me with her brows raised in a question.

"Yes, exactly. I know that you and Joy met and fell in love really quickly and I just want to know how you knew?"

Eli exhales, then grabs Joy's hand, flips it over on his thigh and threads their fingers together. "The truth is I knew the moment I saw her. She was wearing this god awful elf costume." He shakes his head, but he's smiling with such love on his face that I feel my eyes start to sting.

That would be fucking perfect. To cry like a damn baby in front of my idol.

"All I know is that one moment I was going along, living my life and the next I knew that I needed her like I need oxygen. I wasn't about to walk away from that kind of love."

Joy is crying and she cups his face and gives him a brief kiss. "I'm so glad we decided to do traditional vows because if I let you say stuff like that during the ceremony I'd be a blubbering mess." Then she turns to face me. "If I may?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm open to any advice."

"You need to be certain about not just Hannah but about Abby too. Eli is the only dad-like person she's ever had. She's starving for a daddy. I know what that's like. But it's better to never have it, then to get it and have someone change their mind."

"What did I miss?" Hannah asks as she comes and sits next to me.

Immediately the scent of her surrounds me and my mouth waters. I want to nuzzle her neck and kiss her everywhere. I want to fucking marry her.