RONAN (The Wolf Hotel)
RONAN: Chapter 13

“I’m gonna miss you, man,” Lopez slurs, and leans into me, struggling to reach my shoulder with his arm.

I hide my smile behind a sip of beer. I don’t fucking know him. I don’t know any of them. I only came to Miami two weeks ago and I’m leaving for Alaska tomorrow.

This party is really for Connor anyway, and he seems to be having a great time, over in a corner, pretending to listen to some chick talk while he blatantly stares at her enormous tits, a stupid drunk grin on his face. If I know Connor at all—which oddly I do—he’s planning on motorboating those at some point soon.

I wander over to the kitchen to dump my empty and collect a few others while I’m there. Half an hour and a few trash bags and we’ll have this place ready for the cleaner. The crowd is thinning somewhat, and I’m okay with that, ready to crash myself. Tomorrow’s going to be a long-ass day.

Strong hands land on my shoulders. “Dude! You havin’ a good time?”

I chuckle. “You’re gonna be a fucking wreck on the plane.”

“No shit. But did you see the tits on Mary?” Connor glances over his shoulder at the girl, who’s talking with her friends. “I think they’re real.”

“I’m sure you’ll replace out soon enough.” They’re real. I pride myself on being able to tell the difference. That, and she already pressed them against me earlier tonight.

“Hey, has Ryan come home?”

“Came and left.” She put on a cute little dress that made me want to drag her into her room and bend her over her bed. A pang of disappointment stirs in my stomach, that I won’t feel the inside of her again. She turned out to mean a lot more to me than I expected. Without Tasha in the mix, I might have developed real feelings for Ryan. And who knows? When I come back in September, if I’m single and she’s single… maybe it’ll turn into something more.

“She coming back tonight?”

“I don’t know. She’s going to hang out with a guy she met in an elevator last week. You tell me if your sister is gonna bang him or come home.” If this Kyle guy turns out to be a dick to her, I’ll fucking kill him when I come back in the fall.

“For her sake, I hope she stays away.”

I frown. “Why?”

“Because I made plans for you.” Connor nods toward the door, to where Becca the cocktail waitress stands, an orange-and-gold lioness, painted from head to toe, naked except for a pair of heels and her thong.

“Oh, man….” She’s drifted into my thoughts here and there since that night. I wondered how she was doing.

She spots me and her face breaks out in a wide smile.

And my dick instantly swells.

“Nice, right?”

“Nice,” I agree.

“Good.” Connor’s hand tightens on my shoulder. “Maybe now you’ll stop fucking my sister?”

My mouth drops open as I turn to meet his glare.

“You two actually thought I wouldn’t figure it out.”

Shit. “Sorry, man. I… it just….” I’m at a loss for words. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because she seemed to be happier. And I knew you’d treat her well.” He slaps my back. “Your lioness is waiting for you. Merry Christmas. See you in the morning. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to wash all that paint off.”

~ ~ ~ ~

“Let’s go! Cab’s waiting downstairs,” Connor hollers from the kitchen.

Stuffing my ruined sheets into a trash bag—there’s no way that paint is coming out of them and I don’t give a shit—I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder and walk out of my room.

Ryan is standing in her doorway, half asleep, her hair mussed. “Hey, I just wanted to say bye.” Her voice has that early morning scratchiness that I love.

Shit. “I didn’t think you’d come home last night.”

“It was late. Around four.”

I heave a sigh of relief. Becca left at three, so Ryan wouldn’t have seen or heard anything. Even though we ended things on Thursday night, I don’t ever want to hurt her. “So… last night was good?”

Ryan dips her head and smiles. “Kyle seems like a nice guy.”

“A real prospect?”

“We’ll see.” She reaches up to smooth the wrinkles in my T-shirt. “I guess you’ve gotta go now.”

“Yeah. Good luck with your exams.”

“You kidding? I have my own condo to study in now. I’m gonna ace them.”

I hesitate, then reach out and pull her to my chest. I press my lips to the top of her head. Her hair smells like her strawberry shampoo. “Take care of yourself, and text me anytime.”

“You too.” She pulls away and peers over her shoulder. “September, Connor?”

“Yup. No parties or boys while I’m away.”

She rolls her eyes.

“We brought out the trash. Maria will be here around ten to clean.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m getting someone to come and steam clean the jizz out of the couch, and I’m sending you the bill.”

“There’s no jizz on the couch,” Connor argues.

“You didn’t see what I saw when I came home. Believe me, there’s jizz on that couch.”

“Fine.” Shoving the rest of a banana into his mouth, he nods toward the door.

“Stay out of trouble,” I say.

Ryan folds her arms. “I’d say the same to you, but….”

With a wink, I trail out the door after Connor.

He slings an arm around my shoulders. “Ready for an adventure?”

He’s way too loud this early in the morning. I cringe and shove him away. “Don’t make me regret this.”