One Shot Too Many (2 page)

For two hours she’d debated, thought, paced. Billy had sat by Noah as he rested on her couch, the only sound in the room their inhales and exhales. He slept on while the biggest internal battle she’d ever experienced in her life had waged. Noah had said he loved her, had kissed her, and asked to marry
him
instead of Kasey. But. He. Was. Drunk.

Suddenly an old saying came to mind as she stared down at him.
A drunk man tells no tales.
There were many types of drunks, but a dishonest one had never been heard of. Alcohol made the mouth loose and laid emotions bare. Whiskey and whatever dangerous alcoholic mix Noah had partaken in had done both to him. Now Billy was left to stare down at the small hotel key in her hand.

Some small part of her knew what Noah said was true. Kasey wasn’t “working late” or “hanging out with the boys.” In the rare cases that they spent more than a few hours together, he was constantly on his phone. So the bigger question was why? Why had she tucked her head in the sand for so long?

Glancing over at the drunken bear snoring in her living room, she
knew
the answer. Leaving Kasey meant cutting ties with Noah too; never seeing his smile again or getting to hear him sing. It meant never watching how gracefully his hands moved when he got lost playing his Les Paul. It meant never experiencing that quirky sense of humor or being close enough to smell his cologne. Yes, she could’ve admitted how she’d felt long ago, but where would that have left her? The indecisive ho who came between two friends because she had a yearning to see Noah naked?

With a sigh, she sat back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Deep down she knew that marrying Kasey would mean getting to love Noah from afar, which was way better than never loving him at all.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Billy murmured, twirling the card between her fingers now. The weight of her engagement ring felt way heavier than it ever had. If Kasey was cheating—which she was pretty sure the prick had been doing—she had every right to leave him. But where did that leave her and Noah?

And why was it that he needed liquid courage to tell her how he felt? Why torment her for four years, then suddenly drunkenly pop up on her doorstep with whiskey-based confessions of love?

Tired of wondering how one night had landed her in the middle of a love triangle, Billy headed for her bedroom and grabbed some sweats. If she was going to do this, she might as well get it over with.

***

The smell of coffee was what caused his lids to slowly peel open. Noah swallowed and tasted last night’s festivities. Gagging, he rolled to his side and caught a look around. He froze. He knew this couch. He knew the paintings on the wall across from him. He knew the entertainment center that held way more Prince memorabilia than was normal or healthy.

“God, kill me now,” Noah whispered.

“God’s going to have to stand in line.”

His head snapped up to see Billy sitting in her window seat, staring out the glass, a mug in her hand.

“Billy—”

“You were right,” she interrupted softly.

Noah sat up slowly, praying he wouldn’t lose what little he had in his stomach—and that was when he noticed his boots and jacket had been removed. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to remember
something, anything
from the night before. “I was right about what?” he asked slowly, dread building in his chest.

Billy looked over at him then, one side of her mouth tilting up as the sun shined on her flawless skin.
Mocha
. Merriam-Webster defined it as a superior quality of coffee and/or a mixture of cocoa and chocolate with coffee. As far as he was concerned, neither of those definitions fit at the moment. No, mocha was the color of her skin; deep, rich, smooth and dark. He’d always wondered if it was as sweet as it looked.

“He cheats on me,” she said, repeating his own words from the night before softly back to him.

His heart stopped and then started again. “Billy—”

“He cheats on me,” Billy said again. “He cheats on me and now I know.” She showed him the room card, and Noah felt regret roil through him. “And do you know what else, Noah?”

He waited.

“We’re both cowards. It took liquid courage to get you to admit how you feel. And I hid behind marrying someone I don’t love just so I could be near you.” She snorted. “We’re wonderfully fucked up, I’d say.”

The night’s events hit him like a right from Tyson.

“I didn’t want the strippers. I just want...I just want you.” Reaching out, Noah ran a hand down the side of her face. “I’ve always wanted you. He doesn’t...deserve you. I do. I deserve you.” He slapped a hand against his chest. “Marry me. You should marry me, Billy. Not him. Not Kasey. Me.”
He’d kissed her. He’d finally gotten to taste the sweetest mouth known to man, and he’d done it drunkenly. He felt like such a dumbass.

“Billy—” Noah stood but did so too quickly. The room spun and he found himself fighting not to land on the couch again. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her. “Everything I said last night I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean it?” she interrupted, looking back out the window.

He frowned as he shook his head slowly. “No, baby, I meant every fucking word. I just didn’t mean for it to come out like
that.”

Her eyes found his again. “Oh.”

One side of his mouth tipped up as he walked closer. “Yeah...oh.”

Billy watched him warily. “I think we should talk...a lot.”

Noah snorted and sat down next to her. Grabbing the hotel room card from her hand, he was silent for a moment before asking, “So you went?”

She gave a small nod.

“And what exactly did you see?”

Her chuckle was low. “Exactly what you told me.” Those dark brown eyes held his captive. “Passed out on the floor without the decency to even tuck his cock back into his boxers. But then again, tequila and strippers equals no logic.”

Noah winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

“I know, but I should’ve told you sooner.”

“It was the guilt,” she supplied, completely understanding.

He nodded. Having fallen in love with Billy the moment she opened her mouth and spoke to him, Noah had always had guilt riding him each and every time he saw her with Kasey. With her full curves, gorgeous face and beautiful dark skin, Billy had managed to do something with Noah that no one else ever had: see straight through his bullshit.

The woman had never given him an inch, made him realize he was worth so much more than what others thought, and made him ache for her. She was sweet, she was goofy, she was wonderful. But he’d kept a strict hands-off policy around her because if he was going to have an opportunity with her, he wanted it to be because they
both
wanted it. Not because he put a knife in his best friend’s back and stole her. Even if he thought she was too damn good for Kasey.

His rules had been working up until the asshole had proposed to her. Then it felt like every dream Noah ever had was dead and gone. He hadn’t smiled or laughed for days after the news, and when he finally did it was because of
Billy.

The night before, as he’d watched Kasey act as if he never planned to settle down and love her the way she deserved, it had pissed him off. And the more pissed off he got, the more he drank. And the more he drank the more he thought about Billy. He thought about the fact that he no longer gave a shit about Kasey’s feelings, no longer cared about a friendship that had been hanging on by a thread for the last few years.

It had been a cover. What he really cared about was whether or not Billy felt the same way. Too afraid of rejection, he’d chalked his reluctance in pursuing her up to his supposed brotherhood with Kasey.
Lies.
He was just so scared that if he made any attempt, she’d tell him to fuck off and would never speak to him again.

So he figured loving her from afar was better than not loving her at all. Apparently his whiskey-laden side didn’t follow the same logic—which was how he ended up almost breaking his
former
best friend’s jaw, finding his way to a cab and drunkenly confessing his love to her. It was one hell of a night. That was for sure.

“Wanna know the ironic part?” Billy asked softly.

“That we didn’t
have
a
reason to feel guilty in the first goddamn place because Kasey’s an asshole?”

She smiled. “The question is, what do we do now?”

Noah blew out a slow breath. “Well, first I beg that you let me use your shower and scrub this taste out of my mouth.”

She laughed.

“Then I say we talk...or bang...whatever’s comfortable for you.” He shrugged casually.

“Oh my God.” Billy gasped, pushing at his shoulders. “Go take a shower, man. I’ll find you some sweats.”

“That wasn’t a no,” he sung, heading for the bathroom.

“Denying the fact that, yes, I want to fuck you would be stupid.”

And with those coolly spoken words, Noah tripped over his own feet and face planted.

If one more person came banging on her goddamn door someone was going to die.

“Billy! Open the door! Please!”

Her eyes slammed shut. “Fuck. Me.” She'd been sitting on the couch, leg shaking as she waited for Noah to finish his shower and come out so they could have an extremely long talk when the knocking had started.

“Billy! Please just open the door and let’s talk about this!” Kasey shouted from the other side.

She took a peek out the peephole and stared at her extremely disheveled
ex-
fiancé. He was still wearing the clothes that she’d found him passed out in on the floor. Only difference was this time his dick was in his pants.

More banging commenced.

“I’m gonna make as much fucking noise as I can until you either open this door or call the cops! Your choice! But in the process I’m disturbing all of your neighbors!”

Snarling a little, she finally swung the door open to face Kasey. Not surprisingly, the hallway Nazi of yore also had her own door open, staring at them both. Billy gave a strained smile. "Good morning, Mrs. Heche."

The older woman simply lifted a brow, no doubt wondering if Billy were in some twisted relationship with both of the men who'd come causing a scene. Instead of blurting out, "It’s not what you think," she pulled Kasey inside and closed the door. One side of his face was swollen and purple. Noah had obviously done a number there.

Billy gave him a onceover. "Wow, you have pants on. Is your dick panicking? Because I'm pretty sure it’s not used to this new change in environment."

His look turned pleading. "Billy, I swear to God that it was—"

"That it was what, Kasey? The first time?" She smirked. "I doubt that very much. I’ve observed something about cheaters. They don’t just randomly fall and slip their cock into another person. People fuck up, yes. But when someone cheats as easily as you did, it’s because they've gotten arrogant and have every belief that because it went undiscovered before it will continue to do so. Sadly for you, this was not the case. And I'm pretty grateful for that. I would've been making a life-altering mistake. Thank God for Noah." Taking off her ring, she placed it in the palm of his hand before turning away from him. Then she threw over her shoulder, "Get out."

She found herself facing Kasey once again when he grabbed her forearm and swung her back around. "Thank God for Noah? What the fuck does that mean?"

Billy didn't answer. She didn't have to when the man in question came strolling from the back of the condo, tugging the drawstring of a pair of too-large sweatpants she'd left for him. They didn't exactly fit because of his larger size, but he made them work; his tanned chest was left naked. Water droplets made the dragon wings covering both of his pecs shine.

"Well, I feel better," he murmured before catching sight of Kasey as he lifted his dark head.

Noah didn't have much time to move when Kasey let go of Billy and charged at him. "You fucking son of a bitch!"

One punch and Noah's lip was bleeding. He simply wiped away a droplet with his thumb and stared at Kasey through narrowed eyes. That ice-blue gaze held none of the warmth that it had previously when he'd stared at Billy.

"All right," Noah said easily. "That first one was a free shot considering that I fucked up your face and you're upset—which means illogical at the moment. But the next one will cost you your arm."

"What the hell is this shit, Billy?!" Kasey shouted, staring at her, chest heaving with angry pants as his gaze bounced between her and Noah.

"Gonna play the victim now, Kasey?" Noah casually questioned.

Kasey's arm snapped out, pointing at the other man. "You shut the fuck up! I knew it! I knew you'd pull some shit like this! Always watching her, making excuses to talk to her, touch her." He spat as his gaze zeroed in on Billy. "And you! You let him get in easily enough, huh? Just spread ’em wide."

She had every intention of slapping him hard enough to give him a permanent speech impediment, but Noah beat her to it. His fist slammed into Kasey's nose, blood spurting out of the now broken cartilage.

Noah didn’t yell, didn’t do what the burning rage in his eyes
indicated
he wanted to do. He spoke very calmly after Kasey’s yelp, grabbing the other man by the back of the head and talking in a low, even tone. “I’ll make this clear. You’re a selfish, heartless asswipe who didn’t deserve to make it out of the birthing canal, let alone be with Billy.

“So what you’re going to do now is accept the fact that you fucked her over, so now she’s going to move on to someone who actually loves her. You’re going to accept the fact that this someone happens to be me. You’re going to take your sniveling ass and walk out and you’re
never
going to speak to her again unless it’s to ask whether or not she set your shit on fire or mailed it to you. We’re no longer friends—which makes it a lot easier for me to beat the fuck out of you without any remorse or hard feelings. Have I made myself clear?”

Kasey’s jaw clenched as Noah shoved him away. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and stared at Billy, sneering, “You wonder why I fucked other women?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really care.”

“Because I
knew
who you really wanted. I was a consolation prize for you, so I did what I needed to feel better.”

Her brows winged. “That’s what you tell yourself? That you were jealous so you stuck your dick in places it didn’t belong?” Sighing, she walked over to the door and opened it once again. “Think on this for a bit, Kasey. You stuck your dick in other women. I have every intention of allowing the man who used to be your best friend to screw me within an inch of my life. Who wins this battle?”

Noah snorted then turned his back, but she could see the big bastard’s shoulders shaking.

Kasey looked as if he wanted to hit her, but he knew better. Instead he simply muttered, “You two cunts deserve one another.”

And Billy could honestly say she had
never
been as entertained as she was when Noah quickly spun back around and sent his former friend sailing through the door and into the hallway headfirst.

***

Noah watched her let out a deep breath before slowly turning around to face him, her back leaning against the door as she peered at him. “That was interesting.”

He rubbed his bottom lip. “Yeah, it was.” Wincing, he took his hand away.

“C’mon. Let me get you some ice.” She started past him, but Noah reached out and pulled her back.

“What?”

He ran his thumb across her lip this time. “I kissed you last night.”

Her mouth twisted to the side. “You remember that?”

“Was I supposed to forget?” he asked, backing her up until she was against the very door that had started all of this.

Billy swallowed. “Um...yes...at least until...we um...talk...a lot.”

Noah pinned her in on either side with his hands. “So were you just talking shit earlier?”

She looked everywhere but at him. “Yes...no...kinda.”

“You seem mighty unsure, Billy.”

“I was.” Taking a deep breath, she finally looked at him. “Noah, we just admitted how we feel about each other, you broke my ex’s nose, I gave him back his ring and now I have to explain to everyone why I’m not getting married to a man I swore was the one, so right now my head is not in the place to go there with you.”

“Actually,
you
never admitted anything.”

Frowning, Billy said, “What?”

“
I
said I love you but
you
never said it. You just said you wanted to stay near me. For all I know I could be feeling this way all on my own.”

She glared at him. “Do you think you’d be here right now if I
didn’t
love you too?”

He shrugged. “Not sure.”

Grabbing his bottom lip, she twisted it.

“Ow, ow, ow, stop, you viper-woman!”

One brow arched. “Until you know how to use these to do and say intelligent things, I think I should hold onto them.” She pulled harder.

“Dammit, Billy!”

“Gonna behave?”

“Yes!”

She let go and he rubbed his mouth, as he stared down at her. “Hey, Billy.”

“What?”

“I lied.” Then he snatched her to his chest and kissed her.

She pushed against his shoulders at first, but soon she was moaning into his mouth, making his cock harder than it had ever been and tugging at his hair. He thanked God he’d left it long enough for her hands to run through it.

Grabbing the backs of her thighs, he lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist. Noah then pulled at her T-shirt until he reached her bra. Easily enough he unsnapped it as
swept his tongue into her mouth and she sucked on it. His hands curved around her hips and pulled her closer
 
as he ground into her, Billy ’s hard nipples rubbing against his chest, her whimpers spurring him on.

Her hand found its way into his sweatpants, gripping him and stroking. Noah groaned and cupped her breasts, thumbing the nipples. She stroked him harder and he shuddered. Clothes. There were too many goddamn clothes. Growling in frustration, he pulled his lips back from hers and slid his hand below the waistband of her shorts and in between her thighs, finding the soaked lips of her pussy and stroking there.

Her thighs tightened around his waist as her head went back against the door. Billy’s strokes on his cock never stopped, becoming erratic as he curved two fingers into her hot sheath and found her g-spot.

“Jesus, Noah.”

He chuckled at the words and found a nipple with his mouth, sucking hard. With a cry Billy came, and he made it a mental goal to go down on her as much as possible later when her cream spilled over his fingers.

Removing her hand from his cock before he came all over himself like an inexperienced boy, he placed the head at her entrance and kissed her neck. Noah rested his forehead against hers for a moment, their harsh breaths mingling. “I love you, and every problem you have now, we’ll figure out together. ’Kay?”

He watched the last bit of doubt fade from her gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. Billy kissed him then and murmured, “I love you too. Now please fuck me.”

Unable to ignore the need in her voice, Noah slammed inside, slowly giving her inch after inch of his cock until he was seated to the hilt. And just as she asked, he fucked her. She locked her ankles at the base of his spine and pulled him in deeper. Air hissed between his clenched teeth as he rested his forearms on either side of her.

His pace sped up, every sound that left her mouth sending shivers down his spine, making him that much more persistent to please her. Soon she was screaming, moving her hips with his, leaving nail marks in his shoulders. He ignored it all, just needing to feel her tighten around him—and when she did, that was all it took for him to follow her over the edge.

***

“You never did answer my question,” Noah murmured in her ear as his fingertips stroked down her back.

Billy didn’t open her eyes. “What question?” They’d found their way to her bedroom after defiling her door and every other thing in her living room that they could.

“About marrying me.”

“You didn’t ask. Your whiskey twin demanded that I do so.”

He poked her sides and she chuckled.

Gripping her under her arms, he pulled her up to look down at him. “I’m serious.”

“Yet you still haven’t asked.”

His mouth curved. “Is it needed?”

“Yes.” She wanted to hear him say the words more than anything.

Billy waited with baited breath as he gazed up at her lovingly, those blue eyes searing her on the spot. And then when she couldn’t take it anymore, he finally asked, “What season would you like for our wedding? I’m more partial to spring.”