Chapter 1: The Bachelor Party Tease

I never meant for any of this to happen.

The gravel crunched under my tires as I pulled up to the rented lake house just as the sun dipped low, painting the water in molten gold. Fairy lights twinkled along the wooden deck that jutted out over the lake like an invitation to sin. Music pulsed from inside—some thumping college playlist we’d all screamed along to a decade ago. I killed the engine, grabbed the six-pack from the passenger seat, and stepped into the cool lake breeze carrying the sharp tang of charcoal and sizzling burgers.

Mark was already waiting on the porch, beer in one hand, his grin splitting his face wide. He yanked me into a crushing bro-hug, slapping my back hard enough to rattle my ribs. “Dude, finally! Best man’s here—now the party can actually start. Last night of freedom, right?” He laughed like it was a joke, but we both knew the wedding six months ago had already sealed that deal. Still, the guys had insisted on this bachelor redo “for old times’ sake.”

Inside, the place buzzed with our crew of twelve, voices overlapping, cold bottles clinking, the air thick with barbecue smoke drifting through open windows. But my gaze locked on her the second I stepped into the glow of the porch light.

Emily.

Twenty-seven, with hips that curved like a promise in those tight jeans, and soft C-cup breasts pressing against a thin white tank top that left little to the imagination in the evening chill. Long dark hair spilled down her back, catching the light, and her wedding ring sparkled on her finger like a tiny warning beacon. She turned, caught my eye, and smiled—warm, easy, the same smile I’d seen a thousand times over the years.

She looked exactly like the girl I’d known for years ... except now she was Mark’s wife and something in her smile felt different. A little too lingering, a little too bright. At their wedding six months ago she’d glowed in white lace, eyes only for him, pure and untouchable. Tonight that same smile carried an edge, like she knew exactly how her body filled out those jeans and didn’t mind me noticing.