Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (45 page)

“Hmmm..
I think I want to be you when I grow up.” He laughed, and
Morgan could hear other men begin to make noise in the background.

“Ya
have a long way to go before that happens, Love.” Morgan's
smile faded when she heard his words.

“What?
Before what happens?” He didn't make sense, but she knew that
it wasn't a compliment that he was giving her.

“I
mean... you're young.. and.. ya have a ways to go before you're
mature enough to.. well... do things that I do.” She sat up
and shook her head in disbelief.

“Things
you do? What the hell are you talking about?” She heard even
more noise on his end of the call, and the voices sounded as if
Tanner was once again in the middle of a party of some sorts.

“Morgan,
ya know what I mean. You're at an age where you laugh with the
world, and just skip along from one moment to the next. Nothing
wrong with it, it's just where ya are. Someday, you'll know what I
mean.” More laughter on his end. More anger on hers.

“Are
you drunk, or did you just call to insult me?” Morgan had
finally stood, and began to pace the small room. Tanner was being
rude, and it was sounding as if he was doing it in front of friends
as well. She couldn't help but think about their last time together,
and how he had asked for a chance of a relationship with her in the
future. Because right then, he sounded like a man that thought she
was nothing more than a joke.

“Yeah,
I'm a little drunk. Sorry, Love. I have to get goin', but I'll call
soon.” She heard more men laughing in the background, and then
the phone went silent.

Chapter
Six

Morgan set
her phone down beside her on the bed and leaned back against the
mountain of pillows she'd created. She scoffed at Tanner's words,
then shook her head back and forth in shame. “Even you, Tanner.
Even you.” Tanner was the last person she'd expect to call her
immature. Was she? Yes, at times. But that was uncalled for. She
snorted out a short laugh of disbelief, then threw her legs over the
side of the bed.

“
I'm
immature?” Morgan stood and walked into the small kitchen area,
it wasn't much to speak of, but it did have a fridge. Inside were a
few bottles of water, but that's not what she needed right then. She
could hear Finlay calling her immature, or even someone like Clay,
but Tanner? It just couldn't sink in.

Morgan
went into the bathroom to brush out her wet hair, then put it into a
side braid as she mumbled to herself in the mirror. “Yeah.
Tanner, who assed around and fell off a horse and broke his ankle. Or
how about the guy who made up a whole story about fighting a squid,
just for laughs. Oh, I know. What about chasing me around an antique
store and smacking my ass in front of everyone. Tanner, what about
the time you stuck a chopstick up my nose and pretended to pick it.
And here's a really good one! I remember the guy who started to undo
his belt thirty goddamn seconds after meeting me!”

Morgan
stomped out of the bathroom and over to her bag , kicking her boots
across the room along the way, then dug out a pair of more
comfortable shoes. She was still talking to herself as she stuck her
feet into the one pair of tennis shoes she owned.
“Unfuckingbelievable.” The simple outfit of a pair of low
rise, gray sweats with a thick waistband and a light pink and gray
baby doll tee would be good enough to go down to the first floor and
get what she needed. Of course, she could have tried to make a phone
call, “but I'm sure they'll insult me too!” She threw her
hands up and turned around quickly to walk out of the room. Just as
she was about to close the hotel room behind her, she remembered to
grab her key.

“Guess
I'm too stupid to even remember I need a key to get in my room!”
She snorted another laugh that held no amusement and grabbed her key
off the dresser, then tried to slam the door behind her. “Why
yes,” she talked to herself as she continued stomping down the
hallway. “I
will
have wine. Lots and lots of wine. And
you know what? I
will
have a bubble bath! Why?” She was
nearly yelling to herself as she slammed her palm down on the down
button for the elevator. “Because I fucking love bubble baths
and wine!”

She
jumped back with surprise when the elevator doors opened and a couple
was staring at her with just as much shock. “Sorry.
I...uh...love wine....and baths...just um...excited. Yay!” She
raised her arms in a mock cheer, but the couple only looked more
nervous. Morgan felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment as she moved
aside for the man and woman, then when they were out of the way, she
took their place inside the big metal cart.

Why
is it bothering me so much?
She didn't know the answer. Maybe it
was just the simple fact that it was so unexpected from the
care-free, go-lucky Tan Man.
It doesn't matter anyway. He's just
drunk.
Yes, that was her answer. Tanner was drunk, he didn't
exactly mean it.
But he's still going to get his ass chewed for
this. We'll see, let's just hope I meet your friends one day. We'll
find out how cool you are.
A smirk replaced her scowl by the time
the elevator reached the first floor.
My name is Tanner and I can
drive a boat. I'm so cool.
As she stepped out of the box, she
giggled at her own thoughts.
Drunk ass.

No,
she wasn't going to let him bother her.
Well, okay, that's a lie.
Of course it bothered her, but she was going to try her best to not
let it get to her. She was tired of being called immature. Whether
she was or not, she didn't have to have it pointed out to her all of
the time.
I'll let it slide for now,but we're so
talking
about this when you're sober. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt
for now, Tan Man.
She laughed again as she approached the bar.
God only knows, I've had my share of drunk ramblings.

“Do
you have Moscato?” Morgan asked the bartender and crossed her
fingers that he understood what she was saying. Thankfully, he
nodded.

“Moscato
Rosa?” He turned his back to her and scanned the large shelf,
then grabbed a bottle and turned back to Morgan.

“It's
pink...” Morgan's brows came together as she tried to decide if
she wanted it or not. She'd had pink moscato before, but that little
part of her mind that told her to stay in her safety zone had kept
her from ordering it too often in the past.

“Si,”
the muscular man behind the counter nodded.

“Uh.
Si.” She nodded and held two fingers up, then dug into her
pocket to pull out her credit card.
Screw it. Let's do this.
Once
she had the bottles of Moscato in hand, she gave the man a thank you,
then headed back up to her room. Just as she was walking in, she
heard her phone begin to ring. “Angel,” she whispered and
set the bottles down on a tall dark oak dresser before running to
find her phone that had been lost beneath the covers.

“Angel!
Let's get married! You, me, PoPo.... let's make that happen!”
She laughed when she heard him giggle on the other end, then found a
good nest within in her mound of blankets and pillows.

“I
would, Stick, buy your ass snores and that ain't even cute. You know
it isn't...so quit that shit.” She was happy to be in familiar
territory again with her Angel, and the stress felt as if it had been
kicked from her shoulders with one sweet joke from the man. “I
tried calling you, but your ass is too busy for me. I have a
mothafuckin' question.” Morgan laughed into her pillow as she
rolled over to dig deeper into her bed.

“Well...
speak mothafuckin' words, then.” She pulled off a pretty good
Angel accent, and they were both impressed.

Angel
wanted to blurt it all out, but he settled his mind to find the right
way to get the information to her. Cedric's words, and those of Gio,
had kept him from saying what he had wanted to, so he decided at the
last second to feel her out first and see if his meddling would be
frowned upon once again. “Stick.. I need some advice.”
Morgan was happy to hear that she might be able to help him with
something, so she sat up and gave him her full attention. “There's
this girl... I grew up with her and shit. She's... she's down with
this shady bastard, right? Now, Shady just had a baby, Stick. A
baby! And he didn't tell my friend about it.. he just did that shit
without saying a word to her! So, here's my question...”

“No.
Don't get involved. Not. At. All.” Morgan didn't have to
think twice about telling him her feelings, as she knew all too well
what could happen to him if he did. “You tell her, he gets
mad, then she gets mad at you for getting him mad. I know, sounds
crazy, but trust me on this one. Angel, stay out of it. That's the
best advice that I can give you.” The silence for several
moments was not what she'd expected. “Angel?”

“I
hear ya. But... what if she's a good friend, Stick? Like a really
mothafuckin' good friend? I wouldn't be a good friend to her if I
didn't tell her, would I? I mean... what if you found out that
Cedric just became a daddy... would you tell me? If you knew he kept
my ass in the mothafuckin' dark, wouldn't my BEST FRIEND tell me?”
Morgan had to really think that one over, since he made a good
point. A friend was one thing, but a best friend, that might change
things.

“Hmmm...
that's a tough one. But, I think that I would tell Cedric to tell
you. I mean, I don't think I could let it go until he did.”
She went on to tell him all the things that she would threaten him
with, mostly bodily harm, if he didn't tell Angel the truth in the
hypothetical situation. Angel tried to laugh with her jokes, but his
heart really wasn't up for a pleasant and amusing talk with her. He
moved the phone to his chest briefly and eyed PoPo across the room.

“I'm
getting nowhere, Boo.” His whispered words were repeated by
the bird, and by the time Angel put the phone back to his hear, PoPo
was screaming that he was getting nowhere. “Love you, Stick!
I gotta go!” That time, he was the one to end the call
quickly, and he ran over to tell the bird that he'd messed up an
important call.

“I
love you, Angel. Stay out of trouble.” She spoke again to the
dark screen of her phone, then proceeded back to her wine to finish
the day off in the only way that she had wanted to. “I guess
I'll be extra clean, because I'm getting a mothafuckin' bubble bath!
And I'm drinking my mothafuckin' wine while I do it!” She
laugh-yelled at her phone, but mostly at her forced immaturity that
she wished she could share with Tanner.

*****

Tanner
had left the small group of people that were having a drink at his
home. He'd always invited the crew over after a few weeks out on the
water, and that time was no different. However, he'd made the
mistake of telling a few of them one night that he'd fallen in love
with Morgan, and the final week out was hell for the man. The crew
had told him to tell her, to leave nothing out, and declare his love
for her. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, but he
couldn't, and he knew it. The more he thought about her, the more he
began to wonder if he should cut all ties, and move on before he was
hurt beyond repair. By the time they'd reached land, Tanner had
wanted nothing more than to drink himself numb, and begin the process
of ridding his heart of the young woman who'd held it for the last
several months. He knew her weak spots, and he'd use the knowledge
to his advantage. It was a horrible thing to do, and he knew it, but
making her angry with him was his best hope of forcing her away for
good.
Because I'm not strong enough to do it myself.

He
joined the group again, and went through the rest of the night as if
the ordeal had never happened, at least, to those around him. He'd
never meant for anyone to hear his conversation, so he did his best
to avoid the topic in the hopes that it would be forgotten by them
all.
Dammit Morgan! Why can't you just love me back?!

*****

“Holy
shit!” Morgan awoke the following morning with a headache from
hell and two empty bottles of wine next to her. She hadn't even
realized that she'd drank them both, but even if she didn't see the
evidence right in front of her, she would have felt it. Instantly her
heart pounded in her chest as she realized it was light outside and
she had no idea how long she'd slept. Her head pounded with something
fierce when she quickly sat up, then her eyes burned as she tried to
adjust to the light and read her watch.