The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Lark and Johan grinned at each other as they pushed the door into the play area. Jungle sounds played overhead, and the pungent odor of damp rotting leaves and the forest permeated their nostrils.

"Seb really goes for realism, huh?" Lark asked Johan wrinkling her nose.

"He's really weird," Johan whispered. "If it hadn't been bothering Max so much for you to flirt with him, I would have pulled you aside earlier and warned you not to. I egged you on to drive Max nuts but he's freaking odd. Do not go out with him."

"How weird?" Lark lifted an eyebrow curiously at Johan.

"On a scale of eating glue to eating people, he's on the bug eater scale."

"What do you mean?"

"A few years ago, Max's dad and uncles brought us to Louisiana to go camping in the bayou. He came along and we caught him tasting the bugs. He also brought a portable device which purifies urine into drinkable water, and he used it." Johan made a gagging sound as Lark's eyes rounded.

"He ate the bugs and drank his piss?"

"We brought three coolers of food and enough beer and water to stock a supermarket and yet, he did." "Why did you bring him?"

"Max mentioned it to him in passing at a club one night about us going and he begged to go with us. Max said it would be fine with his family and it was until he ate the grubs within a couple hours of being there. Enjoy this chapter for free and stay updated with the latest version on 30 n1b.c Om. Don't miss out, visit it now.He didn't even cook them, Lark." He swallowed as he continued whispering, "also he talked a lot about how cool it would be to have a botfly living under his skin. He wanted to experience the feeling. Max's uncle Timon threatened us to murder us in our sleep if we ever brought him again and Timon is a weird fucker himself.'

"He seemed so normal out there," she looked at the door behind them.

"So did Ted Bundy." Johan snickered and ducked away from her punch. "Seriously, nice guy, really nice guy. Would give you the clothes off his back but then he'd walk around naked without even considering getting dressed.

"Well, I'm not really interested anyway," Lark shrugged. "Bobbie told me not to go easy on Max. She and my parents told me he was always interested in me. I kind of wanted to see his reaction for myself." "Well, you saw it. He's a jealous freak!"

She blushed at his words and then sighed, "I'm not ready and not sure if I ever will be ready for such a relationship with Max."

"Good luck," Johan laughed at her.

She rolled her eyes at is grin. "Seriously Johan. Do you need to be so pro-Max?"

"He's my best friend, Lark and I'd take a bullet for him. You are amazing Lark but when you walked away from Max for the last twelve years, you left me behind too. Apart from the occasional social media or

seeing you here and there, I haven't seen you much. I'm scared you're going to leave us again. If you and Max getting together means you stay and he gets to be happy, then I'm going to push it hard." "Johan," she noted the hurt on his face.

"It was always you and me against the brat twins and you left me to deal with them on my own and I resented you for a bit, Lark."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I forgive you." He reached out and pulled her into a hug, "but I want the first kid named after me." He laughed when she slapped him frantically. The sound of Ollie giving a loud shout across the far reaches of the room made them exchange wide eyes. "You ready?"

"Let's do this." Lark nodded at Johan's question.

"Wait." Johan paused and then shot Lark on the back of her specialty chest protector with his gun. "Now I forgive you." "Hey! Does that count as one shot?" she glared at him, trying not to laugh at the very wide grin on her friend's face.

"Nope. It's blue paint against red paint."

They started walking through the faux forest, listening attentively, and speaking in low whispers.

As they moved deeper into the game space, she looked sideways to Johan and questioned quietly, "did you know?" At his inquisitive look, she waved in the direction of where she could hear Ollie stomping through the arena and Max telling her to quiet down, "did you know he liked me?"

"I had no f*****g clue," Johan admitted. "Of all the things he came out with in the almost twenty years I've known him, crushing on you was by far the strangest thing I ever heard him say. He fooled me and Lark, I know him better than anyone, no matter what Ollie tells you."

"Why did he hide it?"

"Well, I've been thinking on it all week. Like I said, I know him better than anyone."

They both froze in their tracks at a clicking sound and Lark spun to her right and fired a shot hitting a pop- up target square in the face. Doug's printed face was covered in bright blue paint and she and Johan both exchanged wild grins.

They started walking again, following an incline and Johan kept speaking.

"The other night I remembered a conversation when we met. It was in middle school. I came at the beginning of seventh grade. I met Max first and he was bringing me to sit with you and Ollie at lunch. Ollie was there first. I thought she was cute and said so and Max shrugged and said whatever. When you showed up and I commented you were pretty, and he punched me and said to leave you alone. Ollie was already there, and she hit me too and said you were her sister. In hindsight, Max was staking a claim. Ollie was only doing what she does and blindly following his lead."

"Oh," she blinked. "You thought I was pretty?"

"Don't even go there, Lark Hoffman," he hissed at her pointing at her grin. "I told you, he's my best friend.

I'd shoot myself in the head before I let you seduce me with those big blue eyes. Flirt!" He pointed his gun at her when she batted her lashes, "don't make me shoot you!"

"I hear them. They must be over here!" Ollie's voice rang out.

Both she and Johan froze and then ducked behind a giant tree. They watched as the duo appeared out from the end of a path.

"I know I heard Johan. I'm sure of it." Ollie grunted.

Lark motioned to Johan for him to cut back down and around the path. "Split up," she mouthed to him, and he nodded excitedly. She watched as he tiptoed back to where the path split and disappeared into the quiet. She watched for several minutes as Max and Ollie argued over which direction to go before, she picked up a stick and tossed it as far as she could in the opposite direction of where Johan went. She couldn't help stuffing her fist in her mouth to stop from giggling aloud.

"This way!" Ollie took off running in the direction of the stick.

Lark squatted and looked through the scope of the paintball gun and grinned as she noted Max frowning in Ollie's direction as if he didn't believe she'd heard something. Without warning she fired a shot and hit right where his belt buckle would be. She watched as he jumped backwards, letting a loud shout escape his lips as she hit precariously close to his junk, blue paint spattering over his crotch.

She ducked low and ran as quick as she could through the area hearing the heavy footsteps chasing after her. The loud shout of Ollie being hit by Johan's paintball echoed in the area. The exchange of gunfire was hilarious as Ollie cursed not being able to see where he was. She giggled as she ducked behind a large boulder and lay flat. She touched the rock and realized it was fake, made of Styrofoam or a similar product.

She tried hard not to snort as Max raced past her mumbling under his breath. He let out a shout to Ollie who was yelling at Johan to stop firing. Based on what Lark could hear, he'd fired off four shots in rapid succession. She lay flat on her belly and when Max drew to a halt looking left and right, she fired a shot right at his ass.

His loud yelp of pain made her snicker, and she lowered her face into her sleeve and kept her head buried in the dirt.

"Lark, ma chère, I know it's you who is taking the cheap shots. You almost took my d**k off and now you're shooting me in the ass."

"That's five! Ollie's out! She only hit me once." Johan screamed as he finished shooting Ollie. "Lark, I'm going for the flag!" Her shoulders shook as Max started running in the direction of where the flag should be, his competitive spirit taking over as he heard Johan was making a play to win. She rose from her hiding space and raced after him.

She ground to a halt as she heard the exchange of shots between him and Johan and her partner's complaint he'd been shot in the shoulder. She heard Johan scream he was retreating and the sound of his footsteps running in the opposite direction.

Max's voice boomed out, "run you little coward. It might be two against one because Ollie is out, but I'll still win. I'm closer to the flag than you are!"

Lark made a wide circle as she opted to try to take another route through the game area. She cut through, leaving the path to try to cut Max off. She gave a loud scream as one of the pop-ups burst in front of her, Max's smug printed grin in front of her. She fired off three shots hitting it square in the face.

"Lark, it's a bit overkill!" his voice behind her caused her to freeze. "You can't shoot my face three times!" She turned quickly and fired another shot without even looking where she was firing and hit him square in the chest. He looked down incredulously and she didn't waste time and took off running. A paintball zoomed past her hitting a piece of the décor, turning what was bark into a red splatter. A shriek escaped her lips as another ball hit narrowly missed her shoulder and she leapt over rock, racing as fast as she could.

She was laughing hard as she evaded his shots bobbing and weaving through the now open path on the way to the center of the play area. Another pop-up of Doug's face erupted in front of her and before she could fire a shot, Max's paintball breezed past her and hit it square on.

She considered he must not really be aiming hard for her given how easily he hit the target she raced past. She noted the clearing ahead and knew she was almost close. She felt the paintball hit her thigh but kept running. She noted Johan coming in the opposite direction and she yelled.

"I've hit him three times! You only need to get two shots. I'm almost at the flag!"

She half turned, wildly fired a shot, heard Max's grunt, and knew she'd hit her mark. She could see the bright red flag in the distance and was running when suddenly she was tackled to the ground. She was smooshed into the dirt with Max laying atop her. Johan jumped over them both, hitting Max for the fifth time as he raced and captured the flag with a loud victorious scream.