Something like hate, p.16
Something like Hate, page 16
part #1 of Chicago Grizzlies Series
“It is. I promise.”
“Good, so when Shelly returns and you’re back to the Tundra, we can all celebrate publicly that you’re in a relationship.” Elle is testing me, and Shayna watches to see my reaction just the same.
I smack on a smile. “Of course.”
They don’t need to know that Shelly might never come back and I might be the permanent person for the Grizzlies. Which means deciding between my career and a man. I never thought it would be this hard.
“Perfect.” Elle slaps on a smile but still looks as though maybe she doesn’t believe me.
The three of us go back to the suite, and Twyla looks at my empty hands.
“They were closed, so weird,” I say.
She shrugs. “Good thing Theo got his early then.”
We watch the rest of the game, and the Grizzlies end up beating the Kingsmen by one. It was crazy and intense, and Miles played phenomenally. He’s on his way to more endorsements and interview spots if he keeps this up. If they make it to the Bowl and he plays like this, he’ll get the MVP for sure.
After the game, we tell the boys we’ll meet them at Peeper’s Alley. When we get to the bar, Ruby has saved the back room for us, but her bar top is packed full of the usual men with beer guts and mugs of beer that might be superglued to their dominant hands. I’m not sure the mugs are ever placed on the bar unless it’s to tell Ruby they need a refill.
“Seltzer,” Shayna orders.
I can’t get over there fast enough before Ruby says, “Order a real drink, sweetie. We don’t do girly seltzers here.”
Shayna looks at me and Elle.
“Seriously, Rubes, you have to get them,” I say.
“This is my bar, and I don’t have to do anything.”
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, so I miss the rest of the conversation as I pull it out and read the text.
* * *
MC: Meet me at my place. Top floor. We’re pulling up now. Make an excuse.
* * *
How the hell does he think I can make an excuse to leave?
Then an idea comes to mind, and I look at the group. “I have to take a call from my boss about tonight’s game. I’ll be right back.”
Elle rolls her eyes as if she knows I’m full of shit, but everyone else says okay. Shayna went outside to meet Lee because she fears he’s upset because she didn’t work the game and they lost.
I take my opportunity to sneak up the back way to the third floor. Damon is so loud when they get out of the Uber that I can hear him coming, so I double-time up the stairs. He might be going to his floor first, and I can’t chance him catching me.
I’m heading to the second set of stairs when a voice sounds behind me. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
I turn around to see Miles. His smile is contagious, and he picks me up in a firefighter’s hold, carrying me up the next two floors to his apartment.
“Why am I here?” I ask when he sets me down. “Our friends, your sister is downstairs.”
“I needed a few minutes alone with you.”
His lips meet mine as he inserts his key into the lock. He opens the door and I fall in as the door gives way. He catches me and lifts me, so I wrap my legs around him.
“I played one of the best games of my life and now I want to have the best sex of my life.”
“We can’t, we’re due downstairs.” I strip my lips from him, purposely dodging any more advances.
He lowers my feet to the floor. “I bet I can get you to. I’m surprisingly persuasive.”
I shake my head. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
“And as you know, I’m surprisingly good in bed. I’m surprisingly good with my tongue, my mouth, and my dick. Even my fingers.” He scatters kisses across my neck and up my jawline until he reaches my ear. “Put me in, Coach.”
I close my eyes for a moment, urging myself to have some willpower, but who am I kidding?
“When,” I say.
He hauls me over his shoulder again, taking me to his bedroom.
I’m in so much trouble. I can’t even deny him for just a few hours before everyone disperses and we could sneak out.
Chapter 23
Miles
My pants are around my ankles, Bryce is stripped from the waist down, but her heels are still on. I’ve never been one who craved sex after a great game, but the second I stepped foot off the field, I wanted her. But then, maybe that’s no different than if I had a shitty game.
I push into her, and her head falls back to the wall, knocking lightly.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Don’t stop.”
Her dark eyes overflow with arousal and need. Using my hands, I bring her up and down on my cock, using the wall as leverage.
“I love being inside you,” I say, struggling to get the words out as my dick grows harder and my balls tighten, preparing to come. I push it back because no way I’ll ever come before her.
Her nails run down the back of my head, through my hair, scratching my scalp. God, she’s gorgeous, but I’ll never get enough of being inside her.
She comes on my name, and nothing has ever sounded better.
My orgasm rushes through me, and I pump into her, unable to hold off. The adrenaline of the win and having her here is too much for me to handle and I empty inside her with a satisfied groan.
Pounding sounds on my condo door.
We both freeze and look at one another.
“Cavanaugh?” Damon’s voice sounds through the apartment and he pounds again.
Bryce kicks my ass with the tip of her heel to get me moving.
Fuck. I drop her, and she slips off the heels, grabs her clothes, and goes into my walk-in closet. Right before she shuts the closet door, she gives me a look, telling me to get rid of him ASAP.
As if that wasn’t my plan.
I pull up my pants, grab a hat from my dresser so he doesn’t see my freshly fucked hair, and make my way through the condo.
He bangs on the door one more time before I open it, then walks right in. “Shit, I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?”
He stops just inside and looks around, his chin tilting up a bit. “Is there someone here?”
“No.” Damn it. My answer came out too quickly.
He squints and inhales as if he’s a canine. Of course, the guy could probably pick up the scent of sex from Canada.
“Bullshit.” He looks me over, and I hold up my hands.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
“I need to borrow a shirt.” He walks right into my bedroom.
“You have plenty of shirts and mine aren’t exactly your style.” Damon has clubbing clothes that I would never have in my closet.
“I need a button-down. Everyone looks good down there, and my housekeeper and laundry lady called in sick all week.”
He heads right to my closet and the only thing that might save us is it’s a walk-in closet and Bryce is petite. But I’m doubtful we’ll pull this off. I glance down to where I just had Bryce on the wall and spot a drop of cum on the floor.
Fuck.
I walk to the bathroom, grab a towel, and toss it on the spot before he turns around.
When he turns around, he takes in the towel. “Not like you to be sloppy.”
I ignore his comment and work to get him out of here. “I have some shirts in my front closet that just came back from the cleaners. You can have one of those.”
His hands are on the closet door handle, but he turns to look at me over his shoulder.
Take the bait, Damon.
“Cool.” He circles back around and looks at the towel again. “Are you sure there’s not someone here?”
“We just got home. Who would be here already?” I open my hallway closet and let him look through all the shirts.
“I dunno. You’re never home anymore. I came by twice this week.”
“What time?” I lean my shoulder on the wall, trying not to act as though my heart is racing.
“It was later than you’re usually out. I wanted to talk to you about this woman.” He grabs a shirt from the hanger and strips off his T-shirt before putting on my shirt.
“What woman?” I’m quick to change the subject to anything but where I might have been.
“I had this woman over two weeks ago. She was all flirtatious at the club, all over me, but when we got here, she said her stomach hurt. I offered to call her an Uber to take her home because I’m nothing if not a gentleman, but she asked if she could stay the night.”
“Weird.”
“Right? And I don’t usually do overnights.”
“You did with that girl from the rooftop before the season started.”
He looks away for a moment as though he’s remembering her. Could Damon Siska have been bitten by the “let’s fuck a second time” bug?
“Well, until she was embarrassed by what we did. Anyway, we ended up watching a movie and stuff. She tells me how her boyfriend hits her and how she’s been trying to hide out from him. She figured going home with me, he’d never find her and if he did, I could protect her.”
My eyebrows raise. “Shit.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So did anything happen?”
“No. I told her to call the police, go to a shelter. I gave her, like, five hundred dollars and said I’d do whatever I could to help her. We could investigate resources in the morning. She slept in the guest room, and when I woke up, she was gone. I tried to find her, but she gave me a fake name. Do you think someone is fucking with me?”
“I don’t know.”
He buttons up the shirt. “It’s just been wreaking havoc in my mind. I told her I’d help her, she went to all that trouble just to leave in the morning. At first, I thought I got played for five hundred bucks, but if that’s the case, she’s one good actor.”
“It’s hard. You just never know. That’s why I’m always telling you to be careful bringing women home. Most times, it’s your word against theirs.”
It’s something I’ve been conscious of for a long time. I’m a professional athlete. I’m the one who has the reputation to lose, so I’m always cautious about who I sleep with and who I’m willing to bring back to my place. Damon is chancy and this might be his first time being taken advantage of, but it might not be his last. It’s not that I think every woman is devious and a liar, but they’re out there.
He finishes buttoning up the shirt and smacks me on the chest. “Let’s go.”
“I’m just gonna change quick,” I say.
His eyes float down my body, landing on my crotch. “Cool. See you down there.”
I walk him to the door to make sure he actually leaves so I can lock the door behind him.
“Hey, Bryce!” he yells right before he steps out the door, laughing.
But I grab him by the collar of my shirt and pull him inside, shutting the door. I release him as I hear the closet door open in my bedroom. “You knew?”
“It was a guess, but I’m glad I was right.” He’s grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
Bryce appears in the doorway of my bedroom, shaking her head. “I think all of our friends went into the wrong field of work. They should be in the FBI.” She crosses her arms.
“And you’re going to keep it to yourself, right?” I ask him.
Damon laughs. “I don’t give a shit if you’re fucking, but don’t let the bosses find out.”
“That you don’t need to worry about. You just keep it to yourself,” I say.
He laughs again because Damon finds most things funny. “Yeah, yeah. But you two better get downstairs before someone else figures it out. You’re not exactly stealth like Ethan Hunt.” He starts humming the Mission Impossible theme song.
“He’s right. I’ll go down with Damon. That way, people won’t suspect anything. You come down in, like, seven minutes.”
Here we go again with the whole time thing.
“Seven?” Damon asks.
“An odd number. It’s too suspicious if you do five or ten.” Bryce walks over to me.
I’d really prefer if she stayed. I wish I could walk down there and tell all of our best friends that we’re together.
“Really? He’s at your place every night and you’re secretly fucking, but you’re worried if he shows up in five minutes rather than seven, it will give you away?”
Bryce narrows her eyes at his sarcastic tone. “Close your eyes, Damon.”
“You’re gonna kiss, aren’t you? I feel like I’m six and walking in on my parents again. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll be right outside.” He shuts the door behind him.
I take her in my arms. “Stay.”
“It’s not time yet. We have to be sure before we can ask all of our friends to keep a secret. As it is, Shayna and Ellery have figured it out too.” Her forehead falls to my chest.
I rest my finger under her chin and bring it up so her eyes meet mine. “Then let’s just tell them all. You know they’ll keep the secret.”
Indecision swims in her eyes. She’s not one hundred percent sure about us yet.
“Or not.” I step back, and she reaches out, but I shake my head. “Just go with Damon. I’ll be right down.”
“I don’t know what to do. What if it gets out? I have everything to lose.”
Damon pounds on the door. “Are you coming or what? I don’t like to be late to a party.”
She pleads with me once again, her eyes begging me to give us a little more time. And I’d rather have her than nothing, so I relent once again.
“Okay. Go. I’ll be down in exactly seven minutes.”
She smiles, rises on her tiptoes, and kisses my lips. “Thanks for the quickie, but after we’re done with our friends, I plan on repaying you.” Her hand falls between my legs and she grips my dick.
I don’t allow her to drop down to her heels, holding her chin as I kiss her again, this time deepening it so she has something to think about while we’re down there with our friends and she can’t touch me.
I walk her to the door, and Damon’s head rotates our way with a bored expression. “Done, lovebirds?”
“Keep your hands to yourself,” I tell Damon.
He stuffs them in his pockets. The two of them walk down the stairs and I hate seeing her go. Shutting the door, all I can think is that I don’t want what we have to end, but I’m fed up with the secrecy of our relationship.
Seven minutes go by quickly, and I practically run down the steps. I walk into Peeper’s Alley and all the guys on the barstools clap when they see me.
Ruby rounds the bar and hands me a water. “On the house,” she says with a wink.
They all talk about what a game I had and how I’m saving the Grizzlies this year. One man razzes another for saying I was the wrong pick. After a few minutes, I thank them all and head toward the back room where everyone is.
Bryce stands in the doorway, smiling from ear to ear. She’s happy that I’m finally getting the praise I’ve been looking for. But her opinion is what matters most to me, and she has no idea. I keep walking toward her, but she turns around and heads to the table with our friends before I can get a chance to say anything to her.
“Miles! Finally!” Twyla stands and plasters herself to me. “I’ve missed you so much.”
I hug my little sister tightly, and when we part, I see her baby bump. It’s surreal to see my sister with a baby in her belly. “Look at you.”
Her vision follows mine, and she rubs her stomach. “I know, right?”
I go around the table and shake my old teammates’ hands, then hug their significant others. I sit in the empty seat by Bryce, and she runs her hand on my leg under the table, but I can’t stop jealousy from taking over from my happiness. Lee’s arm is around Shayna. Brady keeps kissing Violet, and Twyla is on Chase’s lap as they watch Damon and Cooper play darts.
Realization dawns on me. I want what my teammates have, on the field and off. I won’t be truly happy without it.
Chapter 24
Bryce
Miles and I stop for coffee at the shop down the street from my place. Well, I make him go in first. We pass one another as I walk in and he’s leaving. He winks.
“Bryce!” the barista calls right after I get in line.
Odd that there’s another Bryce here. It’s not the most common name, so I wait to see what she or he looks like, but no one approaches the counter.
The barista brings over another drink a minute later. “Carl!” She picks up the one that’s been sitting there, reads it, and calls, “Bryce!”
I walk over on the off chance that Miles ordered mine. “Can I ask what kind of drink that is?”
“Vanilla latte,” she says. “Are you Bryce?”
I smile and nod. “I am.”
“Aren’t you a lucky one then? That was Miles Cavanaugh who bought you that drink, isn’t it?”
I freeze, unsure what to say. “Um…”
“It’s okay. I don’t work for a gossip mag or anything. It’s cute.” She shrugs.
“Thanks.” I sip my coffee and dig a twenty from my wallet before placing it in the tip bin.
She eyes me. I hope she doesn’t take it as a bribe—or maybe I hope she does. As long as she doesn’t report this to anyone.
On the L train, I text Miles a thank you for my coffee.
* * *
MC: You make it difficult for me to do nice things for you.
Me: I appreciate it so much, I thought I would be late for my meeting with Shelly.
MC: Once we’re out in the world, you’ll see exactly how I’ll treat you.
* * *
I don’t know how to respond because I’m not sure how we’ll ever get to the point where we can be seen as a couple. If Ronnie doesn’t allow Shelly back and the job with the Grizzlies is mine, how do we tell our bosses? They expressly forbid our relationship. Even Damon mentioned it the minute he found out about us.
“Good, so when Shelly returns and you’re back to the Tundra, we can all celebrate publicly that you’re in a relationship.” Elle is testing me, and Shayna watches to see my reaction just the same.
I smack on a smile. “Of course.”
They don’t need to know that Shelly might never come back and I might be the permanent person for the Grizzlies. Which means deciding between my career and a man. I never thought it would be this hard.
“Perfect.” Elle slaps on a smile but still looks as though maybe she doesn’t believe me.
The three of us go back to the suite, and Twyla looks at my empty hands.
“They were closed, so weird,” I say.
She shrugs. “Good thing Theo got his early then.”
We watch the rest of the game, and the Grizzlies end up beating the Kingsmen by one. It was crazy and intense, and Miles played phenomenally. He’s on his way to more endorsements and interview spots if he keeps this up. If they make it to the Bowl and he plays like this, he’ll get the MVP for sure.
After the game, we tell the boys we’ll meet them at Peeper’s Alley. When we get to the bar, Ruby has saved the back room for us, but her bar top is packed full of the usual men with beer guts and mugs of beer that might be superglued to their dominant hands. I’m not sure the mugs are ever placed on the bar unless it’s to tell Ruby they need a refill.
“Seltzer,” Shayna orders.
I can’t get over there fast enough before Ruby says, “Order a real drink, sweetie. We don’t do girly seltzers here.”
Shayna looks at me and Elle.
“Seriously, Rubes, you have to get them,” I say.
“This is my bar, and I don’t have to do anything.”
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, so I miss the rest of the conversation as I pull it out and read the text.
* * *
MC: Meet me at my place. Top floor. We’re pulling up now. Make an excuse.
* * *
How the hell does he think I can make an excuse to leave?
Then an idea comes to mind, and I look at the group. “I have to take a call from my boss about tonight’s game. I’ll be right back.”
Elle rolls her eyes as if she knows I’m full of shit, but everyone else says okay. Shayna went outside to meet Lee because she fears he’s upset because she didn’t work the game and they lost.
I take my opportunity to sneak up the back way to the third floor. Damon is so loud when they get out of the Uber that I can hear him coming, so I double-time up the stairs. He might be going to his floor first, and I can’t chance him catching me.
I’m heading to the second set of stairs when a voice sounds behind me. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
I turn around to see Miles. His smile is contagious, and he picks me up in a firefighter’s hold, carrying me up the next two floors to his apartment.
“Why am I here?” I ask when he sets me down. “Our friends, your sister is downstairs.”
“I needed a few minutes alone with you.”
His lips meet mine as he inserts his key into the lock. He opens the door and I fall in as the door gives way. He catches me and lifts me, so I wrap my legs around him.
“I played one of the best games of my life and now I want to have the best sex of my life.”
“We can’t, we’re due downstairs.” I strip my lips from him, purposely dodging any more advances.
He lowers my feet to the floor. “I bet I can get you to. I’m surprisingly persuasive.”
I shake my head. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
“And as you know, I’m surprisingly good in bed. I’m surprisingly good with my tongue, my mouth, and my dick. Even my fingers.” He scatters kisses across my neck and up my jawline until he reaches my ear. “Put me in, Coach.”
I close my eyes for a moment, urging myself to have some willpower, but who am I kidding?
“When,” I say.
He hauls me over his shoulder again, taking me to his bedroom.
I’m in so much trouble. I can’t even deny him for just a few hours before everyone disperses and we could sneak out.
Chapter 23
Miles
My pants are around my ankles, Bryce is stripped from the waist down, but her heels are still on. I’ve never been one who craved sex after a great game, but the second I stepped foot off the field, I wanted her. But then, maybe that’s no different than if I had a shitty game.
I push into her, and her head falls back to the wall, knocking lightly.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Don’t stop.”
Her dark eyes overflow with arousal and need. Using my hands, I bring her up and down on my cock, using the wall as leverage.
“I love being inside you,” I say, struggling to get the words out as my dick grows harder and my balls tighten, preparing to come. I push it back because no way I’ll ever come before her.
Her nails run down the back of my head, through my hair, scratching my scalp. God, she’s gorgeous, but I’ll never get enough of being inside her.
She comes on my name, and nothing has ever sounded better.
My orgasm rushes through me, and I pump into her, unable to hold off. The adrenaline of the win and having her here is too much for me to handle and I empty inside her with a satisfied groan.
Pounding sounds on my condo door.
We both freeze and look at one another.
“Cavanaugh?” Damon’s voice sounds through the apartment and he pounds again.
Bryce kicks my ass with the tip of her heel to get me moving.
Fuck. I drop her, and she slips off the heels, grabs her clothes, and goes into my walk-in closet. Right before she shuts the closet door, she gives me a look, telling me to get rid of him ASAP.
As if that wasn’t my plan.
I pull up my pants, grab a hat from my dresser so he doesn’t see my freshly fucked hair, and make my way through the condo.
He bangs on the door one more time before I open it, then walks right in. “Shit, I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?”
He stops just inside and looks around, his chin tilting up a bit. “Is there someone here?”
“No.” Damn it. My answer came out too quickly.
He squints and inhales as if he’s a canine. Of course, the guy could probably pick up the scent of sex from Canada.
“Bullshit.” He looks me over, and I hold up my hands.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
“I need to borrow a shirt.” He walks right into my bedroom.
“You have plenty of shirts and mine aren’t exactly your style.” Damon has clubbing clothes that I would never have in my closet.
“I need a button-down. Everyone looks good down there, and my housekeeper and laundry lady called in sick all week.”
He heads right to my closet and the only thing that might save us is it’s a walk-in closet and Bryce is petite. But I’m doubtful we’ll pull this off. I glance down to where I just had Bryce on the wall and spot a drop of cum on the floor.
Fuck.
I walk to the bathroom, grab a towel, and toss it on the spot before he turns around.
When he turns around, he takes in the towel. “Not like you to be sloppy.”
I ignore his comment and work to get him out of here. “I have some shirts in my front closet that just came back from the cleaners. You can have one of those.”
His hands are on the closet door handle, but he turns to look at me over his shoulder.
Take the bait, Damon.
“Cool.” He circles back around and looks at the towel again. “Are you sure there’s not someone here?”
“We just got home. Who would be here already?” I open my hallway closet and let him look through all the shirts.
“I dunno. You’re never home anymore. I came by twice this week.”
“What time?” I lean my shoulder on the wall, trying not to act as though my heart is racing.
“It was later than you’re usually out. I wanted to talk to you about this woman.” He grabs a shirt from the hanger and strips off his T-shirt before putting on my shirt.
“What woman?” I’m quick to change the subject to anything but where I might have been.
“I had this woman over two weeks ago. She was all flirtatious at the club, all over me, but when we got here, she said her stomach hurt. I offered to call her an Uber to take her home because I’m nothing if not a gentleman, but she asked if she could stay the night.”
“Weird.”
“Right? And I don’t usually do overnights.”
“You did with that girl from the rooftop before the season started.”
He looks away for a moment as though he’s remembering her. Could Damon Siska have been bitten by the “let’s fuck a second time” bug?
“Well, until she was embarrassed by what we did. Anyway, we ended up watching a movie and stuff. She tells me how her boyfriend hits her and how she’s been trying to hide out from him. She figured going home with me, he’d never find her and if he did, I could protect her.”
My eyebrows raise. “Shit.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So did anything happen?”
“No. I told her to call the police, go to a shelter. I gave her, like, five hundred dollars and said I’d do whatever I could to help her. We could investigate resources in the morning. She slept in the guest room, and when I woke up, she was gone. I tried to find her, but she gave me a fake name. Do you think someone is fucking with me?”
“I don’t know.”
He buttons up the shirt. “It’s just been wreaking havoc in my mind. I told her I’d help her, she went to all that trouble just to leave in the morning. At first, I thought I got played for five hundred bucks, but if that’s the case, she’s one good actor.”
“It’s hard. You just never know. That’s why I’m always telling you to be careful bringing women home. Most times, it’s your word against theirs.”
It’s something I’ve been conscious of for a long time. I’m a professional athlete. I’m the one who has the reputation to lose, so I’m always cautious about who I sleep with and who I’m willing to bring back to my place. Damon is chancy and this might be his first time being taken advantage of, but it might not be his last. It’s not that I think every woman is devious and a liar, but they’re out there.
He finishes buttoning up the shirt and smacks me on the chest. “Let’s go.”
“I’m just gonna change quick,” I say.
His eyes float down my body, landing on my crotch. “Cool. See you down there.”
I walk him to the door to make sure he actually leaves so I can lock the door behind him.
“Hey, Bryce!” he yells right before he steps out the door, laughing.
But I grab him by the collar of my shirt and pull him inside, shutting the door. I release him as I hear the closet door open in my bedroom. “You knew?”
“It was a guess, but I’m glad I was right.” He’s grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
Bryce appears in the doorway of my bedroom, shaking her head. “I think all of our friends went into the wrong field of work. They should be in the FBI.” She crosses her arms.
“And you’re going to keep it to yourself, right?” I ask him.
Damon laughs. “I don’t give a shit if you’re fucking, but don’t let the bosses find out.”
“That you don’t need to worry about. You just keep it to yourself,” I say.
He laughs again because Damon finds most things funny. “Yeah, yeah. But you two better get downstairs before someone else figures it out. You’re not exactly stealth like Ethan Hunt.” He starts humming the Mission Impossible theme song.
“He’s right. I’ll go down with Damon. That way, people won’t suspect anything. You come down in, like, seven minutes.”
Here we go again with the whole time thing.
“Seven?” Damon asks.
“An odd number. It’s too suspicious if you do five or ten.” Bryce walks over to me.
I’d really prefer if she stayed. I wish I could walk down there and tell all of our best friends that we’re together.
“Really? He’s at your place every night and you’re secretly fucking, but you’re worried if he shows up in five minutes rather than seven, it will give you away?”
Bryce narrows her eyes at his sarcastic tone. “Close your eyes, Damon.”
“You’re gonna kiss, aren’t you? I feel like I’m six and walking in on my parents again. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll be right outside.” He shuts the door behind him.
I take her in my arms. “Stay.”
“It’s not time yet. We have to be sure before we can ask all of our friends to keep a secret. As it is, Shayna and Ellery have figured it out too.” Her forehead falls to my chest.
I rest my finger under her chin and bring it up so her eyes meet mine. “Then let’s just tell them all. You know they’ll keep the secret.”
Indecision swims in her eyes. She’s not one hundred percent sure about us yet.
“Or not.” I step back, and she reaches out, but I shake my head. “Just go with Damon. I’ll be right down.”
“I don’t know what to do. What if it gets out? I have everything to lose.”
Damon pounds on the door. “Are you coming or what? I don’t like to be late to a party.”
She pleads with me once again, her eyes begging me to give us a little more time. And I’d rather have her than nothing, so I relent once again.
“Okay. Go. I’ll be down in exactly seven minutes.”
She smiles, rises on her tiptoes, and kisses my lips. “Thanks for the quickie, but after we’re done with our friends, I plan on repaying you.” Her hand falls between my legs and she grips my dick.
I don’t allow her to drop down to her heels, holding her chin as I kiss her again, this time deepening it so she has something to think about while we’re down there with our friends and she can’t touch me.
I walk her to the door, and Damon’s head rotates our way with a bored expression. “Done, lovebirds?”
“Keep your hands to yourself,” I tell Damon.
He stuffs them in his pockets. The two of them walk down the stairs and I hate seeing her go. Shutting the door, all I can think is that I don’t want what we have to end, but I’m fed up with the secrecy of our relationship.
Seven minutes go by quickly, and I practically run down the steps. I walk into Peeper’s Alley and all the guys on the barstools clap when they see me.
Ruby rounds the bar and hands me a water. “On the house,” she says with a wink.
They all talk about what a game I had and how I’m saving the Grizzlies this year. One man razzes another for saying I was the wrong pick. After a few minutes, I thank them all and head toward the back room where everyone is.
Bryce stands in the doorway, smiling from ear to ear. She’s happy that I’m finally getting the praise I’ve been looking for. But her opinion is what matters most to me, and she has no idea. I keep walking toward her, but she turns around and heads to the table with our friends before I can get a chance to say anything to her.
“Miles! Finally!” Twyla stands and plasters herself to me. “I’ve missed you so much.”
I hug my little sister tightly, and when we part, I see her baby bump. It’s surreal to see my sister with a baby in her belly. “Look at you.”
Her vision follows mine, and she rubs her stomach. “I know, right?”
I go around the table and shake my old teammates’ hands, then hug their significant others. I sit in the empty seat by Bryce, and she runs her hand on my leg under the table, but I can’t stop jealousy from taking over from my happiness. Lee’s arm is around Shayna. Brady keeps kissing Violet, and Twyla is on Chase’s lap as they watch Damon and Cooper play darts.
Realization dawns on me. I want what my teammates have, on the field and off. I won’t be truly happy without it.
Chapter 24
Bryce
Miles and I stop for coffee at the shop down the street from my place. Well, I make him go in first. We pass one another as I walk in and he’s leaving. He winks.
“Bryce!” the barista calls right after I get in line.
Odd that there’s another Bryce here. It’s not the most common name, so I wait to see what she or he looks like, but no one approaches the counter.
The barista brings over another drink a minute later. “Carl!” She picks up the one that’s been sitting there, reads it, and calls, “Bryce!”
I walk over on the off chance that Miles ordered mine. “Can I ask what kind of drink that is?”
“Vanilla latte,” she says. “Are you Bryce?”
I smile and nod. “I am.”
“Aren’t you a lucky one then? That was Miles Cavanaugh who bought you that drink, isn’t it?”
I freeze, unsure what to say. “Um…”
“It’s okay. I don’t work for a gossip mag or anything. It’s cute.” She shrugs.
“Thanks.” I sip my coffee and dig a twenty from my wallet before placing it in the tip bin.
She eyes me. I hope she doesn’t take it as a bribe—or maybe I hope she does. As long as she doesn’t report this to anyone.
On the L train, I text Miles a thank you for my coffee.
* * *
MC: You make it difficult for me to do nice things for you.
Me: I appreciate it so much, I thought I would be late for my meeting with Shelly.
MC: Once we’re out in the world, you’ll see exactly how I’ll treat you.
* * *
I don’t know how to respond because I’m not sure how we’ll ever get to the point where we can be seen as a couple. If Ronnie doesn’t allow Shelly back and the job with the Grizzlies is mine, how do we tell our bosses? They expressly forbid our relationship. Even Damon mentioned it the minute he found out about us.
