Page 8 of Power Play

“Shut up, Serena. It’s not Brandon, its—”

“Oh, we all know exactly who caused your fear of attachment, your dickhead brother of course,” Serena cuts me off. “He scared you away from getting close to anyone for fear of them controlling you. He tried to change you into something you didn’t want to be. I know it’s hard to trust anyone after your own family lets you down, but this isn’t a relationship. It’s just one night, hell not even that if he’s like most men.”

Tears hit my eyes at her impression of my relationship with my family. She knows most of it, minus a few bits and pieces, so it doesn’t surprise me that she considers Max a dickhead.

“We aren’t doing this tonight. If you want me to go over there, we’re not talking about this. And I’m drinking, so give me a fucking shot before Molly comes back,” I demand.

“You don’t need to hide it from Molly. The guys ordered you two shots to take with them as well, and she poured them.” She smiles before looking over my shoulder with a smirk.

“Your man is staring at you,” Serena whispers conspiratorially.

Glancing back at the table, I see Rex staring directly at me as Trevor whispers something in his ear. As he notices me looking, he pauses before glancing back at Trevor and finishing their conversation.

“I don’t have a man.”

“No, no you don’t. But I’d be fucking shocked if he didn’t throw a punch or two if one of them tried to dance with you tonight. He’s done all but pee on you to mark his territory with his broody looks.”

“I haven’t flirted with someone in months, and even then, Brandon didn’t really count; he never really flirted or tried with me. It’s been years, Serena, years! Flirting is not my thing.”

“Well, let’s make it your thing. Brush his arm a couple times, smile at him, lean over him when you’re passing the others their drinks. That kind of shit. If he’s as interested in you as I think he is, he’ll be all over that. Even his friends have noticed him watching you. Just go have fun.”

“I feel like you’re sending me off into battle.”

“Well, then, off to battle you go. But first, here’s a shot of tequila. This one’s on me.” With a wink, she hands me a shot before she swats my butt, signaling I need to stop wasting time.

I’ve gotten used to walking in the heels they have the ladies wear here, but regardless, it’s terrifying watching the shots almost spill over with every step I take.

I chose to blame the heels and not the nerves for my shaky legs the closer I get to their table.

When I reach them, they’re still having random conversations with each other, not immediately noticing my return. I quickly set down their drinks, placing the extra two in the middle, before smiling and trying to turn around. But before I even think about walking away, Trevor says my name.

“Sawyer, wait. Where do you think you’re going? These two shots are for you, have a seat.”

“I, uh, can’t.”

“Here, sweetheart? At this table? I promise you can,” he says with a smile I can’t help but trust.

Out of the corner of my eye, I don’t miss Rex’s glare towards Trevor. Was it because he invited me to sit down? Or... that he called me sweetheart?

Shaking the thought out of my head, I set down the tray and casually lean over Rex to hand Harris and Trevor their shots, before finally setting Rex’s drink down a little closer to me than necessary. Trevor must notice what I’m doing, as he smiles, a hint of entertainment glowing in his eyes.

Rex, on the other hand, doesn’t say much—just a quick thank you before looking down at the shots in front of him. I just shrug it off before looking back at Trevor, who couldn’t hide his devious grin if he tried.

“Have a seat, get comfortable,” he says, before noticing that the others are in a full-on debate about why the New York Cyclones are the best team in the NHL. Harris seems to be poking fun at them with his rebuttals, that are obviously just to rile the others up. “Well, at least talk to us,” he says, pointing at himself and Rex.

I look back to where Molly is talking to Serena. She must notice me because she smiles and nods.

“I can stay for a bit,” I grab the only seat left, which is, of course, next to Rex’s chair.

“Tell me something about yourself. What’s something you like to do?”

“I uh...” I pause, thinking. This is hard for me to answer. I want to teach dance. I love dance, but after I tore my Achilles in high school, I knew I couldn’t go professional. Because of all that, I usually don’t talk about it, as it brings up longer conversations that just fucking hurt. It’s then I notice Rex’s eyes on me, listening intently for my answer. “I love to dance. Not like the stuff here, but I used to do ballet.”

I look back at Trevor, waiting for his response. He smiles but doesn’t say anything.

“Why’d you quit?”

I look toward the other end of the table to see who asked but am surprised when I realize it was Rex.

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