Page 21 of The Love You Win

“I had to bribe her to stay until the end of the date and tell the reporter I was a nice guy.”

Silence stretches out between us for a beat, then they bend over, shaking with laughter. It earns us looks from the rest of the team, and I hiss at them to shut up. The last thing I need is for Coach to hear about this.

“Yeah, you have to tell the whole story now,” Byrne says through bouts of laughter. “And then we’re going to go out tonight so I can teach you how to treat a woman.”

“Shut up,” I grumble. But I tell them everything. Every last embarrassing detail. They howl with laughter again and again, and I’m pissed and red-faced by the end.

“Oh, god,” Wright wheezes. “I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard. You’re lucky she didn’t stab you in the dick with her steak knife.”

I cup my junk. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“And here I thought you had at least some game,” Logan drawls. “Now I’m wondering if you just end up with pity lays.”

“I do not need pity lays.” I nearly growl. “You guys suck. I never should have told you.”

“Do you have a picture of her?” Sebastian asks.

“I do.” Not sure I want to show them, though. When I’d taken a few selfies with Isla so she could use them to make her ex jealous, I’d snapped a couple of my own with my phone. I told her I needed it as proof so I could show my coach the night was a success. Truthfully, I just wanted to look at her again. She really was beautiful, and once I pulled my head out of my ass, I enjoyed conversing with her. In the end, I found myself wishing for more time.

Logan cocks an eyebrow at me. “You going to show us, or what?”

With a deep sigh, I tug my phone out of my pocket and open the photo of us. She’s small, tucked into my side, and her smile is breathtaking. She’s exactly the kind of woman who lights my insides on fire, and my guys know it the moment I flip the phone around to show them.

“Well, shit, Graves.” Wright stares at her. “You’re a fucking dumbass.”

“I know.”

“Damn.” Navarro gives me a pitying look. “You gonna try to get her number from the team or something? Ask her for a chance to make up for things?”

“I don’t need to.” I enjoy their looks of confusion. “I have her number.”

“How?” they ask in unison.

“I, uh, I kind of bribed her to finish the date by agreeing to speak to her high school students at an assembly.”

“She’s a teacher?” Wright’s eyes gleam. “Hot damn, she can keep me in detention any day.”

The smack I give him upside his head rings out in the weight room.

“What the hell, man?”

“Don’t be gross,” I say.

Bash’s mouth goes slack. “You like her. You actually ended up liking her.”

Leave it to Navarro to put it all out there, whether or not I want him to. “I misjudged her. I feel bad, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s it.”

“It. Is.”

“And how many times have you almost texted her?” Bash grins.

“None,” I reply. Adding of your business in my head. Because yeah, I almost texted her. A few times. Just to say sorry, though. There wasn’t any other reason.

“Ho-ly shit.” Griffin laughs. “You screwed yourself over good, didn’t you?”

I did. I really did. There’s no way Isla Harding will want anything to do with me outside of our agreement to speak at her school. I don’t stand a chance with the woman after the way I treated her.

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