So what if another guy insulted her? She wasn’t mine. She could never be mine.
“It’s all over the internet!” Julia, the Blades’ PR lead, yelled.
If I’d known this meeting was just to chew me out, I would’ve skipped it. I didn’t have time for Julia to rip me a new asshole.
But I also knew Coach was watching me closely. If I’d skipped this meeting, he would’ve taken me out back and broken my kneecaps.
“Yeah, I saw it,” I drawled, crossing my arms. “What do you want me to do about it?”
Julia, who was normally the most even-keeled of people, looked at me incredulously. “That’s all you have to say?”
“I was drunk. I shouldn’t have done that. The end. But people are always going to post shit that gets the most interaction.”
I glanced at Grace, who was avoiding my gaze. Why the hell was she here? What did Julia yelling at me have to do with her internship?
“Did you even have a good reason for punching Riley?” Julia asked, a hand on her hip. “Because at least if you do, we could spin this story into something better than ‘drunken hockey player decks teammate for no reason.’”
I glanced at Grace. I watched as a blush climbed up her cheeks.
Would I throw Grace under the bus? Have everyone know that Riley was calling her a bitch because she’d rejected his advances?
Fuck no. Social media—the worst parts of it, at least—would pounce on that and say she deserved it. Or that she’d been insane to say no to a hockey player like Riley.
“I was drunk. I don’t remember,” I replied.
Julia sighed. She pushed her glasses up her nose and sat down heavily. “Fine. We’ll come up with something. Or better yet, we’ll bury this story with something else. Have you done anycharity work lately, Carmichael? Hugged infants, played with puppies? Anything?”
I snorted. “Should I go find a random baby and get a photo with it?”
“It’s not the worst idea,” Grace muttered.
I shot her a look. Now she just raised an eyebrow at me, as if daring me.
Daring me ... to do what? Was she pissed I hadn’t been honest? Because I was saving her from humiliation here. The least she could be was grateful.
After Julia lectured me a bit longer, I finally managed to get out of her office. We didn’t have practice today, so I had the rest of the day to stew.
I didn’t really give a shit what anybody said about me online. People were going to be assholes, no matter how many babies I held.
But the thought of Grace being disappointed in me, or Coach thinking the worst of me ... yeah, it fucking hurt.
I needed to blow off steam. So I waited until it was dark and went straight to the Scarlet Rope.
After an hour of searching, I couldn’t find Shayla anywhere. When I asked a few people if Shayla was coming tonight, nobody had an answer for me.
It didn’t help that, with so many blondes in the club, it seemed like every other woman could be Shayla. And, of course, when I saw blond hair, I didn’t first think of Shayla but of someone else entirely.
“You need a fucking therapist,” I muttered to myself, disgusted.
I considered finding another woman, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I just wandered, watching various scenes.
The first that caught my attention was a scene with two women. They both had black hair, the red of their outfits contrasting with their dark skin tones. The woman with shorter hair was caressing the other woman, whose hair hung down to her ass. The short-haired woman kissed the other woman’s neck and massaged her breasts.
It was a surprisingly tender scene, given the fact that they had an audience. The short-haired woman pulled her partner onto a lush couch and buried her face between her partner’s legs. Moans filled the room, the receiver’s thighs tightening as she started climaxing.
I moved on after that. The next scene was more classic BDSM with a Dominatrix. A man was bound, gagged, and hanging from the ceiling. The Domme circled him while whipping his torso. The man threw his head back when the Domme placed clamps on his nipples. The man already had a cock ring that seemed to be preventing him from coming too quickly.
The Domme played with her sub’s cock, kissing and licking it until she returned to whipping him mercilessly. Welts covered his torso, back, and ass.