Page 76 of Pretty Broken Promises

“Then meet us around the corner from your hotel in thirty minutes, and be discreet,” he warns.

I hang up, and we step out into the hallway. There are a few guys sitting in the lounge area on the floor, but all of the second string are drunk off their asses.

Kendall shakes his head. “We haven’t even taken the field yet and we’ve already lost.”

We both make our way over to the starters and take a seat.

“Hey, Ford,” one of the guys greets me. He waves to the chaos surrounding us. “We haven’t been very fair to you. Coach made it seem like our losing streak was because you weren’t being a team player, but this shit doesn’t make any sense. These aren’t even cheerleaders. I think they’re strippers some business guy from Playa sent over to welcome us. Those dumbasses,” he points to our drunk teammates, “are too stupid to realize this is just a pleasant way of sabotaging us.”

“We’re just waiting for them to drink themselves to sleep, then we’ll kick out all the ladies,” another one of the guys says.

“Well, good luck to you. I’ve got friends in town, and they flew in my girl, so I’m going to dip out of here. Kendall’s going to come with, so he doesn’t get in trouble with his girl when we get back,” I tell them.

We both hand off our key cards to the other guys. “You guys should make use of the room though. Just because we’re old and married like you guys like to say, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy.”

“Just go for one of the cheerleaders on the floor below, and not one of these ladies,” Kendall advises. “They’re not here for you, but because they’ve been paid. Don’t forget that. If you’re going to end up with a baby mama, she should at least think you’re amazing for a few minutes without being paid to like you.”

Before I stand up, one of the women, stripped down to a bra and micro mini-skirt straddles my lap. I don’t even think before I react. I stand up, dumping her on the carpet on her ass.

“Ow,” she whines. “What the hell? You looked lonely, so I was coming over to say hi.”

“Yeah? Well consent goes both ways, sweetheart. Don’t fucking touch me,” I growl.

“Ken Doll, let’s get out of here,” I snap.

We slip back through the crowd. Most of the guys are too drunk to notice, and the starting line is heading for the floor below to start a different kind of party. Not my scene, but a smarter choice than this one. One thing I know, things like this always come back to bite you in the ass. These guys are going to be dealing with the decisions they make tonight for years to come.

ChapterThirty

FORD

“What arethese friends of yours like?” Kendall asks me as we walk around the block to where we’re meeting Tessa, Sin, and Raven.

I think about it for a second, because I don’t know a way to describe Sin and Raven to normal people. Tess and I are not a lot different from them now, but we hide our crazy a lot better than they do.

In the end I decide honesty is the best policy. “I’d say they’re like moderately reformed psychos. So a piece of advice. You know that thing you do when you see a beautiful woman, the thing that Gina hates?”

“The staring thing that gets me sent home to sleep alone?” he asks.

“Yeah, that. Also the flirting thing when you talk to anyone with breasts,” I remind him.

“It’s not like I mean to,” he mumbles.

“Look, if you think Gina is bad when you do it accidentally in front of her— My friend’s nickname is Sin for fuck’s sake. When I first met him I thought it was a play on his name, Jackson Sinclair, and because he gave off a bit of a bad boy vibe, but now I know it’s derived from assassin, which he was forced to be for many years.”

Kendall gives me a disbelieving look. “Now you’re just yanking my dick. You know, there’s a rumor that you’ve killed like a dozen people. So am I supposed to believe that too?”

“No,” I scoff. “It’s probably more like half that number.”

“You’re not very funny,” he replies.

I shrug. “I don’t think death is ever funny. Sin on the other hand has a twisted sense of humor. Back to my warning, don’t check out his wife, or flirt with her. If I do it, don’t copy me. I like to piss him off, and I can survive it. You won’t. Don’t flirt with Tess either.”

“Look man, you know I don’t mean anything by it. I’m not really flirting with her, not purposefully at least. I’m head over heels for my girl. You don’t have to threaten to kick my ass,” he rambles.

I shake my head. “I’m not that insecure. I mean, yeah, I don’t love it, but I trust her. Sin’s overprotectiveness extends beyond his own wife. You’ll see what I mean. We really should have brought your girl with us.”

“I wanted her here, but we’re trying to save money for the wedding. You’ll understand after you propose and start planning yours.”

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