Page 80 of Vegas Heat

“I’ve been in the application process for an internship with the Heat formonthsnow. It’s incredibly competitive and they’re only taking six interns this year. I’m vying for the final spot with hundreds of other applicants, and you walk in and your dad just hands it to you?” He sounds angry, and I feel bad that he sees it that way.

“I’m sure I didn’t take the final spot,” I say. “I think my dad sort of created a new position for me to slide into.” Shit. I’m not sure that makes it any better.

My phone dings with a new text. I pull it out just in case it’s Cooper.

It isn’t. Surprisingly…it’s Justin.

Justin:A couple of the other interns and I are heading out for beer. Want to join?

I stare down at the text.

“What’s that?” Mia asks me first.

I clear my throat. “One of the other interns asked if I want to join a group of them for a drink.”

“One of the othermaleinterns?” she presses, and Dylan simply huffs.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, Justin is male, but it’s not like that.”

“Sure it isn’t,” she says, a wide grin on her lips like her teasing is going to distract me from the real issue at hand here.

“It isn’t,” I say flatly.

Mia’s brows knit together as she raises a shoulder. “Maybe it isn’t, but Cooper doesn’t have to know that.”

I flatten my lips. “You think I should use my new friend?”

“I didn’t say that, exactly,” Mia says a little defensively. “But I didn’t not say that, either.”

“I’m not going to use someone I just met to make Cooper jealous. It’s juvenile.”

Dylan is surprisingly quiet during this exchange. He always seems to have an opinion.

“You’re right. Sorry for mentioning it. I just know that if I saw Dylan hanging out with some other girl…I’d be jealous. I’d do something about it.” She settles into Dylan’s side and he draws her in a little closer.

I’ve been so wrapped up in Cooper that I didn’t even realize Mia and Dylan had gotten as serious as they have.

I suddenly feel like a third wheel here. I decide to text Justin back—not because of what Mia is suggesting, but because it can’t hurt to get to know some of the other interns.

Me:Name the time and the place.

He writes back with the details nearly immediately, and I punch in the location to maps. It’s only a ten-minute drive, and it’s on the way home to my dad’s house, which makes sense given its proximity to the ballpark. I let him know I’ll be on my way shortly.

“I’m going to meet them so you two can have your date night,” I say.

“Yeah!” Mia says, punching a fist into the air. “She’s going for it!”

“I’m not going for it.” I purse my lips together. “I’m just making friends with the other interns so I don’t feel so alone.”

“You’re not alone, Gabs. You always have me,” Mia says, and she gives me a hug.

I appreciate her words, but she’s got Dylan now, and he’s commanding her attention just as Cooper commanded mine for the few weeks I knew him. And it’s fine. It’s as it should be, so I’m just doing what I have to in order to find my place in this new routine.

And if making Cooper a little jealous is a byproduct of that…well, that’s on him.

When I get to the bar, I spot Justin right away. He’s hanging out of a booth, and he waves me over with a wide smile. I slip into the booth beside him, and he introduces me to the other interns. “This is Gabby,” he says, and then he points to his left. “This is Chase.” He points across the booth at the three on the other side. “Brian, Mackenzie, and Chloe.”

I wave as all four names go in one ear and out the other. They all have drinks in front of them at various levels, and there are a few empty glasses in the middle of the table. I wonder how long they’ve been here.

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