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“You thinking what I’m thinking?” He leaned a little out of the window.

“Might be a perfect time to ask her,” I said, starting my Jeep to turn on the heat.

“Good, we are on the same page,” he said, leaning back into his car. “Let’s see if she agrees.”

We rolled up our windows and Hunter left first. I let my car warm up a little before leaving, giving Hunter a chance to get there first before I arrived. It felt easier to let people think we still had issues because I didn’t want anyone catching wind of what was happening.

I arrived at the bar and it looked tiny from the outside. If it was a small bar, there was a chance it was going to be packed, and I hated when we were packed in like sardines. The moment I opened the door my assumptions were wrong. It was an enormous space that had pool tables, darts and a huge bar in the middle.

I immediately saw Valencia. She laughed at something one of the Bobcats had said. She threw her head back, letting go of a big laugh. Her curls were plopped on the top of her head with a few strands framing her face. The blue in her hair was more noticeable and it was starting to fade to a lighter shade.

A flare of jealousy hit me that one of the guys had her attention and made me wonder if she had had any relationships with one of their guys. She seemed comfortable with them, but she was like that with us too. I didn’t know why I was getting jealous, she wasn’t mine, but the prospect of what Hunter had suggested had me feeling a little possessive.

The door behind me opened, making me move towards the group. I spotted Hunter talking to one of the Bobcats and some other people were playing pool with Webber and Clark.

“Hey, you made it!” Valencia spotted me first.

“Hey,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

“Gomez, this is Cory Thompson, he’s a forward on the Bobcats,” she said, and we shook hands.

“Nice to meet you, man,” he said with a friendly smile. “You're the rookie, right?”

“That’s me,” I said, trying not to grumble about it.

Being “the rookie” always sucked because everyone shoved advice down your throat…

“The first year is always the hardest, but once you get the hang of it, it’s good,” he said, taking a sip of his drink, looking at Valencia.

“Yeah, that's what I hear,” I said, scrutinizing him.

He was looking at Valencia too much with an occasional glance at her tits. The caveman feeling came back, and I wanted to say something to him.

“Come on, let's introduce you to the other guys,” she said, grabbing my arm.

“Hey guys, this is Gomez and this is Dean Hayes, Dominik Mikelson, and Landon Sinclair,” she said. The guys came up to shake my hand.

“Damn, dude, what took you so long to get here?” Clarke said, leaning on his pool stick watching Webber take his shot. “We got a pitcher of beer if you want a glass.”

“He’s too young for alcohol.” Hunter’s deep voice came from my left.

“I’d rather be too young than too old,” I snapped. “You probably drink and feel it for days while my metabolism is nice and new. Perks of being young.”

“I rather?—”

“Damn, guys, can you not bicker for once?” Webber came up to us. “If Romeo was bisexual, I would say to fuck it out.”

Thank fucking god the lighting was dim, I could feel myself get red.

“He wishes I would fuck him.” Hunter rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I think I definitely would want to see that,” Valencia said, raising her eyebrows at us.

“Shit, me too,” Webber said, holding his hand up for a high five that Valencia gave him.

“Fuck you guys,” I grumbled. “I’m going to go get a drink if anyone wants one.”

“I’ll come with you,” Dean said, as the other guys shook their heads no.

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