Page 18 of Nash

“Really?” he asks.

“Really,” I say. “Have a good time though. Wear protection.”

“Yes,Dad,” he says, dragging out the word and looking like he just got a lecture from his father before he heads out of the locker room.

“Where are you staying in?” Lawson asks.

“Reese said she’d be at Clay’s suite where some others are hanging out,” I say, picking up my bag and heading out of the locker room, the guys following me. “So that’s where I’ll be.”

“And she’s just a friend, huh?” Pax says with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“We haven’t officially called each other friends yet,” I say as we head out of the arena. “But we’re working up to it. You know she loves to fight me every other second.”

“Friends who make out,” Lawson says. “Definitely nothing wrong with that, right, Pax?”

“Guys,” he groans. “For the millionth time, I have never made out with Monroe. Not that I wouldn’t…ugh,” he says, shaking his head. “She’s my best friend. Like, I’ve-known-her-for-forever best friend. Even if I wanted to…there’s a whole lot of risk involved. I can’t lose her.”

The seriousness in his tone definitely kills the playful mood, but I give him an empathetic look. “We know,” I say. “We’re just fucking with you. And hey, if you ever do decide that the risk would be worth it, you know we’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” he says as we climb the team bus that will take us back to the hotel.

Clay splurged for a suite, like always, and opened his doors for anyone who wanted a chill, safe place to land for the night instead of flocking to the bars. For a grumpy asshole, he’s certainly generous.

I drop my bag off in the room I’m sharing with Lawson and then head up a few floors to Clay’s.

There are already at least twenty people here, mostly Badgers and their plus-ones for the night. It only takes me a quick scan to find Reese on the balcony with Blakely and Monroe, the trio of beautiful women laughing at something one of them said.

And fuck me, Reese’s smile is breathtaking. Like, literally, the breath in my lungs disappears for a few moments as I head toward her, unable tonotwalk that direction. She looks gorgeous in leggings and a Badger’s jersey—not mine, of course—but it’s her smile that has me practically salivating.

Okay, that could also be her banging body, becausedamn. Her slight curves are just too damn delicious. I want to palm her ass in my hands, want to sink my teeth into her inner thighs right before I sink my tongue into her pussy.

Whoa. That escalated quickly.

I do my best to ground myself before I head out onto the balcony, not wanting to be showing off a hard-on, but damn, she definitely gets me going.

“This a girls-only party or can I join?” I ask.

“You can always join,” Blakely says, grinning at me as I head over to Reese.

I slide an arm around her waist, leaning in to plant a kiss on her forehead like it’s the most natural thing in the world. There isn’t a camera rolling, which is probably why she’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, but I don’t care. I’ve always been someone to act on instinct and every instinct in my body is screaming to give her the attention she deserves.

“You played so well tonight,” Reese says, a slight flush on her cheeks from the greeting I gave her.

“Thanks,” I say, shrugging. “We all did. It was a hell of a fight.”

“You’ll get them next time,” Monroe says.

I nod. “Absolutely we will.”

“Oh there’s Pax,” she says, then nudges Blakely. “And Lawson. Let’s go see what they’re up to.”

They wink at Reese—not subtle at all—before leaving us alone on the balcony.

“What were you three laughing about before I came out here?”

Reese turns to lean against the balcony railing, the California air not brutal in January like it is in Maine. She smiles up at me, tilting her head. “Why?” she asks. “Afraid we were talking about you?”

I smirk down at her. “Never,” I say. “Though, with how much you’re probably thinking about me, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

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