Page 23 of Play It Off

I nod. “I value him. He’s not just a teammate to me. He’s also one of my best friends.” And I don’t have a lot of those.

It’s her turn to remain silent, and I want to squirm in my seat for how long she lets it go on. I’m this close to saying I might’ve made a mistake when she finally speaks.

“Apparently you value him more than me.” Blowing out an irritated breath, she plucks the straw out of her drink and downs it until there’s nothing left but ice. “You’re an idiot, Gavin. You have a willing woman sitting directly in front of you, yet you’re pushing me away because you’re scared. You’re nothing but a scared little boy who never commits to any woman because ... why? You don’t want to tie yourself down? Are you afraid something better might come along if you do?”

“That’s not it at all—”

She talks right over me. “You’re an idiot, Gavin Maddox. Worse than that, you’re blind. I think we’re perfect for each other, but you can’t see it. And that’s a damn shame.”

I watch in silence as she grabs her phone off the table and jumps to her feet, then turns her head, her attention seeming to zero in on something. Someone. I glance over my shoulder, but all I see is an endless crowd of people.

“There’s Everleigh. Oh, look at that. She walked in with Nico, of all people. If anyone is afraid of commitment, it’s that guy, so I’d love to hear what’s going on between those two.” She starts walking but stops right next to my chair, and I tilt my head back. She’s sneering at me like I disgust her, and I assume I do. “Thanks for the drinks,Gav. Hope you have a great night.”

She leans down and kisses me. Right on the lips. It’s far too brief, and my hand automatically reaches for her as if I have no control, but she’s gone before I can touch her. Strutting away from me and leaving behind a fucking mess.

Me.

Finishing off my beer, I stand and head over to join the rest of my teammates, sliding into the booth and sitting on the edge of it since it’s already crowded. Coop seems to be having the time of his life, which is not normal. Not that he doesn’t know how to have fun, but he’s not one to drink when we go out. Usually he sits there and watches over everyone like he’s our dad, making sure we don’t do anything too outrageous.

Did he spot me and Sienna sitting together? Did he witness his sister kissing me before she walked out? Fuck, I hope not.

“What’s your problem?”

I glance up to find Nico standing in front of me, a full-blown scowl on his face. “What do you mean?”

“You look like someone ran over your dog.” He jabs his thumb at me. “Scoot over.”

“I’m already sitting on the edge and about to fall out of this fucking booth.” I stand, glancing over at the table I abandoned only a few minutes ago to find it’s occupied.

By Sienna and Everleigh.

“Those two are looking cozy,” I mutter, annoyed. More at myself than anyone else.

Nico turns his head, watching Sienna and Everleigh, and a fond smile stretches across his face. “I think it’s great. Everleigh doesn’t really know anyone here, and Sienna is always complaining there aren’t enough girls in our friend group. I’m glad they seem to get along.”

I stay quiet. Mulling over everything Sienna said to me, her words on repeat in my brain. And I definitely can’t forget the way her lips felt on mine, even though the kiss was way too quick. Those sexy lips were plump and soft, and I immediately wanted to grab her. Pull her down into my lap and devour her. Didn’t care if we had an audience—my impulsive nature was ready to get it on.

Clearly, my impulsive nature is also a total jackass.

“You have a problem with them getting close?” Nico asks, his irritated voice invading my thoughts.

“What? No, of course not. Why would I have a problem with them being friends?” I chuckle, but it doesn’t sound right, so I shut up.

“I don’t know. You’ve always been kind of weird when it comes to Sienna.” Nico’s gaze narrows. “And she’s weird about you too.”

That’s just fucking great. I thought no one noticed our interactions, but I guess we’re more obvious than I thought. “We’re friends.”

“Uh-huh.” The doubt in Nico’s voice is strong. If he had suspicions about us, why didn’t he ever bring it up to me before? “She says the same thing.”

“Then we’re in agreement.” I need to change the subject, and fast. “What about you and the new roomie, hmm? You liking her?”

“Sure.” He shrugs, playing it off as his gaze goes right back to her, lingering. Shit, I’d recognize that look anywhere. The dumb fucker probably likes her. “She’s nice. A little bossy.”

“Bossy? Like how?”

“She’s trying to get us to eat better, for one thing.” Part of their agreement with Everleigh was that she would cook them meals and they would reduce her share of the rent.

“And that’s a problem why? Coach would love that.” Our entire coaching staff would praise her for trying to fix our bad eating habits. We try to do good, but look at us. Currently drinking beer when we should be watching our calorie intake. We suck.

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