Page 38 of Second-Rate Superstar
Giving him a side-eye, I grumbled, “Traitor.”
Hannah bounced in her seat. “New girl gang member, coming in hot!”
“Slow it down, Hannah. She’s not into athletes,” I explained. “She’s made that crystal clear.”
“What? Is she crazy? Who wouldn’t want an athlete?” She used her fingers to tick off the points of her counterargument. “They’re hot as hell. Um, hello, muscles from working out for a living. They’re rich. They know how to fuck and have stamina for days.”
Hannah might be a fully-fledged member of Natalie’s “girl gang,” but she seamlessly transitioned to being one of the guys on a moment’s notice. I suppose it came with the territory of growing up a living legend’s daughter and being raised in rinks across the country. That girl could talk any man present under the table over hockey, my brother included. Smirking,I could only imagine Jaxon’s toddler daughter, Charlie, turning into a miniature version of her honorary aunt Hannah.
Cal returned with two shots, which she downed quickly. Slamming a shot glass on the table, she pointed at me. “After all I went through to get one? And she’s not interested? Who is this girl? Give me her phone number. I’ll set her straight.”
Benji Mills, the right winger on the line with Jaxon and me, took an open seat at the table. Taking in Hannah practically breathing fire, he asked Cal, “What did you do to rile her up this time?
Holding both hands up, Cal protested, “Wasn’t me. Braxton did it.”
Chuckling, he took a beer offered to him. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”
Hannah gestured wildly with her hands. “Braxton says a girl isn’t interested in him! Or athletes at all! Can you believe that nonsense?”
“If I explain, will you let it drop?” I groaned.
She pursed her lips. “Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on if it’s a good reason or not.”
Here goes nothing.
“Her roommate is sleeping with Levi.”
Those words were met with silence from the group. Then, collectively, their heads turned to the corner, where the man in question had his hands up a busty woman’s too-short skirt. Yeah, I’d seen that show before, unfortunately.
Jaxon whistled. “Well, that explains the fight. Levi’s screwing around behind the roommate’s back, and your girl knows about it.”
“She’s not my girl!” I shouted. “How many times do I have to explain that?”
“But you want her to be.” His brown eyes held mine in challenge.
“Of course I do.” Heaving out a breath, I gestured wildly with my hands. “You’ve seen her. She’s beautiful. And it’s not just that. She’s got this spark.I can’t explain it.” Thinking of Dakota brought a smile to my lips. “But someone hurt her. An athlete. I thought for a minute it was Levi since he’s been a real dick to her and her roommate—who, for the record, knows he fucks around on her. She claims it’s not him, but I can tell she’s scared to trust. And I don’t know what to do with that when she initially bolted for the door the second she found out what I did for a living.”
Jaxon smirked before taking a pull from his bottle. Swallowing, he mused, “You know what I did when a girl with trust issues ran from me?” His grin grew wide. “I married her.”
Hannah chimed in. “You conveniently forgot to mention the part where you knocked her up first.” She pointed at me. “Don’t do that.”
I scoffed. “That’s not even possible with her keeping me at arm’s length. But thanks for the advice.”
“Hmm.” Hannah twisted her lips. “It sounds like you need people on your team.”
The table gave a collective groan. All bets were off when this group—the ladies, especially—decided to form teams. They were expert matchmakers.
Looking around, Hannah asked, “What? As long as no one is on Team—” She frowned, realizing she didn’t have a name to go with the other team. Spinning her hand, she waited for me to supply one.
“Dakota.” There was no stopping the Hannah crazy train once it left the station. It was best to just buckle up and see where it took you.
“Right.” She nodded. “As long as there’s no one on TeamDakota, we have this in the bag. All of us working together on one team? It’s almost unprecedented. No way we can lose!” Hannah patted my hand. “Don’t you worry, baby boy. We’ll get you your girl.”
It grated on my nerves that she always referred to me as the “baby” of the group. While it was technically true, seeing as I was twenty-two when mostof them were in their thirties, it only served to remind me that I was on the fringe, a tag-along member of their massive group with lots of history.
Cal threw his arm around Hannah’s shoulder, kissing her temple. “We didn’t need teams for me to land you.”
Hannah snorted. “No. What we needed was for you to get drunk enough to record a voicemail declaring your undying love for me.” She patted his cheek as if he were a child.
