Page 68 of Rematch
“She probably has more pictures of her dog on her phone than you do of Lennon. And Blake has more than her,” Ainsley joked.
Erika shoulder-bumped the other woman, but it was clear they were friendly enough that the teasing rolled right off. Chelsea liked both women very much, and she appreciated the efforts they were taking to make sure she felt welcome.
“Oh my God. That is the sweetest dog ever,” Chelsea gushed sincerely, grinning at how adorable the tiny little thing was, nestled in Blake’s arms.
“Right? I swear they should put her picture on cans of dog food,” Erika said. “And Lennon should be the next Gerber baby.”
They all laughed. Allyson handed Chelsea a glass of wine, then lifted the two cans of beer she got for her and Ethan. “Going to go deliver this. Something tells me I’m going to need ALL the beer tonight, because Ethan only has a million and twelve things he needs to tell me about the Stingrays and the arena. Stupid me, I thought he’d covered it all the last time we came, but apparently he hasn’t even scratched the surface.”
“Lift your can when it’s empty and we’ll keep the alcohol flowing,” Ainsley offered.
“You’re my girl,” Allyson said, giving Ainsley a sideways fist bump so she didn’t spill the beer before returning to Ethan.
“So no baby or dog pics on your phone?” Chelsea asked Ainsley.
“God, no. I’m in the same boat as Erika. Coulton and I are in the very beginning stages of our relationship. We haven’t even been an official item a month yet, and we only started living together at Thanksgiving.”
Chelsea tried—and failed—to school her expression because damn…who moved in together right as they started dating?
Ainsley smirked. “You can say what you’re thinking, because I know that’s hella fast. The shacking-up together thing was a combination of my necessity and Coulton’s relentlessness.”
“He decided she was the one and never looked back,” Erika said. “It’s super-romantic. Blake was the same way. Once he decided I was the one, there was no stopping him. One minute, I’m living across the hall, the next, he’s smuggling all my clothes out and hanging them in his closet. Preston’s ways are rubbing off on the rest of the guys. All except for?—”
Ainsley and Erika looked at each other, saying, “Tank,” in unison before cracking up. “Oh…and Victor,” Erika added.
Chelsea recalled Preston mentioning Tank and Victor, as well as her mom’s comments about professional athletes. “Preston mentioned there were a lot of women…”
“Puck bunnies,” Erika said, crinkling her nose. “The Rays have a fair amount of female groupies who hover around the fringes, hoping to catch their eye. Luckily, our guys don’t pay them any attention anymore.”
Chelsea got the sense she was included in that “our guys” comment. Then something else Erika said came back to her. “What did you mean, when you said Preston’s rubbing off on Blake and Coulton?”
“The guys seem to be following Preston’s lead. Coulton met Ainsley and never questioned from that day on that she was the one for him. You know that all the guys call Preston ‘Romeo’, right?” Erika asked.
Chelsea nodded. He’d confided that their first night together. “He calls himself a hopeless romantic.”
“Not so hopeless anymore,” Erika said. “Now that he’s finally found you again.”
Again with the word finally. Chelsea didn’t know how to respond to that. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Erika exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Ainsley. “Um…I’ve already had two glasses of wine tonight. Maybe I’ve spoken out of turn.”
She appeared sober as a stone.
“What did you mean when you said it was ‘finally’ nice to meet me?” Chelsea’s curiosity was getting the better of her.
Erika sighed. “Now I know I’ve said too much.”
Ainsley smirked. “Well, it’s too late now. When Coulton and I started going out, he filled me in on all his teammates, telling me little things about them and their lives. He told me Preston had met the woman of his dreams at a holiday party last Christmas, and that he’d been hung up on her ever since. That was you, right?”
Chelsea nodded, somewhat dumbfounded. “Hung up on me?”
Erika pursed her lips, then apparently decided there was no point in shutting up now. “He hasn’t gone out with anyone in a year. Not since he met you.”
Chelsea’s mouth fell open, shock kicking in. Preston had sort of alluded to that…she supposed. Telling her he’d missed her, that he thought about her all the time. But to eschew all women when she knew he had an abundance to entertain himself with? That couldn’t be true.
Could it?
“Damn. As if I needed another reason to be a Preston Jacobson fan.”
