Page 50 of Chips & Checks
Rather than adjust the stand, Viktor brings his mouth down to the mic almost like he’s going to give it head. “I have been training for this since I was four years old. I’m a legacy. My father was the dad of the team, but nowI’mthe leader. I’m the new dad, orDaddyif you will.”
A few tables over, Viktor’s parents—Molly and Noah—stare in open-mouthed mortification. Knova slashes her hand across her throat. Viktor blows her a kiss. She responds with a beating-off gesture, then holds up her arms in a big X.
“I’d like to thank Dante for acknowledging how great I am,” Viktor ploughs on. “I had lots of help getting here, including the support of my beautiful wife, Knova.” He gestures toward her. She’s sliding down in her seat and digging through her purse in search of something. Maybe an airhorn. Or a really sharp fork. Viktor’s not even talking about me, and I’m still dying a little on the inside. Vivian is frozen in shock, but Knight is fighting so hard to swallow his laughter that he has tears running down his cheeks. Or maybe he’s just crying for Viktor’s dignity. I guess we’ll never know.
“Out of all the magic Dante has brought back to this team, I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m the biggest get. But don’t worry, fellow teammates. As your ongoing team captain, I promise—”
Knova taps a button on her phone screen and starts blasting “Closing Time” from the speakers. She hustles up to the podium,grabs his arm, and drags him back toward their seats. The applause is louder this time, presumably because we’re all glad that someone had the good sense to put a stop to Viktor’s speech. Dante claps. We all clap. Viktor refuses to sit down and instead bows extravagantly to the room.
“I have secondhand embarrassment,” I whisper to Bowen.
He whispers back, “Just for the record, my ego would never be that big, and I’d have the sense to listen to you. I mean… if I were in a relationship, which I never, ever will be.”
Of course, we won’t. We’ve agreed on that. But for once, I wish he’d stop bringing it up all the time. I laugh softly, but the amusement dies quickly. Bowen’s trying so hard to remind us both that he doesn’t do relationships, yet every time he says it, it feels more like he’s trying to convince himself. Or maybe I’m just hoping. Especially since his gift of the stool has already proven that he’s willing to bend his list of relationship rules.
And maybe that’s the part that hurts the most—because if it were just sex, I could protect myself. If it were just casual, I’d be fine. But that stool? It wasn’t casual. And neither was sending Eric to check on me. Or the way he stood between me and Chad like a human shield. Or the fact that he showed up, again and again, like it was his job to protect me even when it wasn’t.
That’s not hookup behavior. That’s something else. And the worst part?
It’s working.
My heart is unraveling in front of a man who doesn’t want to catch it. Every look, every touch, every inside joke is just tightening the thread—and I’m too far gone to stop it now.
So I smile. I laugh. I pretend I didn’t just feel a crack form where I’ve kept myself safely walled off.
Because we’re not in a relationship.
Because he’ll never be that guy.
Because I said I wouldn’t be that girl.
And because if I let myself believe otherwise for even a second, I’ll forget how to survive the fall.
Chapter Twelve
Bowen
After the team dinner, I invited Cam, Tristan, Knight, and Viktor over to my new condo, along with Lenyx, Violet’s brother, and Owen Strickland, our broody goalie. Sofia and Knova are here as plus-ones, and Violet’s here, too. In my mind, it’s as a coworker that I care about as a human being,nota plus one. Because we’re not together. There’s no plussing going on here. This is a group function with my coworkers, one of whom happens to be a beautiful woman whom I’ve had sex with twice. No need to look any deeper into that.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
But to everyone else, we’re dating. We’retogethertogether.
This was meant to be a celebration, but after Viktor’s, uh,interestingacceptance speech, the mood is a bit grimmer than I’d anticipated. He finally seemed to have picked up on the fact that he put hisentire foot in his mouthat dinner, and that he runs the very real risk of sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future. Even Knight, who can see the silver lining in most things, does little to hide his annoyance.
Why Dante has a hard-on for Viktor Abott when Knight Hale is the obvious better choice to lead the team, I’ll never know.
It was, therefore, an uncomfortably silent troop of guests that filed into my condo for its inaugural party. So much for a housewarming event. The mood here is frostier than a Dairy Queen deep freeze.
“I need a drink,” Knova announces as she stalks toward the sofa. “I will take literallyanythingat this point.”
“Babe—” Viktor trails after her.
“Ah, ah, ah.” She whirls on the spot, holds her hand in front of her mouth, and pinches her fingers together in a sharp gesture that indicates some definite lip-shutting. “Less talking. More… not talking. God, I can’t believe you said all that shit.”
“It came out wrong,” Viktor whines. “You know I love the team.”
Violet and I exchange a look. “Any chance you want to give me a tour?” she whispers.
