Page 41 of Bad Teammate
I let out a sigh.
“Swearyou won’t tell anyone?” I whispered at long last.
Their eyes lit bright.
“I swear,” Emma said.
Austen raised her hand as if making an oath. “I swear, too.”
“Okay then.” I gestured for them to come sit even closer. With the three of us in a tight huddle, I spilled the story of my kiss with Derek last night. They wanted every last detail, even though there weren’t many to share.
“I knew it. Iknewit!” Emma whispered.
“This is so great,” Austen said. “You played it perfectly by ending the kiss early, too. He’s been thinking about you all day, I guarantee it.”
“I swear, I didn’t plan it like that …” I swallowed. “But why did you ask about me and Derek, Emma? What have you heard?”
“I haven’t heard a word,” Emma said. “Although, Ididcatch you two eye-fucking theshitout of each other earlier.”
“Emma!” Austen squealed, and we exploded into another fit of laughter.
“Okay, to be totallyhonest,” Emma added, “Jackwasacting a little strange earlier after his round of golf today. He came home looking all nervous, and he started talking about how Reavo needs a girlfriend, that a steady girl would help keep him focused on the things that matter, blah blah. I asked him what had happened, but he said nothing happened. But Jack’s also got this terrible poker face—he’s just a terrible liar. So, yeah, I kinda figured something strange was up.”
“Really?” I buried my face in my hands. “Great. It’s starting to look like everyone already knows. This is not good at all.”
“Why not?” Emma asked.
“BecauseI’m only here for seven days! And I live inRussia,for God’s sake! This is crazy. No good can come from this. Besides, Sasha will lose his mind if he finds out.”
“You wanna talk about crazy?” Austen countered.“When I first met Dane, I thought I hated him. My job at the time wasliterallytrying to get him traded off the team. You think either of us thought for a minute we’d end up together?”
“When I met Jack,” Emma added, “he was hiding in Bayfield. He was retired from hockey and didn’t want anyone to know he was a former athlete. He thought he’d never play hockey again. Point being, you never know. If you fall in love, your life can changerealfast.”
“Fall in love?” I murmured.
No way. Impossible.
“Wouldn’t they be so cute together?” Austen asked Emma. “We need to help make this happen. Got any ideas?”
They began brainstorming ideas—mostlyjoking—on how to guide me and Derek together. They were so giddy and excited, and it was a sweet game they were playing, but I had to protect myself and safeguard my heart.
“You guys …” I stammered my way through a halfhearted speech, outlining the need to stay cautious and skeptical and not get ahead of myself. We’d only shared a kiss, after all, and I was here for a limited time. Webarelyknew each other at all, and besides, Derek had a reputation for doing this kind of thing, didn’t he?
But they countered with their sunshine-and-roses optimism about how we’d be such a hot couple. Their enthusiasm was so infectious they began to break me down, and I found myself getting secretlyswept up in the hype. The fact that they kept replenishing my glass with more wine might have played a part, too.
We hung out on the balcony for what felt like hours, sipping wine and talking and having a blast, until the sun began to sneak behind Dallas’s skyline. My first sunset in America was one I’ll always remember: wispy purple clouds hung in the sky like cotton candy, their bellies splashed with a lovely swirl of lilac and tangerine and gold by the setting sun. The street-lights flickered to life as the day slowly turned to night.
By the end of it, we’d traded phone numbers and started a super-secret group chat which could be used to communicate and strategize. Again—mostly joking. But I could tell the girls truly wanted to stay in touch, and were pulling for the impossible between me and Derek.
Our spirited talks suspiciously died as soon as the sliding door opened and Jack and Dane joined us on the balcony. Jack cradled a sleeping Mackenzie in his arms.
“Hmm.” Dane stroked his chin, eyeing us warily, as he took a seat next to Austen. “Hath, is it just me, or did it get awfully quiet as soon as we came out here?”
“It’s not just you. What are we talking about out here, ladies?”
We giggled.“Nothing.”
“Uh huh. Sure.” Careful not to wake Mackenzie, Jack sat next to his wife and gave her a kiss.
