Page 55 of Keeper
“No shit? Then I vote he can stay with us, too. Come sit with us, Mr. Goalie!”
“Yeah, come sit—and maybe we’ll let you shoot one in our ‘five-hole’!”
“OH MY GOD, LAUREN!”
“I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds extra raunchy …”
I grimaced. “Sorry, girls. Maybe next time.” I pulled the curtain shut.
I went from booth to booth, but the result was always the same. Each booth I didn’t find her in meant my odds of finding her dropped. By the time I half-heartedly opened the last curtain, I’d already known I wasn’t going to find her in there.
Trying to get my spirits up, I went for a walk around the rest of the club—the bar, the dance floor—my eyes sweeping left and right as I hoped to find her.
And I think I saw every girl in DallasbutAinsley.
“Tanner! Tanner!”
The girls grabbed and groped at me and shouted obvious innuendos as I walked past. After my big win, it was clear that the single ladies of Dallas werenotgoing to let the number one star of the game go home empty handed—I had my choice of the girls at the club.
But … the one I really wanted wasn’t there.
Fuck it,I thought.This is hopeless.
Cooper didn’t know what he was talking about—Ainsley wasn’t here, and there weren’t any signs to follow in the first place. I wasn’t going to see her again, and you know what? I was starting to be okay with that. I was giving my run-in with Ainsley alittletoo much credit for my slump-breaking victory, anyway.
I headed to our VIP club room to join the rest of the boys.
“Is she here, Vaughnsy?” Reavo asked.
I poured myself a stiff drink. “Nope.”
The boys grunted encouraging words.
“The night is still young,” Hathaway said. “She might still turn up.”
“Maybe she will, maybe she won’t,” I grumbled.
“Well, maybe you won’t findtheCinderella,” Parisi said. “But how aboutaCinderella? I had a look around and holy smokes, Vaughnsy—this place is crawling with bombshells tonight!”
I forced a smile. “You said it.”
“Câlisse,” Parisi swore in French, “after the game you had? I don’t think these girls will be blue-balling you again tonight!”
“I sure hope not,” I said with a snicker. “I just want to have a good time tonight, fellas. This is the first victory in two months I feel like I’m actually a part of, y’know?”
“Don’t worry. It’s the first of many,” Dane said as he stood and raised his glass to the room. “To the beginning of Vaughnsy’s new streak—a hot streak!”
“To Vaughnsy!” everyone roared.
We touched glasses and everyone drank.
Yeah, hot streak,I thought, the vodka going down my throat like nails.
***
The night got later, the married guys and the family guys headed home, and the rest of us bachelors got deeper into the bottle. Since we had the day off tomorrow, we could let loose. I was having a blast—but, strangely, the boys were convinced I was in a weird mood and kept asking me if I was okay.
“Of course I’m okay,” I snapped. “I know you all think I’m obsessed over some girl from Kansas, but I’m not. I barely know her. I’m not trying to marry her or have babies with her.”
