Page 29 of Here Be Dragons
And with that, Dylan stomped out of the restaurant.
"You are a fucking bitch."
Jason turned and high tailed it out of the restaurant after Dylan as Ava yelled "You said that already!" to the retreating owner.
Then she turned started to walk back to her table with the other players continuing to stare in shock. Her cheeks were a little flush but other than that, she seemed collected and calm. It was almost like it was just another day at the office for her.
But it was not just another day for Shane. He reached over, gently grabbing her arm, and watched as her eyes looked down at his hand and then up to his face.
"You OK?"
She gave him a genuine smile, one she had only given him when they were alone together these past few weeks. It was jarring to see it in public like this, to see it in front of other people. It felt weird knowing that her brother and the other players could see it as well. But Ava didn't seem to care.
"I'm fine," she said reassuringly.
"Don't think about that guy again," Shane replied. "He's a nobody."
"Oh, he's actually a somebody." She leaned in closer. "He's the jerk who lost to me."
She winked at Shane, actually winked at him, in public in front of all these people they knew. He was so stunned that he barely registered her arm slowly sliding out of his grasp as she sat down and finish her eggs. Behind her, Shane could see Jack looking down at his sister with awe and amusement. He looked up at Shane with a smirk and shrugged, wordlessly admitting "Yeah, my sister is a badass," before sitting down to finish breakfast.
Shane took it as his cue to walk away and eat his breakfast. Ava didn't need him to stand guard for her anymore. Although really, Ava never needed Shane to stand guard for her. She was, in fact, a badass.
Chapter Ten
Ava packed up the last of her toiletries and dropped them into her suitcase just as her phone beeped at her.
You alone?
She took a deep breath and quickly typed out a shortyesthen paused and stared at the screen. What did it matter if she was alone? What was she expecting from the man who sent her that text? But she had to stop over thinking it so she just pressed the button. The text was gone now, out in the air. There was nothing she could do about it except wait for a reply from Shane Taylor.
Her mind wandered back to breakfast this morning and the way Shane stood up for her. She didn't need him to, of course. She could totally handle the situation was that jerk of an owner on her own. But she would be lying if she said she didn't mind watching the whole thing unfold for a little bit. Sure, she liked being the one to have the final word and win the battle against Jason Stewart. But there was also something hot about Shane standing up for her -- literally, standing between her and that idiot.
But then her battle instincts kicked in and Jason had no chance against her. Hell, Shane had no chance of standing in her way either. And the way he looked at her after that confrontation? If other people weren't there, if it were just the two of them, she would've had no problem stripping off every thread of clothing he was wearing at that moment.
Ava checked her phone again. Still no response from Shane. She wondered why he even sent her a note in the first place then. What was the point of that?
She opened the closet door to make sure she got her suits and shoes out. She once accidentally left a pair of Louboutins in a hotel in Miami and never saw them again. It was a bummer.
Then she heard a quiet knock on her door and opened it slightly to see Shane on the other side.
"Hey," he said quietly.
She quickly moved out of the way to let him in and closed the door behind him. It had become their "thing" since they started whatever they started a few weeks ago. This time, however, he was pulling a suitcase behind him. It was just another reminder that this was a final thing for them.
There was another difference too. The last few times he snuck into her room like this, she would usually greet him by pushing him up against the wall and kissing him hard. But not today.
"Hi."
She tried to say it as casually as possible, but she wasn't sure she succeeded.
He gave her a small smile and turned to check out her room. It was the one they had shared some intimate moments in the past few days -- and some not-so-intimate ones. She remembered the night she told him about the men she had beaten over the years and the night he told her about coming up in the minor league to finally get a place on the Cleveland Dragons. The sex had been great, sure, but it wasn't just about the sex.
He nodded over to her suitcase. "So you're all packed up too?"
"Yep," she said. "Ready to finally get out of here and go home."
"Yeah, time to head home."
