Page 62 of Fair Catch
Leo waggled his brows, tossing an arm around me while I made an effort not to snort. I sipped my water instead — at least, until another shot was slid into my hand under the table.
The guys shielded me from view of the bartenders and security guard, and I took the tequila down quickly, trying not to wince as I thanked the upperclassman who’d provided it.
“What about you, Novo?” Clay probed.
“Are you asking if I’ve ever had a threesome? Because I think we all know the answer to that,” I deadpanned, earning me a chuckle from the guys.
“Well, then tell us something else. Where’s the dirtiest place you’ve ever done it?” Clay waggled his brows, leaning over the table like I was about to tell him the biggest secret in the world.
I wrinkled my nose. “Done it? You sound like a twelve-year-old.”
“Avoiding the question, I see,” he commented, and I didn’t miss how he winked at Zeke, who was watching him with a murderous glare.
I tilted my head, but Zeke just looked away and chugged his water. I also noticed he hadn’t taken a single shot tonight, hadn’t so much as sipped a beer.
He still doesn’t drink…
I didn’t know why that warmed my chest, but didn’t have time to process it before I was being probed again.
“Come on, give us something,” Leo said. “Let me guess — movie theatre. The woods. Public bathroom!”
“Ew,” I said, shaking my head as I assessed them. “That’s disgusting. People actually want to get banged by a dirty toilet?”
“Not necessarily,” Leo said. “Sometimes it’s on the dirty toilet. Or bent over it. Or—”
Holden elbowed him in the ribs, snuffing out the rest of that sentence and his next inhale. “Ignore them, Novo. You don’t have to answer their stupid questions.”
“Hey! She’s one of the guys now,” Leo defended, like that should have made me feel better.
Then again, being one of the guys was better than how I’d started the season, that was for sure.
I let out a puff of a laugh through my nose, eyes on the edge of my glass where my fingers traced the sweat, and I blamed the tequila running through my system for what I said next.
“I don’t know, I guess I haven’t really ventured into exhibitionism. I’m not the most…” I shrugged, meeting their gazes. “Experienced.”
Zeke’s eyes snapped to mine then, and there was something dark in them, something I couldn’t identify. His brows bent together so fiercely the line between them was deep enough to hold water. Every part of him tensed, from his jaw to where he death-gripped his water glass.
Was he… mad? Disappointed?
Curious?
Whatever it was, it disappeared as quickly as I’d noted it, and then Holden stood and knocked on the wooden tabletop. “Well, I know one thing — none of you are banging in a bathroom tonight.”
“Speak for yourself,” Leo teased, nudging one of the guys next to him.
Holden shook his head. “I’m heading out. Behave,” he warned, pointing a finger at Leo, but his eyes trailed us all. “And don’t be late for the bus in the morning. Coach will have all our asses. And if I have to run laps thanks to one of you, you better believe the punishment I rain down will be worse.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Clay mocked, popping out of his seat and saluting Holden as he passed. When he was gone, Clay turned his serious expression into a grin that split his face as he reached for my hand. “Let’s dance.”
I was tugged off my barstool before I could laugh or argue, and I didn’t mind — especially not with the alcohol buzzing warm and low in my system. I let Clay lead me out to the middle of the dark, packed dance floor, and followed his lead.
He mostly goofed around, and I followed suit, meeting his running man dance with a grocery cart shopping one of my own. He was whipping out the finger guns when more of the team joined us, some of them bringing girls with them, others finding a girl once they made it to the dance floor.
Lights flashed overhead, the bass thumping heavy in my chest as the DJ switched up the song. The already-full dance floor was like a pack of sardines now, bodies moving against one another whether we wanted to or not.
Clay stood close, barely touching the spot between my shoulders from time to time just to let me know he was there. And in the middle of all my teammates, I realized I felt… safe. Taken care of.
Like I had nothing to worry about.
My hands drifted up overhead, eyes closing as I swayed my hips and let the music move me. That last shot had pushed me over the edge, and I savored the feeling of being drunk for the first time in longer than I could remember as I danced and danced and danced.
