Page 38 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

Alex

“I didn’t know this was your room,” I say, pushing Allie back as she practically tries to hump me. “I was helping Raine to her room. I guess she’s next door to you.

Allie whips around to look at Raine. “And who is Raine?”

“Raine Laghari. She’s a friend of Sophie’s from Chicago.” I take another step back from Allie as she tries to put her arm around my waist. “Raine, this is Allie Williams—another friend of Sophie’s—but I’m forgetting how you know her. College?”

“My last name is Williamson,” Allie says, ignoring Raine’s outstretched hand. “And Sophie and I worked together at a PR agency right after college. I don’t blame Alex for not remembering, since I told him that right after we had sex.”

“Wow,” Raine says, taking a step back into her room. “That’s my cue to disappear. It was nice to meet you, Allie. Thanks for your help, Alex. You two have fun.”

“Raine, wait,” I say as she slams the door.

I grab Allie’s arm and pull her away from Raine’s room. “What the hell, Allie? You know I’m a private person. Don’t say shit like that, especially in front of people you don’t know.”

“Alex,” she says, laughing. “It’s not like everyone doesn’t know we’re dating—”

“We’re not dating. How many times do I need to tell you that?”

“Okay, then hanging out, but we did have sex and I’d like to have more of it—a lot more.” I block her as she tries to hug me again. “Why are you mad at me? You’re hurting my feelings.”

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I say, letting out a long breath. “And I’m not mad at you, but I told you last week, I’m not looking for a serious thing.”

“Neither am I,” she says as she grabs a beach bag out of her room and slams the door. “I’m headed down to the pool. Walk down there with me and say hi to the girls.”

“I need to go to my room and get ready for the party.”

“It’s a pool party,” she says, pointing to my swim trunks and then linking her arm through mine. “You’re already ready. Come on, you were mean to me. This will make me feel better.”

“Fine,” I say, sighing as she starts pulling me toward the pool.

I glance back at Raine’s door as we turn the corner. Maybe Rosa was right about me being too nice. I’m probably going to need to do something about that.

* * *

“Where were you this afternoon?” Manny says as I walk across the pool deck to a group of my teammates. “We looked for you to play golf.”

“I headed over to Seb’s place and helped them pick up some of Sophie’s friends from the airport.”

“So you’ll do favors for anyone except for me apparently,” Caroline says, glaring at me. “If Cece were here, I wouldn’t have been a golf widow all afternoon.”

“Caroline, you need to get over the Cece thing,” Manny says. “And I wasn’t gone that long. You weren’t even here when I got back.”

“I told you I went shopping,” she hisses. “You’re going to lose a lot of money on this trip. When I get bored, I spend.”

“You spend all the time—bored, excited, in your sleep,” Manny says. “One of these days I’m going to quit playing and you’re going to have to learn to live within a budget.”

Caroline rolls her eyes. “So Seb can give little Sophie an all-expenses-paid wedding at an exclusive Caribbean resort for a hundred of their friends and family, but I have to work within a budget?”

Manny rubs his hands over his face. “I’ve told you, it’s not a competition. And Seb makes way more than I do—”

“Way more than all of us do,” Jack says. “All of us combined. And y’all need to lighten up on Sophie. She’s cool.”

Jack’s wife, Casey, grabs his arm. “Jack has a crush on Sophie.”

“I don’t have a crush on her. I’m just saying, you could lighten up on the rookie hazing. Maybe invite her to one of your Wife Wednesday happy hours or something.”

“Jack,” Caroline says, “the title has “wife” in it for a reason. We don’t accept random girlfriends. They come and go like the wind.”

---