Page 30 of A Dark Duet

We enter and Jason places his hand on my lower back, and I let him. He leads us to our seats close to the players below. Some players pass and recognize Brie and me from the club. They stop and smile, looking at Jason and Jace, the popular duo, and the stars of the team.

The game starts and the Ravens have the lead just after halftime. Brie and I cheer when there is a key play that has Jason scoring, we rise and cheer him on as he runs with the football toward us with the camera following us on national television. He runs up to the edge of the stands and gives me a kiss on the cheek and throws me a jersey with his name on it.

Jace throws the game ball at Brie and blows her a kiss, and the crowd goes wild cheering. We smile and the camera is on them while they dance on the field. The game is a win for the Ravens, with many highlights aired on TV. The energy is from the win as we head out of the stands, meeting Jason face to face.

“I came to get you so we can go hang out after.”

“Where?” I ask.

“We go with some players to this sports bar where there is dancing and music.”

I look at Brie, and she clearly wants to go, so I decide to agree “Okay.”

He gets excited and carries me playfully on his back to his truck after his shower. He smells clean and all male as I hold on to him around his neck as he grips his hands on my thighs.He places me in his truck, and we all head over to the sports bar he mentioned.

When we arrive, most of the team is there with other professional athletes who play sports to celebrate the big win. Brie and I laugh as we take two shots, the last one almost goes down the wrong way and I cough, laughing with Brie.

We dance to the beat of the music as the alcohol does its job, taking away the last month of grief and heartache. It wasn’t like he was my boyfriend or anything, telling myself we don’t owe each other anything. So why does it hurt? I don’t know about anything anymore, but I hate feeling this way. My life has just been about loss lately and the grief of losing the ones I care about.

Brie and I are dancing and suddenly I feel a hand come up from behind me to circle my waist. Brie smiles behind me, letting me know it’s someone familiar.

I turn my head to the side and it’s Jason, and I smile at his friendly embrace. He doesn’t come up behind me too close, which I can appreciate. I sway to the music, having a great time as Jace dances next to Brie, having a good time, reminding me of old times when we would all hang out at my parents’ farm.

We dance for a while and need to take a break. Looking at Jason, I lean in toward his ear to tell him that Brie and I are going to get a drink of water. The alcohol has me feeling dizzy. He smiles and nods, releasing his light hold on me. We make it back to the bar and I order water. I look over at Brie and her eyes go wide, looking over my shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I turn my head to the left and freeze.

Standing right next to me is Nate with a murderous look on his face. Brie stays silent, but Nate gets closer to me with the latest marks on his face from his last fight. I can see a cut on his lip and slight bruising on his right eye, looking like it hurts. His hands rest on the bar as he looks at me and he sneers.

“Seems like you’re having a good time,” he says.

I can still feel the pull of desire only he can make me feel. I wonder how he knew we were here tonight. I seethe in rage that after everything, I can’t believe he feels entitled to talk to me this way in his sarcastic drawl.

Smiling and showing indifference, I decide to answer. “Actually, I’m having a great time.”

I turn to Brie, giving him my back as I sip my water. She looks nervous. “Let’s go back,” I tell her.

When I go to leave the bar, he blocks my path and I look up at him. His eyes take me in, looking at my chest and down to my shorts. “What do you want, Nate?”

He sucks in a deep breath and rubs his hand through his hair. “Look, I want to talk.”

“There is nothing to say. You have had plenty of time to reach out to me and you have obviously been busy with your little groupies. You were very clear about what you wanted when we last spoke and I did what you wanted. I took care of it, like a big girl.”

He steps closer, giving me no room to leave or breathe. “Are you fucking him?”

My eyes go wide. “Really, Nate? Are you kidding me right now?”

“Tell me.” He leans close to my ear and whispers, “Does he make your pussy wet like I do? Because if he has touched what’s mine, I’m going to break his fucking face.”

I pull away even though my pussy is so wet with the scent of his cologne, the memory of him filling me, making me scream his name while I came undone in his arms.

“Nate, you can’t just come around and break his face because he likes me or touches me. It doesn’t work that way.”

I see Jason come up behind him. “Is everything okay, Giselle?” Jason interrupts.

I smile at him. “Yeah, Nate was just saying hi,” I say.

Nate turns and looks him in the face. “I was just seeing how my girl was doing,” he sneers.

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