Page 53 of Throwing the Curve

“I’ll be right there, babe,” Andy told her. “I’m just chatting with my teammates.”

The blonde straightened up and stared around the table.

“Jesus,” Smitty muttered quietly beside him. It was like seeing a predator who’d caught a scent.How the hell did Andy go from Peyton to that?

“Oh my god, you’re Ryan Graves,” the blonde gushed. “I just love you.”

Shoving away from the table, Andy pushed so hard the drinks shook on the surface. “I’m done here.”

Ryan could practically feel the animosity coming off Andy in waves. Maybe he knew what Rayne was talking about after all.

“Just a second,” blondie said. She flicked a glance at Andy before focusing back on Ryan. Blondie leaned forward, putting her ample rack on full display for the table. “You’re so much cuter in person.”

“Thanks, but as you can see, I’m with someone.” He wrapped his arm fully over Peyton’s shoulder.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind.” The blonde chewed on her bottom lip in a practiced move as she continued to stare at him.

“Really?” Peyton growled at the woman.

“Let’s go,” Andy snarled as he grabbed the blonde’s arm.

She teetered on her feet and giggled when she stumbled into Andy. She looked up at Andy and licked her lips. “Alright, Simon, what do you say we get out of here?”

Andy looked at Peyton, then back at the blonde. “Sounds good.” He turned, taking the blonde with him and held up his hand in a wave. “Later chumps,” he called back to their table.

“He’s such a douche,” Smitty said as Andy and the blonde walked away.

Rayne wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I’ll just say it again, Peyton. Ew.”

“Yeah, I have no excuse. He’s umm… yeah, ew.” Peyton shook her head. “I have no words. All I can say in my defense is he was apparently on his best behavior when I met him because believe me, I would never have given him a second look if that had been the person I met.”

“Unfortunately, that asshole is the only one we’ve ever seen,” Gonzo said. “Not to be dick, but you don’t seem like the normal girls he goes for. So, I’m gonna have to give you the benefit of the doubt that he had to be different with you because otherwise it doesn’t really make a hell of a lot of sense.”

“Agreed.” Kendall scrunched up her face. “He’s gross and you’re great. Good riddance.”

“And on that note, I’m going to take off.” Rayne reached behind her and unhooked her purse strap from the back of the chair. “I have an early class tomorrow and a full day, so I need to get some sleep.” She turned to Peyton. “You coming with me or—?” She looked at Ryan over Peyton’s shoulder.

Peyton glanced at him, then turned back to her friend. Ryan held his breath while he waited for her to answer. He really fucking wanted her to stay but wasn’t sure where she was at with things. They hadn’t ever discussed nights like this. There was a big difference between hooking up at her place and going home with him after getting to know his friends. “I’ll catch a ride with Ryan.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed her knee in agreement.

Peyton leaned over and hugged her friend. “Call me tomorrow?”

“Will do,” Rayne replied. She stood up and looked around the table. “It was really great meeting you all."

“You too,” Ryan said. Shit, now that he knew Peyton had stayed with him, he really wanted to get out of here and take her back to his place. How long did they actually have to stay?

Chapter Eleven

After about twenty minutes, Ryan had had enough. Sitting beside Peyton was driving him crazy. He set his hand on her knee and gave her a little squeeze. She turned and looked at him. “You ready to get out of here?” he asked.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. It was a long day.”

“No problem.” He turned to the rest of the table. “We’re out. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the airport. Ken, good luck on the new campaign.” He nudged Peyton to slide off the bench.

She exited the booth, then smiled at the group. “Enjoy the rest of your evening. Good luck at the next game.”

“Night, Peyton,” they all called.

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