Page 31 of West Bound

“Be lucky it wasn’t your dick. Rami, I’ll be back.”

I step around Phoenix who is still hobbling around and give him just the tiniest bump, causing him to tip over like a pine tree. Unfortunately, he only falls to the bench. But I’ll still take it.

A wins a win, no matter how small.

CHAPTER TEN

PHOENIX

“Can’t Tame Her” - Zara Larsson

“That…” The words I want to blurt out die on my tongue, knowing that mom would kill me if she knew I’d called a woman a crass name.

I look over at Rami who’s laughing his ass off.

“Bro. Sh-she’s saucy. And she really doesn’t like you,” he chokes out. “How did you make an enemy so quickly? You’ve only been here for four days.”

The roll of his laughter grows louder and we start to draw a crowd.

“She has a chip on her shoulder,” I grunt out between my teeth, finally feeling relief from the pain shooting through my foot.

Cisco, Philo and Tuck make their way over to us and plop down on the empty benches.

“What’s so funny? We saw Vivian storm off. You piss her off again, Nix?” Philo asks.

“Oh bro. She stabbed his fucking foot with her heel and said he was like h-her-herpes.” Rami is back to laughing so hard, tears are rolling down his cheeks.

Cisco snorts and Philo wisely covers his mouth with his hand. Tuck, on the other hand, pats my shoulder and says, “at least it wasn’t your dick.”

“That’s what she said!” Rami’s cackles now have him folded over in hysterics and I want more than anything to punch his teeth in. But I gotta pitch in two nights and I can’t afford an injury because my first baseman is a jackass.

I watch the guys laugh as Rami gives them a detailed playback at what just happened between us. Apparently Rami was moments away from asking Vivian to go home with him when I interrupted their little tête-à-tête.

While they guys trade stories about Vivian and her feisty demeanor, I watch her push her way through the bodies packing the dance floor. Her dress clings to her body, really highlighting her petite frame and once again, that ass. And as much as I like to put on a show, her attitude is a total fucking turn on.

I don’t remember this version of Vivian back in college. Back then she was sweet and shy and maybe a little awkward when it came down to flirting. I now know it was because she was a virgin and not playing hard to get like most girls her age.

Vivan disappears down a darkened hallway that I assume leads to the restrooms, and something in me takes over.

“Be right back,” I say to the guys.

They give me a small acknowledgement but don’t stop swapping their thoughts on everything from Vivian’s perfect toes to the way her ass looks in a specific pair of jeans.

I move through the crowd, only getting stopped by a couple guys and narrowly missing a woman's attempt to “bump” into my dick. I brush her off to her friend and push quickly by. There’s a line for the women’s restroom while the men’s allows them to flow in and out easily.

I tuck myself against the wall leading to an emergency exit, and wait for a flash of red to catch my eye.

I keep my head down and pretend to scroll through my phone in order to avoid making eye contact with any of the chicks waiting. I can feel the heat of eyes boring into me, but I don’t dare lift my head. My eyes are pointed downward, but I’m focused on what’s happening in my peripheral, just like I’m trained to do.

Minutes pass when I finally see a streak of long red hair move by me. Before she can get too far, I grab her hand and pull her behind me.

“Hey! What the–” she protests.

I push the exit door and just like I predicted, no alarm blares like it warns. I’ve got the door opened and her outside, leaning up against the wall faster than she can finish her sentence which I’m sure goes something like, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing”.

My foot is wedged between the door and the frame to keep from locking us out, but unless you’re really looking, no one will notice we’re out here.

I rest my arms on either side of her face and look down into blazing green eyes that stare up at me with fury roaring inside of them. Her hands lay flat against the cold exterior of the club and I can see her chest’s rapid rise and fall with each frustrated breath she takes.

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