Page 79 of West Bound

“Here you are, sir.” The driver pulls out our luggage and I hand him a fifty, then go to open the door for my girl.

“C’mon, Peaches. Let’s get you into the tub.” I toss my leather bag over my shoulder, grab the handle of her suitcase, and take her hand in mine to lead us inside.

The last two nights we were lucky enough to be staying at a different hotel than the team, but this time didn’t work in our favor.

We enter the lobby to see a few of my teammates waiting at the counter. Tuck turns just as we walk in and waves.

“Nix! What’re you doing here, man?” We step up to him and he gives me a back pat then turns to give Vivian a hug.

A very quick hug.

“Uh, just here with my girl. Did she not tell you I was here?” I look at Vivian and she shrugs while Tuck shakes his head.

“I wasn’t sure if I should say anything,” she whispers almost like an apology.

“It’s okay, baby. Nothing to worry about.” I tap her chin with my finger and kiss her forehead. “Let’s get checked in.”

“Hey. You guys free for dinner tonight? Philo, Cisco and I were going to leave in about an hour,” Tuck asks.

“What do you say, Peaches? Hungry?”

“Always,” she purrs with a wink.

“Uuuh, nevermind. You two clearly have other plans.” Tuck start to back away but Vivian reaches out and grabs his arm to stop him

“We’d love to join y’all for dinner. We’ll meet you down here in an hour?” He nods at Vivian then walks off.

As we reach the counter we have the unfortunate luck of running straight into Manny. The dude still looks like ground up meat, so I’m surprised he even showed up. Philo told me he and Rami are on the disabled for eight games. They may have gotten a couple of extra days for being jackasses.

“What are you doing here, West?” My name drips from his mouth with disdain. Honestly, I hold nothing but a deep seated hatred for him, so it doesn’t bother me in the least.

“Excuse us.” Vivian pushes past him to the front desk and doesn’t even give him a backwards glance.

“Don’t worry, asshole. I’ll stay far away from you and you stay far away from my girl. Simple as that.” If I could see his eyes from behind the sunglasses he wears inside, I’m positive he’d be shooting fire at me.

His lip curls with a snarl and he’s yanked away by one of our teammates. I’ve come to learn that Manny isn’t well liked by everyone, and Rami quickly landed himself a spot on the shit list when they heard what he said about Vivian.

Apparently, she was made an honorary teammate years ago when she was first assigned to report on the games. She’s cool as shit–and ridiculously hot–so the guys all took to her spunky personality and sassy mouth. So when Rami and Manny made those nasty comments about her, the guys took it upon themselves to let them know where they ranked in the clubhouse; just below the ball boys.

“Hello,” Vivian greets the clerk. “Reservation for Vivian Kel–”

“Actually,” I interrupt. “The reservation should be under Arizona East.”

She scrunches her face and looks at me with a WTF written all over it. I may have forgotten to tell her that I registered under a different name to avoid stalker fans. After the bride-to-be in New York, I make sure to give them my alias and inform them that only people who ask for that name can have access to me. Besides the team, my sister, mom and Anais, no one else knows.

It may seem like a lot, but most of the guys have an alias they list. Especially if they have family traveling with them. The paps always find out where we’re staying, but the name is a deterrent when overzealous reporters try to weasel their way into our suites. And trust me, it’s happened before.

The clerk types away at her computer and I say to Vivian, “I’ll explain when we get to the room. But remember that name and share it with no one.”

She gives me a confused nod and we take our cardkeys and head off for our room. I check my watch and note that we may have just enough time for a quick round of shower sex.

“Nuh uh. I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Vivian says, cutting into my thoughts. “We do not have time for that.”

“We’ll see,” I tell her with a wink.

And wouldn’t you know, fifty-eight minutes later, we’re running into the elevator to meet the guys downstairs.

“Thanks for dinner, guys. It was fun.” Vivian gives Cisco, Tuck and Philo a small hug to thank them for inviting us to dinner as we reach the lobby.

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