Page 4 of In The Game

She’s got those bedroom eyes down pat.“Are you?”

“Starving.” I place our orders and get a few pizzas for the table. After Amy leaves, there’s a break in conversation that my dumb ass fills.

“Soooo, do you think bears play in the deer’s meadow?” Halfway through the sentence, I laugh at my own stupidity, and she joins in.

“Points for originality. You have a really nice smile, Bear.”

“So do you.” I’m sure she’s a bunny based on the heavy flirting and the way she keeps touching my thigh, but she’s also hypnotizing. Maybe I’m just a sucker for pretty blonde women. “Is there a reason you were named after the capital of North Carolina?”

“That’s where I’m from.”

I wondered if she was from a southern state. She has a faint accent, but it’s only recognizable with certain words.

“You’refromRaleigh?”

“Yeah.”

“No.”That’s a joke, right?“You’re Raleigh fromRaleigh?”

She cringes and shrugs. “Easy to remember… and one of the many reasons I went away for school. Hating my name is part of the reason I love learning about other ones.”

“I don’t hate your name. Raleigh is beautiful year-round.”

Her eyes dance and her mouth drops open, then she nudges me. “See! That was way better than your deer’s meadow thing!” She holds her hand up for a high-five and then I thread my fingers through hers.

“Okay, let’s put your knowledge to the test. Our captain, Lee Sullivan?”

“That’s easy. Meadow.” She further explains, “So the name Lee comes fromlaye, which was a term used in the fourteenth-fifteenth century to mean meadow or clearing. So Rah-lee, Lee… meadow. But Sullivan means dark eyes. Do I get bonus points?”

“Yes, you do, good girl.” I smile. She’s gorgeousand smart.“Okay, you’re right, that was too easy. Um… Lonan—what’s that mean?”

“Black bird.”

“Bullshit, how do you know that?” I whip out my phone and check her answer. She’s right.

“When I meet someone with a new name, I look it up, remember?”

I nod in understanding. So sheknowsLonan…

“I met him last year.”

“I see.” Annoying, but I can get over it. “Youmethim.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. Just disappointed I didn’t meet you first.” I don’t like sharing, but I’m okay with stealing. It sounds like they are old news anyway.

“Better late than never, right?”

Before I can say anything else, our pizzas show up. Her eyes grow big looking at the food.

“Sorry sir, this one got a little done on the bottom,” one of the kitchen runners apologizes to Jonesy, who shrugs and takes a slice from one of the other pizzas. After the server leaves, Sullivan lifts the corner of the pizza to reveal a crust blacker than a hockey puck. He laughs, and Banks looks irritated. He raises his hand to send it back—and probably make some unfortunate server cry.He can be such a dick sometimes.

“Dude, don’t.” I shake my head.

“What? It’s burned through. You know the cheese on the top isn’t supposed to be that color, right?”

“Send it down this way, I’ll eat it. I like my cheese well-done,” I say.

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