Page 149 of The Rookie

Cassie shakes her hand without hesitation. "Nice to meet you. I’m Cassie."

When Brielle turns to me, her gaze sharpens slightly, her perfect smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"And you are?"

"Avery," I say, forcing a polite smile and taking her hand briefly.

Griffin doesn’t miss a beat. "Cassie’s best friend," he says smoothly, his tone neutral.

But the way his eyes flicker—just for a second—tells me otherwise.

Brielle tilts her head, glancing between me and Griffin like she’s trying to piece something together. "Oh," she says lightly. "That’s nice."

She shifts closer to him, her body language possessive, her hand still on his arm.

And as I sit down across from them, my stomach tightens, the heat from Griffin’s gaze still lingering on me.

Because for all her perfection, all her smooth edges and polished charm—she’s not me.

And Griffin?

He knows it, too.

The table is a flurry of motion and conversation—Cassie laughing at something one of the guys said, Brielle leaning too close to Griffin, her manicured fingers lightly brushing his arm.

I try to focus on anything else, sipping my drink, but my eyes keep darting back to Griffin.

It’s ridiculous how different he looks now—more composed, more refined, more…man.

And it’s infuriating how my chest tightens every time I catch him looking at me.

"You know, you’d fit in great with the team," one of his teammates says, flashing me a grin as he leans in, his voice low. "Smart, funny, gorgeous. You’ve got the whole package. And you look great in that dress.”

I laugh lightly, keeping it friendly. "Careful. My best friend might have some thoughts about you hitting on me."

Cassie raises an eyebrow at me from across the table but doesn’t comment, too engrossed in her conversation with another guy.

Meanwhile, Brielle shifts closer to Griffin, her voice dropping into something syrupy sweet. "So, Griffin, do you bring your whole team out every weekend? Or is this a special occasion?"

"Special occasion," he mutters, his gaze flickering to me. “Home game victory today.”

I take another sip of my drink, trying to ignore the way my heart hammers in my chest.

"Wow," I say softly, finally meeting his eyes. I search for some profound thing to say to him, but I’ve got nothing. "You look so different."

He smirks faintly, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah. You too."

There’s a beat of silence, the sounds of the club fading into the background.

"We’re pretty much strangers now," he adds, his voice quieter, lower.

My stomach twists, the weight of his words settling in. "Just two strangers at the club," I say, forcing a lightness into my tone that doesn’t match the way my heart is racing.

But then, my eyes catch on a tree just beyond the balcony, its leaves swaying gently in the warm breeze.

"Leaves are, um, still green this time of year," I murmur, my voice barely audible.

I can’t look at him, can’t read the expression on his face, but I feel his gaze on me like a physical weight.

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