Page 72 of Cocky Player

We were halfway through the second episode and I was two glasses of wine in when Elizabeth leaned forward, popped a grape into her mouth, and wiggled her brows.“So, whatisgoing on with you and Connor?”

I froze.Gaze slid to Shannon.She shrugged.“I can’t keep a secret to save my life, not with these girls.Plus, I’m totally curious, too.”

She was completely unapologetic and I twisted the stem of my wineglass between my fingers.He hadn’t told meIcouldn’t say anything.And he loved his teammates.But this wasn’t something I really wanted getting out before I could tell my own family.And with Dad gone for the next week and a half, there wasn’t a lot of time to do that.

“We’re seeing each other.Sort of.”

Always.That word again.It flickered through my brain with Connor’s deep, rumbly voice.We hadn’t actually promised anything.Nothing concrete was said.

Three curious expressions gaped back at me, expecting more.But I wasn’t used to spilling secrets and thoughts and dishing about love lives like everyone else did with ease.“I like him,” I admitted.“A lot.And I think he feels the same.”I stared at my wine and swirled it.Chewed on the inside of my cheek.“I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to guys though, and Connor, well…he’s intense.I’m afraid of being swept up in his shadow, I guess.”

“Oh girl,” Elizabeth said.“I think we’ve all been there.These guys are larger than life.”

“And bossy assholes,” Shannon added.“Jerks.”

“Protective though, too,” Paige said, with a soft smile and then glared at Shannon.“And they’re notallassholes or bossy.Some are really sweet.”

She flipped up her hand.“Please.I don’t need to knowanythingabout how Beaux and you are.”

Paige snickered and rolled her eyes, returning to me.“How’d you two meet, anyway?At work?”

A handful of memories of our first night together rushed through my mind.The dance floor.That look of his as he watched me dance from the balcony.Whisking me to the back room.It felt like forever ago and yesterday and my cheeks flushed.I took a sip of wine.How much could they really be trusted with?How much should I share?

“Glitz,” I finally said and took a sip of wine.“My friend Gina and I went there a few weeks ago.”

“And Connor picked you upthere?”

I thought back to how I’d seen him, hands curled around the railing, gaze so intense once I felt it before I saw him.I remembered the way I smiled at him, how he nodded and then later, how he joined me.“Actually, I think I did the picking up that night.”

Elizabeth snorted.“Thatta girl.That’s the way to do it.”

“How would you know?”Shannon asked.“You met your husband at a sex club, blindfolded I might add.”

I spit out the sip of my wine I’d just taken into the palm of my hand.“What?”

Oh my gosh.The heat on my cheeks burned to the tips of my ears.

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said.Glanced at the television like she too was remembering her first encounter with Gage.Her voice went liquid as she said, “That was a good night.Areallygood night.Besides.”She tossed a grape at Shannon.“You first met Oliver at Glitz too…andmade out with him at a team party.”

“I just wanted his dick.”

Paige made a choking sound.“I don’t need to hear that.”

I was dumbfounded at their blunt honesty and yet Paige kept quiet.Maybe it was because she was quieter than the others anyway.Maybe it was because she married Shannon’s brother.“How’d you meet Beaux?”

“I was waiting tables at Ride ’Em Rough, you know the place?”

“Where the guys hang out.”

“Yeah, Beaux said something stupid and I dumped a pitcher of water on his head.”

“You did?”I laughed.From what I knew of Beaux he was everything the way Paige described him.Playful and fun.He was the quintessential nice next-door All-American guy with a smile for everyone.

“What can I say?”She shrugged and grabbed the remote, leaning back into her chair.“He can be a jerk, too.”

We turned back to watch the show, and I did it smiling.I might not have shared a lot.Barely anything compared to them, but their openness showed me one thing, I could trust them when the time came and I needed friends to lean on.

Twenty-Five

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