Page 78 of The Closed Off Captain

Warmth works its way through my body at their defense of me. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“Gunner, did you take care of it?” Amber demands, staring him down.

“Chloe won’t let me go near her.” He crosses his arms across his chest.

“Of course, I won’t. We’re trying to make this whole thing go away. The second you go face to face with her, it becomes a nightmare. Donottalk to her,” I tell him, staring him in the eye.

“I almost forgot how scary she was,” Bri whispers.

“She’s not scary,” Sebastian defends me.

“Aw, thanks, Hart,” I say with a smile.

“She’s just intense,” he adds a moment later, wiping my smile away.

“Hey now.”

Before I can say anything more, Gunner steps in. “She’s why we’ve garnered the attention we have.”

“Right. It has nothing to do with your talent and winning games,” I laugh.

“Seriously, Chloe, you’ve done an amazing job with our team,” Sebastian says.

“Yeah,” Rico agrees. I even see Aiden nodding his head, and my heart fills with gratitude.

“Thanks. Anyway, she seems to have backed off. I think she finally gets the point. And we won’t have to do this whole thing,” I point between Gunner and me. “...a whole lot longer.”

Silence falls around the room for a moment. It’s not a comfortable silence; it’s a weird, charged silence. Wanting it to end, I add, “That way, Gunner can get back to his life.” I look around the table and notice that all three guys are looking at Gunner. I'm not the kind of person to not deal with a problem head on, so… “Whyare you all looking at him that way?” When nobody says anything, I turn to Gunner. “What?” He's sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his muscular chest. It’s the universal sign a male gives off when he’s not happy.

“Maybe Gunner doesn’t want to stop doingthis thing.” Sebastian grunts when Stephanie elbows him.

“Maybe Gunner can speak for himself,” Gunner says, leveling a look at Seb.

Sebastian just grins. “Right, Cap.” He stands up and stretches. Stephanie stands up next to him. “You ready to go, Beautiful?” he kisses her cheek and pulls her into his side.

“Yes, after I help with cleanup.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Bri says, waving her off.

“We’ve got it,” Aiden adds.

As if on cue, Riley starts fussing. Rico and Amber begin the process of buckling her into her car seat. Sebastian and Stephanie start their goodbyes, and Stephanie surprises me by giving me a hug. “It was good to have you here tonight.”

“Thanks, Stephanie.”

That’s it; but it’s enough. Amber gives me a wave and calls out a goodbye as she and Rico hustle out the door. Then it’s justGunner and me and Brielle and Aiden. Gunner and I stand up at the same time and start cleaning off the table. “I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back. Don’t worry about picking up; I’ll get it when I get back.”

Not one of us tells the pregnant woman that we’re going to help anyway, but that’s what the three of us do. Aiden and Gunner are quiet as they clean, and I’ve run out of polite conversation questions for the night. We make quick work of clean up. Thankfully, it was all paper products for the night, so pick-up is a breeze. I wipe off the table with a sponge, and Gunner dries it when I’m done.

“You guys,” Bri says when she comes back. “I told you not to worry about cleaning up. Thank you,” she says as she stands on her tiptoes to kiss her husband.

And that’s my cue to get going. I head to the door and slip my shoes back on. My stomach rolls a little, and I decide I’m ready to be home and in bed for the night. I am exhausted after this weekend. It will be good to sleep in my own bed.

We say goodnight and head out. “Do you want me to catch an Uber, so you don’t have to drive all over creation? Again.” Gunner gives me a skeptical look. “Okay, never mind.”

It's silent as we begin the drive to my house. I put my head against the seat and reflect on the night. It was actually a good night; I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. And the girls were all really nice to me. It’s not like we’re besties now or anything, but it wasn’t terrible. My stomach rolls again, and I put a hand on my stomach, trying to think through what I ate. Hopefully, it will pass quickly.

It doesn’t pass, and my stomach is full-on cramping by the time I get home. Gunner, who was mostly quiet on the drive, turns to me. Before he can say anything, I open my door. “Thank you for a great night and good weekend, Coftman. And thanks for driving me everywhere. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I don’t givehim a chance to say anything as I reach into the backseat and grab my bag. With a quick wave, I close the door behind me and make a beeline for the front door. In my haste, I drop the keys but finally get the door unlocked. I drop my bag and purse and head straight for the bathroom. Before I can get there, my phone rings. I almost don’t answer it, but when I see Brielle’s name, I swipe for the call.

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