“No,” she said breathlessly. “I’m saving this relic you call an outfit. Who knows what that drink might do to the fabric.” Let alone your body’s ability to perform in tomorrow night’s game.
She glared at him and dabbed at her wet cheek and collarbone. The liquid smelled fruity. Apple-spiced whiskey, perhaps? Bold choice.
“Are you trying to get me to notice you, Tina?” he asked, leaning a bit too close. His deep, rough growl was like dirty sex, ripping the oxygen from her lungs. “Falling on me… petting me.”
How did he always manage to make every room feel so hot? Chadwick Mullens was the true cause of global warming.
“I’m wearing heels, Chad. I never wear high heels. I mean, I do sometimes. But not very often, because they can be really bad for a person’s feet.” She cleared her throat, telling her nerves to take a hike. His flirting was not personal. He used it as a universal get-out-of-jail-free card, and she was impervious.
You hear that, uterus and other lady bits? Impervious.
“I’m wearing heels tonight, and I forgot when I got off this stupidly tall stool which is incredibly unstable.” She gave the seat an angry flick and, as though to prove her words, it tipped over, knocking into Daisy-Mae Ray, the team captain’s girlfriend.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Athena scurried to retrieve the seat, cringing as Daisy-Mae eyed Chad, then mouthed to her, “Are you okay?”
She nodded quickly as Chad brushed her side, reaching past her to right the stool with one strong hand. He set it at the bar and gripped Athena’s elbow, ready to help her climb onto her perch again. “Join us?”
She took in the row of men. They’d all turned to see what was happening behind them. Noting they’d gained her attention, they swiveled away, their shoulders angled as though hiding something. She leaned over the bar to peer at the whiskey glasses sitting in front of them.
“Are you all drinking tonight?” Unable to help it, she gasped in outrage. “No wonder you boys can’t grab a win. You’re not following my diet plans at all!”
“Don’t tell Athena,” one of the men down the way muttered. Others chuckled under their breath.
She was a joke. The uptight, no-fun, uncool mother hen.
That hurt more than it should.
Her margarita arrived and she sucked back a mouthful of the lime-green slush, then set the glass down when the sudden cold tightened her temples. If her team didn’t want to win, why should she care? Why was she working harder for their goals than they were? They earned their millions whether they won or lost.
Another drop of Chad’s drink dribbled down her cheek, and Athena licked the side of her mouth. Apple-something for sure. Hard to tell, as it was a bit watered down from the melting ice.
Truly, what did it matter? Chad was boozing it up as if her degree in nutrition and dietetics was a farce.
He offered her a fresh napkin, batting his lashes and, if she didn’t know any better, looking surprisingly chagrinned.
She snatched it and dabbed at her face. “If y’all don’t want to win, then what’s the point of me even trying?”
He shot her that devilish get-out-of-jail-free smile.
She balled up the napkin and tossed it at his chest. “Know what, Chadwick Raul Mullens? Joke’s on you because I quit.”
“Don’t quit.” Mullens snagged Athena’s arm, preventing her from storming off.
Irritation flickered in her hazel eyes as she glanced pointedly at his hand. He released her.
“We’re not worth it,” he said.
“I know.”
“Then why-”
“I do my best to avoid expending energy in exercises of futility.”
“I love it when you use that sexy vocabulary of yours.”
“Chadwick…” Her tone held a warning.
Why did it wreck him every time she used his first name? Nobody called him Chad, and nobody but the government and medical professionals ever referred to him as Chadwick.