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I can impress Mrs. Lu and Ms. Martin and earn my position atGriffin Sports.
New life, I’m about to conquer you.
Chapter 5
Adrian
Fuckingshootme.
If I have to listen to another rich, middle-aged man tell me about how many houses he owns and how many wives he’s had, I might throw myself off the balcony I was on earlier when I tried flirting with a gorgeous brunette. Nothing but gibberish came out of my mouth, the same thing that’s been happening for the last three months. Whenever I try to turn on my charm with a woman, I end up making a fool of myself.
Self-sabotage has taken on an entirely new meaning. The worst of all. I, Adrian Romana, don’t know how to talk to beautiful women anymore without sounding like I’ve never spoken to one before.
I would like to figure out why this keeps happening, but I can’t do that with Archibald Whatever-His-Fucking-Last-Name-Is filling my ears with garbage.
“I bought Anna a little cottage in Italy,” he informs me.
“What a lucky woman,” I say, barely keeping the snort at bay. Gabriel nudges me, and I glare down at him. Archibald doesn’t catch the sarcasm in my voice and continues to rant about his fifth wife.
Thank fuck, he turns to the two people beside him after another minute to start the story he just told Gabriel and me all over again.
I practically run from him before having to hear it again.
“You know these people sponsor our team, right? They give us money so we can, you know,race,” Gabriel reminds me as we make our way toward where Valentina is standing with my date for the evening, James Landon.
If I can’t find someone to take to these events, I always take my best friend. He doesn’t seem to mind either because he accompanies me every time. I’m glad, too. He always makes me laugh after mind-numbingly dull conversations.
“I understand, but do you understand that men like him make me want to punch my head through a wall?” I ask, making Gabriel chuckle beside me.
“Why? You didn’t enjoy the story about the day he went skinny dipping in Mykonos?” I scrunch my nose up in disgust.
“Not particularly. I didn’t enjoy picturing him naked.”
“No one told you to,” Gabriel says with a snicker.
“Are you telling me I’m the only one who instantly pictures things people tell me?” I challenge, but when he walks away after giving me a strange look, I panic a little. “Wait, am I?” I rush after Gabriel, too scared another old dude will tell me things I don’t want to know.
“Hi, mon tournesol,” Gabriel says as he wraps his arms around Val and leans down for a kiss.
“Hi, mon soleil,” she replies a second before his lips meet hers.
I step in front of James, bat my eyelashes, and say, “Hi, mon tournesol,” mockingly.
He matches my energy immediately, replying, “Hi, mon soleil,” before puckering his lips for me. I burst into laughter, clapping him on the shoulder.
“Ah, thanks, mate, I needed that.” I wipe the tears of laughter from under my eyes to see my sister and teammate frowning at me. “Oh, relax, we’re just teasing,” I say and poke Valetina’s side, making her giggle before she smacks my hand away and scowls. “God, you’re spending too much time with Leonard. You really mastered the angry face.” She tries not to smile and fights against it, but it’s useless.
She grins before nuzzling into Gabriel’s chest. He kisses the top of her head and wraps his arms around her, resting his hands on the small of her back.
The image of the mystery woman slips into my head in an instant, and I suck in a sharp breath to ward off the panic.
“I’m surprised you’re still here. Thought you’d have gone home with someone already,” James says after a moment of silence. Gabriel and Val have gone off to dance on the dance floor.
“So am I,” I mumble, looking around the room. Plenty of women my age here. Many of them even look at me, smile, and blush.
“Trying out celibacy? Spoiler alert: you’re not made for it,” James says, and I almost burst into laughter at the absurdity of his suggestion.
“I'd rather hit myself in the balls with a baseball bat three times in a row before choosing celibacy,” I joke, and James starts laughing, a deep and full sound.
