Page 21 of Good Girl's Guide to Love
To say that I’ve been an antagonizer my entire life would be an understatement. From a young age, I knew how to get under people’s skin. Over the years it’s served me well—and gotten me into trouble. In football, it allows me to get into the head of whoever’s covering me, throwing them off their game before I go out to pull in a pass.
Who knew I could use this power for good, piss off a dipshit, and save a beautiful woman? All without raising a fist. Look at me, evolving.
“I don’t know who you are,” Dipshit says, stepping up to face me. It’s comical, really. I have to literally look down on him, which is also why I can see that whoever glued his toupee on did a horrible fucking job. “But you aren’t Ainsley’s boyfriend. She doesn’t date tattooed thugs like you.”
Ainsley…what a beautiful name. I don’t know what I expected it to be, but it wasn’t that. But I like it. It’s so…her.
As for the name Dipshit called me, I’ve been called much worse by men who have the height and weight to turn me into a greasy spot on the field, so I don’t know why dipshit’s little dig is making me see red right now. I ball my fists, doing my best to temper my anger, when I see my six-foot-four, three-hundred-and-fifty-pound best friend step up next to me. “Everything okay here?”
“We’re just fine,” I say. “I didn’t realize my girl here had come in with her sidekick, so I thought I’d bring them over to our section, if that’s okay?”
I level a look to Wyatt, who hopefully picked up on my use of the words “my girl.” Luckily, this man knows me well enough to know that something’s up, and now he’s just along for the ride.
“Absolutely,” Wyatt says as he walks over to her friend. “Come on. We’ve got drinks waiting and a queue full of karaoke songs.”
Wyatt holds out his arm for Ainsley’s friend, and I keep my hand on the small of her back as she grabs her purse off the table. Dr. Dipshit looks on in disbelief.
“See ya, Jimothy,” I say, giving him a slap on the shoulder. “Actually. No. I don’t want to see you. Because you’re the ex. I’m the now. And neither of us want to live in the past.”
“Holy Moses, what was that!”
I laugh at Ainsley’s choice of words. “Holy Moses?”
“She doesn’t swear,” the sidekick explains, extending her hand to me. “That one is in her regular rotation. I’m Mia, by the way.”
“Linc,” I say, shaking her hand back. “And this guy who came in as my backup is Wyatt.”
“Oh, I know,” Mia says as she turns to Wyatt, a smile on her face that says she knows exactly what, and who, she wants. “Offensive guard. Played on the left in college but transitioned to the right side as a pro. Played with Linc at Mississippi State.”
Wyatt’s eyes light up. The man is a sucker for a woman who can throw some stats his way. “You know your football.”
Mia shrugs. “I dabble.”
I smirk as the two of them fall into a conversation, which I’m sure is going to lead to things that will end tomorrow morning. I know how Wyatt operates, and judging by Mia’s boldness, he’s about to have a fun night.
Which is fine by me. With him distracted, I can concentrate exactly where I want: on my, at least tonight, fake girlfriend.
“I need to thank you,” Ainsley says. “I don’t know where you came from, or how you knew to come in and intervene, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to thank you enough.”
“You don’t need to thank me at all,” I say. “But are you okay? I could tell that you were shaken up, and then it seemed like he was getting rough.”
Ainsley nods, her crystal blue eyes looking down for a second before meeting mine again. “Jonathan. I haven’t seen him in a few years. Since we broke up. He moved, and I didn’t know he was back in town until he showed up out of nowhere. I was shocked when he said he was moving back to town and that he wanted to get back together. I froze. I don’t know what would’ve happened if…”
She trails off, and I push back the anger that I thought had subsided. He looks like the kind of guy who can’t take a hint, or thinks his title of doctor gets him things he hasn’t earned. Now I’m even more glad I stepped in.
Though I do wish I wasn’t on a strict no-fighting warning. It would’ve been satisfying to bust his nose open.
“No thanks needed,” I say. “Well, except maybe one thing.”
She looks almost relieved that I’m asking something of her. “Anything. Well, maybe not anything. Anything is a lot. But my brother knows a lot of people, so maybe anything is closer than I think?”
I laugh because this rambling is definitely different than the girl I first met who said all of three words. “I don’t think we’ll be needing him. I just think now that I’ve run you over, saved you, and at least for tonight, am your boyfriend, maybe we can have a proper introduction?”
Her cheeks turn rosy. Damn. She’s fucking adorable.
“Yes. I’m Ainsley Banks.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Ainsley. I’m Linc. Linc Kincaid.”
