Page 83 of Meet Your Match
“What?” He feigned innocence, already sliding out of the booth. “I’m just being a good friend. Had to check and make sure you were cool with it, that there wasn’t anything there, and I guess there’s not, so…”
“Brittzy,” I warned, shooting daggers at him when he stood and smoothed a hand over the seam of his button down.
He ignored me, staring at where Maven was with Will. She tossed her head back on a laugh, and he blew out a low whistle.
“She’s such a fucking smoke show, man.” He sucked his teeth then, socking me in the arm. “Wish me luck.”
My hand involuntarily crushed the beer can I was holding, what was left of the IPA squeezing out onto the table. I thought I heard Jaxson laugh, but he didn’t stop. He strode right over to her table and sat down, making it so Maven had no choice but to scoot closer to Will.
And there she was, sandwiched between two of my teammates.
Jaxson threw his arm over the back of the booth, and consequently overher. He leaned in, too fucking close, his lips by her ear as he said something that made her smile and roll her eyes.
But she didn’t pull away.
She didn’t excuse herself, didn’t push him out of the booth, didn’t so much as glance in my direction. She leaned into him, into whatever he was saying to her, playing with her hair and laughing like those laughs weren’t supposed to be reserved for me.
I nearly broke a tooth watching it, and then Carter was flopping down next to me with a goofy grin. He slid me a shot, holding out a lime to go with it.
“You look like you need this.”
I didn’t answer him.
But I threw it back, letting it sting almost as much as watching Maven.
As the liquor burned my chest, I allowed myself one last glance at her.
Then, I cracked my neck and felt a new resolve settle into my bloodstream just like the alcohol had.
Maven was mine. She knew it as much as I did. But she was hell bent on pretending otherwise.
Fine.
Two could play that game.
CHAPTER 27
TOLD YOU SO
Maven
Somewhere around midnight, the rookie party wrapped up and the strip club opened its doors to other patrons.
I didn’t notice at first. One second, Carter was on stage being hazed while I got to know Will Perry more. The next, I was sandwiched between him and Jaxson Brittain as the crowd thickened around us, and it went from easy to hear the two of them to damn near impossible.
The strippers took the stage, customers crowding the front row just as much as they packed the VIP tables in the back. Go-go dancers jumped up on the bar, and the lights flashed to the beat the DJ was spinning. People talked and laughed and whistled and yelled, all of them fighting to be louder than the music — which was a feat.
Even with his mouth right by my ear, I had to make Jaxson repeat himself at least twice when he tried to keep our conversation going. He’d been telling me ridiculous stories for the past hour, mostly about the shenanigans he and Vince got into during the preseason.
At about half-past midnight, I excused myself to the restroom, laughing at my reflection when a yawn stretched my mouth wide. I was ready to call it a night.
I searched the packed club for Vince. I didn’t know why, really, but I felt like I should tell him I was heading out. It wasn’t like I’d post any of the content that would be captured after this point, anyway, and the team was getting a little too rowdy for my tastes.
I smiled a little as I recalled how carefree he’d seemed all night. I sat next to him at the rookie dinner, our knees brushing under the table, my heart pounding in my chest every time I glanced at where his massive hands held his cocktail. I couldn’t look at those hands without remembering what they did to me, and that was a very bad image to conjure up in a fancy restaurant — especially when I was wearing a dress with only a thong on underneath it.
When we’d arrived at the club in a collection of limousines, I’d thoroughly enjoyed watching him get dragged on stage to be hazed.
I loved that he was laughing, that he was having fun.
