Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“What about you, Pax?” Lawson asks.
“I didn’t plan anything for me and Blakely,” he says, grinning.
“I meant you and Monroe,” he says, and I swear Pax’s smile melts so fast it breaks my heart.
He shakes his head. “She’s just a friend,” he says. “Plus, she has a date tonight.”
“What?” I ask, eyes widening. “With who?”
“One of the rookies. Madden, I think,” he says, not at all convincing us that he doesn’t remember the dude’s name.
“Liam?” Lawson asks.
I furrow my brow. “She’s going on a date with Liam Madden?”
“Yeah,” he says, looking between us. “It’s not a big deal.”
“He’s a douchebag,” I say, shaking my head. “Did you warn her?”
“Of course I warned her,” he snaps, then raises his hand in apology as he takes a breath. “I did. But, I don’t know, I guess he’s really nice to her during their sessions.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Lawson says, rolling his eyes.
“Again, not a big deal.”
Lawson and I share a look, nothing but empathy for him. He’ll never admit how much he cares about her, but we can see it. I’ve seen it every day for the entire time I’ve known him. I wish I could help him, but he’s the one standing in his own way.
“What about you, Nash?” Pax asks, throwing the attention on me. “You and Reese doing some more pretend dates? Or have you finally made things official?”
Lava fills my veins at the mention of Reese. I haven’t been able to get her taste or scent out of my head since that night in Anaheim two weeks ago.
Two weeks of walking around fantasizing about the sexiest, smartest, most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.
Two weeks of regretting not just grabbing her hand after Clay interrupted us in that suite and taking her down to the lobby to get our own room and finish what we’d started.
But it wasn’t about me.
Still isn’t.
She deserves to be treated like a queen because it’s painfully evident she never has been before.
“Yeah, how long has that been going on now?” Lawson asks before I can answer. “A month?”
“Six weeks,” I correct him, and they both raise their brows at me, ridiculous grins on their faces. “Yeah, I counted. Fuck off.”
They both laugh.
“So, what are you faking tonight?” Lawson asks.
“I’m not telling you two,” I say. “One of you will let it slip to one of your girls in the next ten minutes and ruin the surprise for Reese.”
“She’s not my girl,” Pax says.
“A surprise for Reese,” Lawson says. “You sure this is all pretend?”
No.
I’m not sure of anything anymore.
Reese and I’s relationship has shifted, the once fiery arguments turning into playful, friendly banter—like last week when she tried to convince me boneless wings were superior to traditional. There’s an intense connection I can’t deny.
And it’s not just physical, even though that department is off the charts.
God, the way she’d melted against my touch. The way she’d looked all splayed out on that bed while I dipped my head between her thighs. I couldn’t fucking wait to take that dive again, but we’d been ruthlessly busy with practices and games, and she’d been even busier with content creation for the team these past couple weeks.
Tonight, we were finally getting some time to spend together, and I couldn’t deny how excited I was. I’d planned this date three weeks ago.
And I never planned dates. Usually because anyone I spent time with only wanted dinner or a tour of my bedroom. And I’d been fine with that because it was a mutual, stringless thing.
But now…
Now I didn’t know what to do about the way I was feeling.
“It’s…complicated,” I finally answer, not wanting to cheapen whatever is going on with Reese. “In the beginning, yes. I thought this would be nothing but fun and beneficial for us both.”
“And isn’t it?” Pax asks. “You’re in the works with Liquid IV for a contract, right?”
“Yes,” I say, pride and gratitude flowing through me. Once the ink is signed on that deal, I’ll be able to wipe out more than a third of my father’s medical debt. One more deal like that and I can set them up to retire completely. “Just ironing out the details. My agent says I should be good to sign tomorrow.”
“Hell yeah!” Baylor says as he walks by, high fiving me before heading to his locker. “My agent has been getting calls too,” he says, inserting himself into the conversation like he’d been there the whole time. Had to love that about Baylor, who I’d been friends with as long as Pax, he never needed much invitation to be supportive. A team-player through and through.
“Nice,” I say, nodding at him. “I hope Elise locks some deals down for you.”
“Same,” he says, something serious flashing over his face for a few seconds. “Have fun tonight,” he says after gathering his gear before he heads out.