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And she said I made her dreams come true.
I don’t know if that was just lip service or if she meant it, but these are the things I’m quietly processing while I prepare to project the persona I’m really not feeling at all tonight.
“What’re you drinking, Nash?” Travis Woods asks me from across the table as the server approaches. His arm is slung around a woman, and I’m not sure if she’s his girl or just some conquest for the night.
“I’m a gin guy,” I say more to the server than to him.
I slide into the booth beside Patrick, the only other guy on D here besides me, and I spot my brother across the table in the corner. I give him a nod even as I make a face at him when I look at his choice of shirts this evening—a button-down with rather large dinosaur faces.
Does he really get pussy dressing like that?
“Really, man? Gin?” Patrick asks, making a face at me.
“What are you drinking?” I challenge with a laugh.
“Tequila.” He holds up an empty glass.
“I’ll stick with my Hendricks, thank you very much. Bad memories with tequila. Or, rather…no memory.”
He laughs. “Been there, my friend.”
We get to talking about our backgrounds and where we’ve played, and I start to relax a little. It almost feels like, at some point, I might even find my place with this team.
Asher holds my gaze as he nods over toward the bar.
Clearly, he wants to get me alone to tell me something, so I nod, and we head up that way without another word.
“What’s going on?” I ask him once we’re standing out of earshot of the other players. There are a lot of people around, but between the music and the loud din of the place, we’re safe to have a quiet conversation even in this rather large crowd.
“Be careful, man.”
My brows pull together. “With what? Getting eaten by one of the dinosaurs on your shirt?”
“Fuck off. I mean, be careful with these guys. Getting too close. They’re all great, but they’re playing a game, too. They’re being careful with us since we’re related to the coach. You got me?” he asks.
“Why the fuck did you invite me out tonight if you just wanted to warn me not to get close?” I can’t help the rather annoyed face I pull at him.
“I haven’t had much chance to hang out with them given my suspension. But I did have a hard time fitting in when I got here, and I think it’s because they put up a wall around me thanks to Lincoln.” He shrugs. “I guess I just wanted to warn you, but I also wanted to give you a shot at developing your own friendships here since I know they all meet here fairly often.”
“Well…okay. Thanks, I guess?” I say it more as a question than out of actual gratitude.
“You’re welcome. And by the way, what the hell is up your ass?” he asks.
“Nothing’s up my ass. What’s up your ass?”
He rolls his eyes. “You think I can’t tell when something is going on with you? You’ve been all stiff and just…not yourself since you walked in here. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, honestly a little surprised that my little brother not only recognized that I’m all fucked in the head, but he also called me out on it.
I turn to head back to the table, and wouldn’t you fucking know it?
Out of the crowd appears none other than the woman throwing me all out of sorts herself: Ava Maxwell.
I blow out a breath.
I can’t fucking get away from her.
My big plan to get to know my teammates as I try to push her out of my head appears to have been blown to bits once again.
