Page 81 of Pressure Point

“She likes Dash,” he said with a shrug. “It’s always been about Dash. I was just helping her get his attention. Mission accomplished.”

“Padre!” Dash called, the curtain swinging closed behind him.

Fuck. Dash was the last person he wanted to speak to right now. Maybe Elliot and Chance were right, he should have stayed home. Put some distance between him and everything else.

“Why the unhappy faces?”

“You can’t be serious right now,” Chance asked him.

“What?”

“Maybe this isn’t a thing in South America, but here in the US, as teammates, we tend to follow this little rule. It’s called ‘bros before hoes,’” Elliot added in.

“Watch who you’re calling a ho,” Liam snapped. He appreciated his teammates having his back, and he knew it was just an expression, but he hated the thought of that term referring to Avery. He also didn’t want to start drama within the team. There would be hell to pay on Monday if Gunnar caught wind of trouble brewing among them. Which reminded him, he needed to talk to Gunnar and Cowboy about room assignments before they left for Texas on Thursday. He’d get over this eventually, but until then, he wasn’t sharing a room with Dash.

“Is this about Avery?” Dash asked. “If so, then you got it all wrong.”

“I saw you kiss her,” Liam ground out, staring at Dash. His heart kicked up a notch, as his brain started to spin. He’d told himself he wasn’t going to let Dash get to him. But here he was, smug as they came, his cocky smile spread across his face. Liam clenched his fists, reminding himself to stay calm, when all he wanted to do was smack that grin right off his face. Anger was not an emotion he came to easily, but Dash had certainly found the correct set of buttons.

“You saw me try to kiss her. I told you, Padre, that if you didn’t make a move, that someone else would. I just thought it might be better that the someone be me. Might get you off your ass.”

Rage filled Liam as Dash kept talking. He knew how Liam felt, and he still went after her? Claiming it was to help him?

Liam had always thought the expression seeing red was just that, an expression. Except in this moment, he understood that it was a real thing. Everything around them slowed down, taking on a deep crimson hue as he narrowed his vision in on Dash and his pretty features. How dare he. They were supposed to be friends. Lifting his right arm, he thrust it forward, his fist making direct contact with that chiseled jaw that Avery had gushed over.

The sound of his knuckles colliding with Dash’s face was thankfully muffled by the voices carrying from the restaurant. The groan Dash let out as he stumbled backwards wasn’t though. Elliot and Chance rushed to Liam’s side, pulling him back and lowering his arm, stopping him from doing it again.

“What the fuck?” Talia exclaimed, coming through the curtain and holding a beer above her head to keep from spilling it as she dodged out of the way of Dash. She threw a look over to Liam, a scowl now on her face. “Are you serious?”

“He fucking did it on purpose.”

“Of course he did it on purpose. No one accidentally almost kisses someone.” She shoved the beer into his hands, her face unchanged. “Here.”

“I told you, I didn’t actually kiss her. She stopped me. And you know why?” Dash said, rubbing his jaw where Liam had hit him. “Because I’m not you. That’s what she told me, right before she ran away to go find you. So, I’d say my plan worked.”

Liam’s heart sank. She had run after him. And he’d walked away.

Fuuuuck…

“Next time maybe wanna let one of us in on the plan?” Elliot remarked.

“Should not have had to. When I asked to cut in, Padre was supposed to tell me no. Lay claim to her. Instead he stormed off like a small child.”

Liam lunged again, not getting very far with his two midfielders right there to grab hold of him again. Dash flinched, taking another step back.

Dash was right though. He had stormed off like a toddler. And then refused to listen to her when she tried to tell him that he had it all wrong. He’d let his own hurt get in the way of listening to the one person who made him feel whole.

What the fuck had he been thinking?

You were stuck in your own pity party and wouldn’t listen to the woman you love, dumbass.

Man, had he fucked up. A new pang of hurt hit him, pushing out the ache that had been there since last night. It took root in his gut, making him want to cry and hurl at the same time. Shaking off the guys, he took a step back, leaning against the table for balance.

He needed to apologize. Needed to find Avery and tell her that he was sorry. Tell her he loved her.

“Okay, enough. Do you hear that?” Talia asked, finger pointed to the curtain. Liam heard Felicity’s voice welcome everyone to the event and then introduce her best friend, Saxony, and her son, Tanner. “That’s Felicity kicking off the event. Cowboy is up first, then you, Liam. So straighten yourself out, and then get your ass up there. Dash, let’s go get you some ice.”

“I need to go find Avery. Is she at home?”