Page 82 of Pressure Point

“No, what you need to do is drink that beer, take a couple of deep breaths, and then go out there, ready to follow Cowboy. You ruin this for Felicity and I will throw you under the bus so fast, you won’t know what hit you.”

Talia blew him a quick, mocking kiss as she guided Dash back outside the curtain. Laughing to himself, Liam just shook his head. That was the “sister” he knew. She might be as snarky and sarcastic as they come, but right now, she had a point. He’d made a commitment to Felicity and to the team, and he had to fulfill it. No matter how much he didn’t want to. It would also give him some time to figure out exactly how he was going to make this up to Avery.

Grabbing the beer he didn’t remember setting down on the table, he took a couple of quick gulps, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The day had already been shit, why not add one more component to it.

Let’s get this over with…

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Who are you staring at?” Liam asked Cowboy, sliding up next to him adjacent to the stage.

Saxony Gray, one of Felicity’s best friends, was on stage talking about the Atlanta Rising Unified Team that she and Felicity were forming, and how all the proceeds from tonight’s event would help support the Special Olympics, who they were partnering with to get the team up and running. Tanner, Saxony’s teenage son, was standing next to her, looking like he could not have been more uncomfortable if he tried. The young man had been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder shortly after birth and was the catalyst for Felicity wanting to start this team—wanting to help give him and others with special needs a way to “get in on the action” as she had put it.

“That cute brunette reporter is here,” Cowboy muttered, his eyes not leaving where they were fixed.

“I thought you hated reporters?”

“I do. Nothing good ever comes from involving them. But there is something about this girl. She’s always hanging toward the back of the crowd when we’re in the media room, like the queen bee, who doesn’t have to work because all the little worker bees will bring her what she needs.”

Liam nodded, not really following where Cowboy was going with this, but also not feeling the need to argue. Scanning the room, he couldn’t help but notice all the different faces staring up at the stage and the level of excitement almost visible in the air. The crowd had really showed up tonight, and Liam felt a sense of pride. It was one thing in Dundalk where the team had been around for over a hundred years for people to rally behind the team this way—it had been in their blood for generations. But for a city to come together and share the same level of enthusiasm for a new team—now that was something special. Each new face he saw, though, made his heart sink a little more, since none of them were the one person he wanted to see.

“Enough of us rambling. You’re not here for us, are you?” Felicity asked, her question nearly drowned out from the cheers of the group in front of her. “Let’s get this party started for real!”

The crowd burst out again in applause, their whistling and shouting filling up the restaurant. Liam watched as a group of women in the front row pulled out sheets of paper that had players’ photos printed on them, with handwritten notes scribbled next to them. Letting out a laugh, he tried to see if he could make out anything that was written there, but he was too far away.

Oh boy…

“We’re going to kick off the evening with the team’s Technical Director, Britt “Cowboy” Callahan!” Felicity continued. Wolf whistles, followed by a bellow of “take it off!” arose as Cowboy joined Felicity on stage. Without skipping a beat, Cowboy swiveled his hips, doing his best Magic Mike impression, making the ladies in the audience lose it all over again. “Now remember, y’all, you don’t have to bid on our gentlemen here tonight just for dates. If you need help around the house, yard work, any of that, they are more than willing to help out.”

“If the ladies want me to take them out on a date, let them,” Cowboy commented, before turning to the crowd and blowing a kiss, resulting in more screams and a few catcalls. Liam bit back a laugh as Felicity made a face. He wasn’t quite sure if she was trying not to laugh or trying to keep from smacking her boyfriend’s best friend upside the head.

“We’ll start the bidding at one hundred dollars,” Felicity said.

A lady raised her hand, opening the bidding, quickly followed by someone else. Letting out a sigh, Liam tuned out the noise, scanning the crowd once again, focusing on faces a little more this time. It was a sea of women, with a few men scattered here and there, which was to be expected. Bunz was a sports bar for women—complete with the half-naked waiters. A small older lady, who if he had to guess was well into her eighties, was tucked off to the other side of the room waving at him, a shy smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. From where Liam was standing she looked to be about Avery’s size, her silver hair cut in that shorter style that his mother referred to as “the old lady cut.” His mind flashed, picturing Avery at that age, sitting by the fire in his old childhood home in Ireland. A pang of longing hit him as he stared at the woman who seemed to be a vision of exactly what his heart desired. He wanted to wake up next to Avery every day, long past her looking like this old lady.

He pulled his gaze away from her, trying to refocus. Damn, he wished there was a way he could get out of this. The last thing he wanted to do right now was get up on that stage and have some random girl buy a date with him. He hadn’t wanted that before everything had gone down with Dash. Now it just seemed like the kiss of death.

The bang of the gavel caught Liam off guard, causing him to flinch as his attention flew back to Felicity up on stage.

“And sold!” Felicity cried out. “To Theo Kappas for seven hundred and fifty dollars!”

“Theo Kappas?” Cowboy exclaimed, his head turning to Felicity before his whole body pivoted to look at the tall, leggy brunette who was now sauntering their way. The very same woman Cowboy had been commenting on earlier. Oh, this was going to be good. Cowboy shuffled off stage quickly, meeting her right in front of Liam. “You’re the dude who won’t stop emailing me?”

“Ette. Dude-ette,” she corrected him, a sly smile on her face. “And I do believe you’ll have to start answering my emails now, Mr. Callahan.”

Liam scoffed out a laugh, unable to hold back. Cowboy shot him a look, and he held up his hands in surrender. At least he wasn’t the only one whose night was off to a much different start than imagined.

"And next up is Liam Daley, the starting goalkeeper for the Atlanta Rising!”

At the sound of his name, Liam hopped up on stage, almost regretting having to miss the rest of the drama he knew was about to take place. That was far more interesting than being put on display.

“Liam is twenty-five years old, and prior to playing for the Rising, he played at his hometown club, Dundalk FC in Dundalk, Ireland. He is the middle of five boys, enjoys superhero movies, dark beer, and kittens.”

Kittens? Where the hell had that come from? I don’t have a thing for kittens…

Felicity gave him an apologetic smile and simply mouthed “Talia,” before moving on to open the bidding at one hundred dollars, same as Cowboy. Liam made a mental note that he needed to figure out a way to get her back for that.

“One fifty!” The older lady who had caught Liam’s eye called out, raising her arm.