Page 9 of One Bet

And maybe I wanted to stop the whole thing, except then I wouldn’t have a reason to see her and that was unacceptable.

“You should just fuck her and get it over with so you can get back to being yourself.” He laughed as if he’d just told the funniest joke ever spoken.

“She isn’t like that.” He stared at me until my skin burned. “She’s…different.”

“Different. What does that mean?” I didn’t answer. I didn’t tell him that she didn’t want me and unfortunately, I didn’t have to. But I also didn’t tell him she did want him.

“Holy shit. You found the one girl in this whole fucking place that doesn’t want to roll around naked with you.” He laughed and clapped his hands together. “I might love her warts and all.”

And I really didn’t like him talking about her like that. “Fuck you, Ry.”

He laughed again. “You might as well do me. Since you aren’t gonna be getting any of that.” He was about ten seconds from getting his ass kicked outside the video game and then he went in for the kill. “I bet you ten crisp new Benjamins you don’t even get to third base and another ten the Sigmas won’t take her either.”

Stupidest move I’d ever made was taking his bet.

7

Avery

But for my lie, this wouldn’t have been one of the most awkward moments of my life. Now though, with Keaton on one side and Alex on the other with Susie across from me, it ranked at least the top three, especially with the intensity of Susie’s glare at Keaton.

I turned to my best friend, the one who hadn’t told me about his relationship with Susie.

“Hey, hon.” Susie’s gaze snapped from Keaton to me when I spoke so softly and sweetly to Alex. “Why don’t you go get us another drink?”

Alex blinked twice as though my words didn’t quite register. In fairness, I never, in all our years as friends, used an endearment, especially one with such an intimate connotation, come to think of it, I couldn’t remember a time with anyone else either.

“Sure.” He stood and held his hand out to Susie. “Come along?”

She slipped her palm over his and laced their fingers together, then she cocked an eyebrow at me. A challenge? A dare? A warning? I didn’t really care since my interest in Alex was purely fictional. Still, it would’ve been nice if he’d given me a bit of warning so I could’ve explained my need to him and he could’ve rebuffed me in enough time I could’ve hired a date so I didn’t look so laughable now. Of course, had I not been forced to detail my devious plot to his voicemail, this moment might’ve been a little less…humiliating.

Keaton watched me until they were gone. “That’s not your boyfriend.”

My skin heated, I could have lied but looking more foolish than I already did seemed a bit of overkill. “No.”

He nodded. “I don’t have one either.”

Okay, I’d been busted for lying. I could live with that. “Well, I’m sure if you had a boyfriend, I would’ve read about it. Since I’ve read about every girlfriend you’ve had since college.”

His grin made my heart wobble, and I put a hand over my chest trying to still it from the outside. As if.

“You read about me?”

Heat flashed through me. There wasn’t much I could do to save myself now. In for a penny… “Yeah. I read about your sixty-seven percent passer rating, sixteen interceptions, and forty-one sacks last year. I assume that’s why you’re here and not there.”

He took the barb and shrugged while using his thumbnail to scrape the label from his beer bottle.

“I’m on the concussion list.” He didn’t look up. “I think they’re going to release me.”

“Oh shit.” I covered his hand with mine. “I’m sorry. I know how much football means to you.” He smiled still gazing at his beer bottle.

“I could tell you something horrible about me, so you can poke fun.”

“That might help.” He said with a humble chuckle.

“I got kicked out of a Bon Jovi concert,” I said quickly, bluntly, and with a little shame.

He chuckled. “Is the part that bothers you that you got kicked out or that you went to see Bon Jovi in the first place?”