I nod and slip into my jeans. “I live down the street from that place.”
“So, you wanna come or not?” Kane moves his hands onto his hips and gives me a hopeful look. “They’ve got some serious dimes in that club. The women…”
Donovan comes up behind him, towering over Kane. He’s a real mammoth. For such a big dude, he’s unusually flexible. Even though we lost tonight, he had two crazy saves that made me respect his talent.
Donovan scratches his dark beard, a smirk on his face. “Kane has a crush on Drea, the bartender at Scores. You should come just to watch him embarrass himself. Trust me, it’s worth it.”
“Dick!” Kane punches Donovan in the arm. “I don’t have a fucking crush on Drea. She’s hot but not worth dealing with the Marcheses over.” I shoot them a confused look, and Kane continues, “The club is a front for the Mafia, but they have the best top-shelf selection of liquor and tits in the city.”
I normally prefer to drink alone, but strip clubs have
liquor. Why not? “I’ll meet you there in an hour.”
Kane flashes a quick smile. “Let the debauchery begin.”
“Welcome to the team,” Donovan says with a wink before following behind Kane.
After they walk away, I start to wonder if this is a good idea. I don’t know them, and for all I know, this is another trap. I’m pretty sure someone on my previous team set me up with the owner’s granddaughter, knowing it would send me packing. Guys like Kane don’t like to share the spotlight, and trusting strangers makes me uneasy.
Kane and Donovan exit the locker room a few minutes before me, so when I almost fall into them in the hallway, I’m surprised to see them standing with Charlotte. She has a broad smile plastered on her beautiful face, strands of caramel hair hanging over her shoulders that stop right above her breasts.
The night we met, she had no makeup on and a mustard-stained jersey, her hair piled into a ball on the top of her head. Despite her disheveled appearance, she looked good. Now, she’s made up, and upon closer inspection, something I didn’t notice before, her eyes are a shade of blue so bright, they remind me of sapphires. And she smells amazing, like cotton candy. And I want a taste.
She has on a vintage Flyers jersey that’s too big for her frame, even with her height, but she really knows how to wear it. I wish she had on my jersey—or more accurately, I’d prefer she was taking mine off.
Kane and Donovan are practically drooling over Charlotte. She’s standing next to a man around my age and Rico, the boy from her basketball team.
Is she with this guy?
I didn’t notice anyone next to her during the game. In my defense, my focus was on her face and the girls behind her.
The way she touches his arm and glances at him for his approval annoys me. He must be her boyfriend.
Why do I even care?
Charlotte is off-limits to me. Mickey would kill me if I hooked up with his girl, and she made it clear she wanted to keep our relationship professional. It’s probably for the best. I would end up fucking her once, maybe a few times since I’m greedy, and then I’d move on. And I would never hear the end of it from Mickey if I messed with his favorite agent.
Charlotte and Kane are busy talking about his photo shoot with Under Armour while Donovan tells Rico to turn around, so he can sign the back of his jersey. Rico’s face lights up as he stares at the man next to Charlotte, waiting for Donovan to finish. He scribbles his name, nudges Kane in the arm with his elbow, and hands him the black marker.
As Kane leans over to sign Rico’s back, Charlotte turns her head, her eyes fixed on mine. She swallows and slides her hands into her jean pockets. A few seconds pass between us before she says, “Parker,” with a nod. She stares at me, as if I just punched her in the stomach.
“Nice to see you again, Charlotte. How are you?” I sound so formal that even I’m surprised by my words.
Charlotte gives me an odd look, as if mulling over my response. “I’m good. Thanks for the tickets. Rico had so much fun today. We all did.” She pats the shoulder of the man next to her, and he turns to face us. “Jamie, this is Alex Parker. Alex, this is Jameson O’Connor.”
He extends his hand to me, and I shake it, curious about their relationship.
“Jamie,” he says, correcting Charlotte. “Nice to meet you.”
He seems down-to-earth, like the kind of guy Charlotte would date, and the complete opposite of me. For some reason, I am jealous of him, which makes me even more irritable.
“Likewise,” I say to Jamie, feigning interest.
Kane hands me the marker clutched between his fingers and goes back to talking to Donovan about the game and how we can improve next time.
Get a new team?
“Hey, Alex,” Rico says to me with a grin. “Can you autograph my jersey?”