Donovan (Face-Off 3)

“Maybe.” I glance over and see Charlie wink at me.

“Jamie,” Rico yells, tugging on my Michael Jordan jersey and diverting my attention. Yup, we wore our Jordan gear to a Sixers game. I guess we should be lucky we made it to our seats without being harassed. Philadelphia sports fans are a little…passionate, to say the least.

“Hey, buddy, stop messing with MJ,” I joke, rubbing my knuckles into his hair. “This is a collector’s item.”

Vintage Jordan is not easy to replace. Charlie already yelled at me for wearing it tonight. In retrospect, it was a bonehead move, but I got overly excited when I plucked it from my jersey collection.

As far as children are concerned, Rico is the closest to a son Charlie, or I will have anytime soon. Even with Alex and Charlie getting married, none of us are ready for a family yet. With how much Charlie travels for work and Alex for hockey, who would even watch the kid? Me? I’m good with Rico. He’s old enough to take care of himself, but I can give him back to his mother after we’re done hanging out.

“I’m hungry. Can we go get a soda and nachos?” Rico peeks up at me from beneath a chunk of dark brown hair, flashing those puppy dog eyes that make it impossible to say no.

“You just ate a hot dog, kiddo.”

“That was a snack. I want nachos. You promised I could get whatever I want since it’s Coach’s special day.”

I sigh, staring up at the game clock hanging from the ceiling at center court.

There are a few minutes left at the end of the fourth quarter. Even though there’s no way the Bulls could blow this lead, I don’t want to miss the final buzzer. Charlie brought everyone here tonight to celebrate her engagement to Alex Parker, which also added a few of his teammates and their girlfriends to the usual cast.

Kennedy is pregnant and looks about ready to pop any day now. Then, there’s Sydney, who says cock more than normal. I’ve never met a woman as vulgar until Sydney. She’s a romance author, so I guess that’s expected when she writes smutty stories all day.

Both girls provide their own form of entertainment when we’re out shopping for Charlie’s wedding gown. When I’m ready to gouge my eyes out, Sydney usually cracks a joke about monster cocks. Because it’s so uncommon to see a man in a bridal shop, I have a lot of women hitting on me until Charlie pretends I’m the groom and scares them. She always chases girls away.

At the rate she’s going, I will never find a date to the wedding. Any girl I introduce to Charlie has found an excuse to retreat after she gives them her motherly interrogation. No one is good enough for my Jamie, she would say. That’s also what I had told Charlie anytime I met a guy she was interested in dating. I suppose I acted the same way when Alex first showed up in our lives.

Like Alex, Tyler Kane and Carter Donovan mostly give me a hard time for being the man-of-honor. They laugh every chance they get. Sydney keeps telling me that I have to help her make penis cakes for the bachelorette party. That only gets more of a rise out of the guys who take so much joy in pissing me off. I can’t help it my best friend is a girl. Charlie is the only family I have left. She’s like a sister to me.

Now, we’re all one big happy family and part of the wedding party. True to Charlie style, she wanted to commemorate her engagement at a Bulls game. She’s not your average girl. But that’s one of the things I love about her. Plus, she spared me the task of planning an engagement party. Win-win for everyone.

“Jamie,” Rico whines, pulling on my arm to get my attention. “Please. I’m a growing boy. I need to eat.”

He’s too damn cute to resist. “Okay. Let’s go.” I turn to Charlie and tell her we’ll be back, hoping we can hurry up before the game ends.

Following Rico up the steps, we jog up to the top level, and sprint toward the concession stands. With the Sixers getting their asses handed to them, the halls are starting to crowd. People shuffle about, knocking into us as we pass. Once we reach the counter, I shake my head, disappointed. They either sold most of the food or put it away to close up for the night.

“I don’t think they have any more nachos, kiddo. Would you settle for soda and another hot dog?”

Rico folds his arm over his chest and pouts. “But I want nachos.”

“They’re all out.” I clamp my hand down on his shoulder and move him in front of me, so he can get a better look at what they have left. “You can have a hot dog, pretzel, or ice cream. Which one do you want?”

“I think I can help you out,” a woman says from behind me.

At first, I don’t realize she’s talking to me. Not until she strokes my arm with her fingers, commanding my attention. Her touch sends a chill through me. She smells sweet, like honey, and good enough to eat.

I spin around, holding onto Rico. The girl smiles so wide that it reaches up to her bright, blue eyes. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she moves closer to me. She has a girl next-door look about her, but she’s also sporty, like Charlie, and is in full basketball gear, looking as though she just stepped off the court.

A girl that reminds me of Charlie is never a bad thing. She’s the coolest girl I have ever known. Despite being subpar at most sports, I’ve always loved them and continue to coach youth basketball with Charlie.

Beautiful beyond words, I have trouble coming up with anything decent to say as I take her in, thinking of all the dirty things I’d like to do with her mouth. Her lips part and her breath hitches. She’s about to say something when Rico breaks the silence.

“Nachos!” Rico demands.

I laugh, as does the girl in front of me. Her laughter is soft and feminine and like music to my ears.

“I can help you out with your nacho problem.” She holds out her hand for me to shake. And I do, mostly because I want an excuse to touch her. “I’m Regan, and you are…” She waits for me to stop acting like a moron and get my shit together.

“Jameson O’Connor. Jamie. My friends call me Jamie.” Wow! Real smooth, dude.