Hothead (Irresistible 4)
“Um.” I blinked, unsure if Emmett knew about the false nature of Drew and my romance. “He’s… tolerable?”
“Alright.” Drew cut in with two hands on my hips. Pulling me back against his chest, he whispered in my ear. “For fuck’s sake, don’t bend over like that. Your tits are falling out and those assholes are staring down your dress.”
“Oh, and you’ve decided that you’re the controlling type who dictates what I wear and how I act?” I hissed.
“Trust me, I’m pretty fucking pleased with what you’re wearing, but there’s a difference between showing you off and letting guys eye-bang you right in front of me,” Drew muttered hotly. My eyes narrowed at him.
“Fair,” I bit out.
“Thank you,” he grumbled.
“Alright, you two,” Emmett chuckled, still turned around in his chair. He cocked an eyebrow at Drew. “So you been dodgin
g my calls or what, Maddox? If we’re fighting, you never gave me official word.”
“I don’t have time to fight with you, Emmett, I’m just a busier man than even you are.”
“Clearly. Ty just texted that you were at Godsend with him ten minutes ago then disappeared. Should I tell him that you’re here?”
“Only if you want me to throw you off this roof.”
“I don’t think you should risk straining the pitching arm. I noticed your velocity was down your last start.”
“Good to know you were watching so closely. Should we let Aly know about your creepy obsession with me?”
“Fuck off,” Emmett grinned. “I’ll meet up with you two after I wrap up with these guys.”
“Please don’t,” Drew said before sliding a hand onto my back and whisking me off. I stared up at him.
“Jesus, what’s up with dude friends? Why do you guys love talking to each other like you hate each other?”
“Maybe we do.”
“What? Are you mad at my best friend’s boyfriend?” I asked defensively. “Because on behalf of my best friend, I take offense to that.”
“I’m not mad at him. Aly’s one of your best friends. Emmett’s one of mine,” Drew said without a hint of emotion, giving the canned answer like I was some reporter he didn’t want to do an interview with.
I kept my eyes narrowed on him as we followed a hostess across the roof and up a small flight of steps to a VIP area. Ivy-covered partitions provided us a decent amount of privacy, but that didn’t stop people from passing by our section with their phones stealthily positioned to snap quick photos. I noticed two people do that before we even sat down next to each other.
“So you and Emmett are cool?” I asked once the hostess left – though obviously not without a last lip-biting peek at Drew. Couldn’t blame her. He looked sexy as sin tonight and as screwed up as it was, he was particularly hot when he was angry.
“Emmett and I are cool,” Drew said, measuring his words. “He knew I was at risk of being traded as far back as last year and told just Iain instead of me, but aside from that, we’re cool.”
“Oh. So what, now you don’t trust him either?”
“I never trusted him or anyone in the first place, so nothing has changed. We’re good.”
Jesus. I blinked with surprise as I watched Drew’s hard eyes study the menu.
“Well… his brother owns the team you play for so I’m sure he wanted to tell you, but there was just a conflict of interest,” I offered.
“Of course. Family first,” Drew said in a sardonic tone that reminded me of the fact that ‘family first’ didn’t ring true with him. After all, he’d mentioned that his family treated him like an ATM.
Damn. I chewed my lip through the silence that followed, hoping that Drew had at least someone in this world that he trusted fully. I mean I didn’t trust my own family, and I obviously didn’t trust Mike anymore, but at least I had Aly. She would stick by me through anything. I knew that, and I quietly cherished her as I studied Drew.
“Oh, wait, this is the food menu,” I finally said to break the silence.
“Perfect. Let’s exchange.”