Hothead (Irresistible 4)

“Um, Evie...” The redhead to her left kept her unblinking eyes on me while smiling nervously and tapping Evie. “Sweetie, I think someone’s here to see you.”

“Drew! Thank God you’re here!” She surprised me by bursting over and throwing her arms around my neck. When my hand touched nothing but skin, I realized her dress was completely backless. Whoa, whoa.

“Hold on a second. Let me see this,” I muttered. Evie’s friends giggled and nudged each other as I held her hand up for a moment to step back and get a full look.

I wasn’t doing it for show. I genuinely needed a second to process that body in that coffee-colored dress. She was completely covered in the front but when I turned her around, her naked back was on full display. If it weren’t for the bow tied around her neck, I would’ve thought she was walking around topless with just a skirt on.

I shook my head before facing her front once again.

“God, you look fucking beautiful,” I said, getting to enjoy about a second of her smile before her friends burst into a loud chorus of “awww.”

Jesus.

“Thank you. I didn’t think you’d get here till late,” Evie said breathily before introducing me to all her friends. I forgot all their names on the spot. “And you know, um… you know Hillary,” Evie said, suddenly fumbling and eyeing her redheaded friend as she gestured toward Hillary. Hillary didn’t seem to notice because she smiled brightly.

“Hey again! So happy you could come, Drew.”

“Thank you for having me,” I smiled back just as another familiar face came damned near shoving through the crowd behind her.

Mike.

“Drew! My man. Happy you made it,” he said with a broad smile, offering a hand over Hillary’s shoulder.

“Thanks. Good to see you,” I lied as Evie leaned her gorgeous back into my chest. Despite her outward calm, her body was trembling a bit. I frowned. I could tell from the way she grabbed my hand and squeezed it twice that she was trying to tell me something. I had no idea what it was thus far, but I was on alert.

“Drew. Buddy. What happened the other night?” Mike frowned, leaning on Hillary with an arm tossed over her shoulder. I didn’t have to fake the smile that quirked my mouth as I ran my hands down to Evie’s waist.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, because a lot of things happened the other night.”

It was supposed to be just a joke for Evie but she blushed so hard the girls read the situation fast and gave a scandalous “oooooh.” Mike bristled.

“I’m talking about that crazy loss. That had to be the worst outing of your career, right?”

“It was. Thankfully, it was my first loss this season.”

“Well. It’s a long season.”

“It is. I’ve been playing awhile in this league so I know firsthand,” I laughed while sliding my hands down to Evie’s hips. “Luckily, I have this secret weapon right here.”

There was another “awww” from the girls as Mike sneered.

“Well, I know firsthand that Evie doesn’t know a football from a baseball, so I don’t know how she comes in any way handy.”

“She’s more of a lifesaver in the sore muscle department,” I said, rubbing Evie’s hips to calm her down. I could feel her breathing deep, shaking a little less now.

“Oh, her massages, right?” the redhead gasped. “They’re so frickin’ good. And that’s so perfect for you as an athlete! Oh, oh, you should get her a job at the stadium!”

“Jesus, no.” I grimaced so hard the girls burst out laughing. “Trust me, my teammates would love that but she’s strictly mine.”

“Well, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Mike chuckled as the circle fell promptly quiet. The girls’ eyes were wide, and Hillary visibly cringed. Despite the palpable awkwardness, he went right on. “I mean, Maddox, I think anyone who’s been on the Internet knows you’re not exactly a one-woman kind of guy.”

Evie stiffened in my arms. The girls were covering their faces at this point but I gave the prick an easy laugh.

“Believe it or not, tabloids are sometimes bullshit. Some people get just brave with what they say when they’re hiding behind a computer screen.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mike scoffed.

“Come on. I’m sure you’ve said things on the Internet that you’d never have the balls to say in person. You could be standing right in front of the person and still be too scared to say shit.”