Chapter Five
Allowing for the crisp wind off the lake, Avery cemented his stance on the green and lined up the putt.
With a light tap, he finished the game in seventh place out of eight behind Gage.
Not bad considering the guys he played with could have gone on to become pros.
Avery preferred soccer, though he hadn’t caught a game in a few months.
Shit. Did that mean he was growing up? Nah, just busy.
Blaze bumped shoulders with a bleary-eyed Gage. “Looks like you’re buying the first round.”
Gage groaned, still looking a little green. He’d spent most of his game in the trees, vomiting last night’s turn up at Pulse. Avery started the morning that way, too; a nine o’clock tee time was Dane’s idea of fun. Sadistic bastard.
“Yeah, man,” Kade said, with a slap to Gage’s back, “thanks for the shit game.”
“He looks like shit.” Blaze had always been Captain Obvious. Avery was tall, but Blaze had another two inches on him. He’d been an NFL hopeful but tore his ACL and received one too many concussions.
Gage ran a hand over his face. “I feel like fucking shit.”
Ping.
They grabbed their bags and joined Bryce, Dane, Linc, and Maverick who’d played ahead of them and were waiting just off the green.
It wasn’t often all eight Sigmas were on the course.
Not like in college. Maverick lived in Austin and was hardly ever here, and these days, one or more of the others were always away on business.
Fuck, maybe we are grown up.
Meetings, schedules, reports, social functions that were really just business meetings in disguise. All the more reason to dodge any added responsibility…like a girlfriend or wife.
But the literacy gala had brought them together today, and it was good to see Maverick. He was the only one to stay in Austin after graduation, and Avery had hoped for more time to catch up with him, but they’d already split into teams when he’d dragged in at the last minute.
Dane had reserved a large table in the corner of the nineteenth hole, the clubhouse bar. As the group filed inside, Avery’s phone vibrated, and he stopped to read the incoming texts from his mom.
Mom: Melody told me you’re bringing a date tonight.
“Not a date,” he muttered as he thumbed his response. When would she get it that he didn’t date?
He smiled. He fake dated…or he would tonight.
Avery: I’m bringing a guest, yes.
Mom: Dad and I are excited to meet her.
I’m sure Dad couldn’t care less.
Mom: Do I know her family?
If he didn’t know his mother as well as he did, he’d think she was worried he was bringing an “undesirable” just to embarrass her.
That would be Bryce’s politic-driven mother.
No one was good enough for her son. But Avery’s mom wasn’t like that.
Probably just curious because Legs was his first plus-one in the history of plus-one possibilities since high school.
Avery: No
Down the hall, Dane exited the men’s room. Before his mom could continue her interrogation, he fired off another text and lied just a little.
Avery: On the course. Gotta go.
“You coming?” Dane asked, regarding him with dark eyes that Avery swore saw right through him sometimes.
“Yep.”
Pocketing his phone, Avery followed Dane through the bar. Nick was wary of Avery’s association with Francesco Cavaletti’s son. No one knew where the family’s fortune originated. Some thought it came from blood diamonds. Others speculated Mafia connections. But Avery didn’t care.
Dane’s wealth and the allure of danger weren’t the only reasons people gravitated to him.
It was the man himself. Confidence oozed from his Italian pores, along with a brooding presence that intimidated the largest of men—a few linebackers Avery wouldn’t name.
He made no explanations or apologies for his actions.
He was in control, aware of his surroundings, and always sat facing the door, as if he expected war to walk through it.
And when said war came along, he was the kind of man who had a friend’s back.
He'd proven that from the moment he’d taken Avery and Bryce under his wing as pledges.
Yeah, they’d both sensed the darker side to the Cavaletti world and were content to flirt with the edges.
Fucking blurred edges—girls, booze, the occasional recreational drugs.
It was a miracle he’d gotten through freshman year.
Probably another reason for Nick’s disapproval.
Everyone was already seated when Avery and Dane got to the table. Except Gage, who might as well have been lying on it. He was slumped over, head resting on his folded arms.
Dane took a seat, facing the door as always, between Linc and Gage while Avery sank into a chair between Blaze and Maverick.
Of all the Sigmas, Maverick was the lone wolf.
If Avery and Bryce had skated the edge of Dane’s inner sanctum, Maverick remained worlds apart.
He’d been one of them but spent most of his time with his study-group friends.
A round of boilermakers arrived. Ah, whiskey shots and beer chasers—best way to get rid of a hangover.
Gage groaned but sat up, his face contorting as if he might not agree. He rubbed both hands over his face. “Fuck.”
Dane lifted his shot glass in a toast, waited for the rest to follow suit, then said, “Sigmas.”
“Sigmas,” everyone uttered in unison as their glasses came together in the center of the table with a soft clink.
Avery tossed back the shot, appreciating the smoky notes and the burn as it rolled over his tongue and the back of his throat. Not as smooth as the Macallan but good. He slammed the glass to the table in rapid succession with the others. Gage winced, and everyone laughed.
Lifting the cold mug of Shiner to his lips, Avery sipped as he turned to Maverick. “I was sorry to hear about your dad. A triple bypass sounds rough. How’s he doing?”
Maverick nodded. “Thanks. He’s weak but recovering. Mom’s got her hands full, though, which is why I’m here this weekend. She’s a huge supporter of the literacy campaign.”
Blaze leaned around Avery. “You need some eye candy? I can hook you up.”
Maverick chuckled. “Nah, my assistant attends these things with me. She keeps track of who I should make a point to talk to, helps me remember who they are so I don’t make an ass of myself.”
“No fucking way.” Blaze shook his head adamantly. “If I have to attend these things, I want guaranteed pussy at the end of the night.”
“Same.” Kade hissed through his teeth. “Damn, Mav. Sucks to be you, man.”
Mug halfway to his lips, Dane paused, one dark brow spiking. He uncurled one finger from around the glass to point at Kade. “You haven’t seen his assistant.”
“You remember Mav’s goth girl, don’t you?” Linc brought his fingers to his lips for a chef’s kiss. “Not so goth anymore.”
Avery didn’t remember her, but he did recall Maverick warning them all that both girls in his study group were off-limits. The way he scowled over the rim of his mug, this one still was.
“Yeah?” Kade chuckled. “I’d be careful with that. You could end up like Avery.”
“Hey, man,” Avery said, “Zach’s the best admin I’ve ever had. He’s smart, efficient, and I don’t have to worry about him catching feelings like the last two.”
“Two?” Linc laughed. “You didn’t learn the first time?”
Avery flipped him off. “Slow learner.”
“You’d still be learning,” Bryce piped in, “if Nick hadn’t laid down the law. No more female admins for you.”
“Fuck you,” Avery said, giving Bryce both barrels.
But he was right. Avery had been reckless, costing the company two hefty buyouts to prevent sexual harassment suits, which was bullshit since one of them walked into his office, locked the door, and took off her clothes.
The other showed up at his condo under the guise of business, then crawled on his lap.
Okay, so he’d flirted with them, but they’d flirted back and, until they made a move, he’d never touched them. Still, as Nick had drilled into his head, he wasn’t a kid anymore, his actions reflected on P.E., and employees were off-limits.
Blaze leaned forward to look at Maverick. “I want to get back to Mav’s hot as fuck admin. She free after?”
“She is not.”
The succinct words, along with Maverick’s hard stare, had Blaze sitting back, both hands raised in supplication. “Sorry, man. Didn’t know you were a thing.”
“We’re not.” But Maverick’s possessive tone added the unsaid but collectively understood, “Not yet.”
“Don’t you already have a date?” Linc asked Blaze. “I put you down for two at our table.”
Like Dane, Linc seldom spoke, but when he did, everyone listened. He internalized and organized his thoughts, always observing the dynamics of a situation, always one step ahead of everyone else.
“After-party.” Blaze winked at Maverick. “The more the merrier.”
“Fuck off,” Maverick growled.
Gage let out a loud belch, making everyone groan and breaking the tension.
“Feel better?” Kade asked, waving imaginary fumes back at Gage.
By the grin on his face, he did. “Not as good as I did last night.”
Everyone laughed, except Bryce, Maverick, and Avery, who weren’t in on the joke. Gage partied hard, but lately, he’d headed into self-destruction.
“Yeah?” Linc asked. “Which bridesmaid did you end up with?”
Gage puffed out his chest. “Dude, I took the whole bachelorette party home. Gin was fizzing, and my boys were jizzing.”
Kade rolled his eyes, triggering Avery’s memory of the way Legs rolled her eyes at him. She’d hate these guys. The thought made him smile.
Wait. The smile slipped from his face. Why the fuck am I thinking about her? And why do I care whether she’ll like my friends or not?
I don’t. I just don’t want them screwing with my plans.
Bryce chuckled. “You’re the only guy I know who talks about his balls like they’re pets.”
“For your information, the bride loved my balls. Emptied ’em at least three times.” He grabbed his crotch. “All I can say is, that groom’s one lucky fucker.”