Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
~AUGUST~
Ilook at my phone and see there a few messages from Dex, asking if I am in fact coming to the Backwoods to hang out.
August: I’m on my way. Do you miss me?
I chuckle and head in the direction of the Backwoods.
It’s a short drive from the stadium so it takes me no time at all to get there.
I take one of the last spots in the lot.
It’s packed, as it usually is after the Blaze play.
I’m just not sure what the mood is going to be like once I get in there.
Hendrix was pretty beaten down after the game.
Before I found her in the locker room, Jase warned me to let her be tonight, to just be nice to her.
I think I was pretty nice to her, actually.
I grin, thinking of the way her hips fit perfectly in my hands as I pounded her.
I give myself a once-over before heading into the bar.
After I left her, I hightailed it up to my office to apply some deodorant and a splash of cologne.
Trying to drown out the smell of sweat and sex that was coming off of me after we had finished.
I check my reflection in the mirror to see that there are no hairs out of place, and no marks on my face.
“Let’s hope no one can tell,” I say to the empty car. Taking a deep breath, I get out and head into the bar.
I look over the parking lot and see that her BMW is here, which means she’s here.
I knew she wanted her brother to come out and spend time with her friends.
When I saw Danny briefly, he mentioned bringing Ash to the Backwoods for drinks, so that he could meet everyone.
According to Danny, he’s pretty cool. It’s just a shame that he hates me because of the way I treated his sister.
Taking one last deep breath, I head into the Backwoods.
The music is pumping over the chatter of all of the patrons.
It looks like today’s loss is not affecting everyone that is in the bar.
Probably just the team who is feeling the loss.
I round the bar to see there are strangers at the table that we usually sit at.
It’s a high-top table, positioned in the center of the bar, that can hold all eight of us. Well, nine with Hendrix’s brother.
“August, we’re back here,” I hear Dex call out behind me. I follow the sound of his voice and see Dex coming towards me to help me find everyone.
Turning around I see them all sitting at a table in the back of the bar. It’s an area that’s definitely quieter and allows patrons to engage in conversation more easily. But I think the appeal for the girls tonight is that it’s more secluded and allows for some privacy.
“Hey, man,” I say, meeting him. “How’s the mood?”
Dex looks over his shoulder at everyone and then back at me.
“Eh, it’s what you would expect. Most of the girls are trying to be social and get to know Ash.
But Hendrix is keeping to herself. Jase is keeping an eye on her, but he quietly asked the rest of us to let her be.
” I nod. “So maybe be nice to her tonight.”
“Got it. She seemed to be hit pretty hard with the loss,” I reply.
“Five goals in and not a single stop is not like her,” he reminds me. “I was just going to grab some more pitchers. Would you like anything from the bar?”
I nod. “I’ll come along and help you,” I say, following Dex up to the bar. “How is it with Ash at the table? Danny says he seems pretty cool.”
Dex shrugs, “He’s okay, I guess. I don’t know, he has some opinions that I don’t quite agree with.”
We lean on the bar, and I look over at him with raised eyebrows. “What would those opinions be?”
“Well, he’s not your biggest fan, to be honest. I think he really hates that you are coming to hang out tonight,” he admits, shrugging.
“Yeah, well, I know he’s not a fan of me. But the man had no problem enjoying the free food and drinks in the box tonight,” I comment and then immediately regret it because it makes me look like an ass.
“Maybe don’t mention that when we go back to the table,” Dex advises. He orders two more pitchers of Old Elephant IPA.
“And please add a double shot of Scotch to that and put it on my tab, August Cromwell,” I tell the bartender.
She nods. “Old Elephant IPA is a good choice. It’s a nice local favorite,” she replies, winking in Dex’s direction.
“Yeah, my girlfriend and I think so,” Dex adds before turning around to scan the bar. This causes her to turn and leave. The wide smile she originally had for us is gone and she’s back to just getting us our drinks.
“That’s a welcome change,” I say, grinning at Dex. Before Amelia he would have let the bartender flirt with him and maybe even do it back a bit. For the free drinks or just the pleasure of her company. Amelia has definitely changed him.
“Yeah, well, it’s not okay,” he says with a shrug.
“Do you want to go back to the table with your girl, and I’ll get these drinks on over?” I ask him.
“You can’t carry all of this.”
“Sure, I can. You guys have the glasses, right? It’ll be no big deal,” I reply, shrugging. “Go, be with your girl. I’ve got this.”
“Thanks,” Dex replies, patting my back before heading back to the table.
The bartender turns and places my Scotch in front of me. “Here you go, honey, the pitchers will be up shortly.”
“Thanks,” I reply, tipping my glass at her before taking a sip.
I sit there staring up at the TVs that have sports highlights playing on them. Baseball, college football and some soccer. Thankfully, I don’t see any of the Blaze.
“Are you not planning on joining us?” a voice behind me asks.
I turn and there she is. Her hair that was down earlier is now up in a ponytail. She’s standing with hands on her hips, lip jutted out in defiance. I chuckle. “Didn’t Dex tell you? I’m waiting on the refilled pitchers and then I’ll be over.”
“I thought maybe you were avoiding us because of…” Her voice trails off.
I lean in so that our foreheads are almost touching and whisper, “You mean because I fucked you in the locker room. Did you think I wouldn’t want to come over smelling like you? Think big brother would figure it out?” I tease her.
I see a slight blush cover her cheeks but just as easily as it appears, it disappears. “That is not what I meant. I just thought maybe you were avoiding me—us,” she quickly corrects herself.
“Nope, not avoiding, just waiting on some more beer for the table. Dex ordered some Old Elephant.”
She nods. “Do you want some help bringing it back?”
I shake my head. “You know, you might want to head back over to the table. You being nice to me like this is going to spark some suspicion. Usually, you aren’t this helpful,” I tease.
Shaking her head, she asks, “Do you want me to help or not?”
“I always want you,” I tell her.
“I—” but the rest of the words die on her lips.
The bartender picks that moment to come back. “Here are you pitchers, sweetie. I’ll add them to your tab.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, turning to face her.
I push a couple of bills across the bar for her trouble.
She picks them up and smiles at me before moving on to the next person looking for a beer.
I turn my body slightly so that I can get off of the stool and attempt to grab all the drinks.
I’m doing my best to pick up the pitchers along with my Scotch glass, when she sidles up beside me.
“Here, let me help you. There’s no way you can do that yourself,” she says, brushing against my chest.
My body immediately reacts to having her so close to me. I lean in and my head instinctively drops like I’m going to place a kiss on her neck.
“Don’t,” she says, her words cold and deliberate. “Please, not here.”
I just nod and hand her a pitcher of beer. “Thanks for the help.”
“You’re welcome,” she replies, her tone flat and even. No malice but no warmth in it either.
We make our way back to the table and I see that the only open spot is between Dex and Ash. Of course I would be lucky enough to get that spot. Fuck, this should be fun.
“Hey, guys. Here’s some beer,” I offer, placing my pitcher in the center as Hendrix does the same with the pitcher she carried.
I hear a round of hi’s and thank yous coming from around the table.
“Careful, Hen. Help him too much and he’ll start to think he’s welcome.” Ash delivers the line and looks in my direction. “He needs to remember that he’s not.”
“Ash,” Hendrix warns but doesn’t say anything else.
“Do you guys want some food or anything?” I’m trying to stop the looks that keep passing from me to Ash. I look around and see the only thing on the table is drinks. That can’t be good for the way they are feeling right now.
Around the table sit the sullen faces of Amelia, who can’t even play but is feeling the loss, Mac, Cassie and, of course, Hendrix. She is sitting on the other side of her brother out of my reach and out of my eye line. I hate that.
“Isn’t that sweet of you,” Ash says, glancing my way. “I can buy Hen’s and my dinners. Wouldn’t want you to think that she owes you anything.”
“What you are missing here, Ash, is that we’re a little family.
We buy each other drinks and dinner. No one expects or owes anyone anything for it.
We are like a family, and this is our time to sit here in this disappointment and make ourselves feel better,” Dex spits out.
“August is just being nice. I realize you might not recognize the gesture but that’s what he’s doing. ”
“Guys, please,” Jase begs.
I stay silent as I watch eyes darting around the table, like they are waiting for me to say something. To either defend myself or say that it’s okay that Ash continues to treat me like shit. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to let him off the hook.
“It’s fine, Dex. You don’t need to defend me. Let him think what he wants of me,” I say, taking a sip of my Scotch. I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look in his direction.