Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The blush-pink satin minidress hugged her every curve and glistened in the low lantern light of Pierce’s backyard haven.
The paved patio had plush, outdoor furniture and a vaulting pergola overhead, with vines climbing from enormous, jewel-toned pots up the posts and across the roof.
A full bar stood to one side with an outdoor kitchen and barbecue surrounded by a half-dozen players arguing about which part of the palm a medium steak should feel like.
Jif wrinkled her nose, sipped from her wineglass, and let her eyes drift toward the turquoise blue of Pierce’s pool.
Lit from within, it glowed sapphire in the dark, the surface gently reflecting the lantern light and creating a bright patch in the otherwise dark atmosphere beyond the patio limits.
Did Nix like to swim? Which of her friends could she con into inviting them over for a doggie pool party?
I bet Abby would let us. Gen loves their pool!
Corey, nursing a beer bottle, plopped down, and Jif hauled her attention back from the pool’s refracted surface to the party.
She’d kicked off her sky-high heels on the stone floor below and tucked her feet under a thin, tasseled throw blanket.
As the cushion sank under Corey’s weight, she scrambled to keep her balance, but he flung his arm across the back of the couch, and she lost the battle against gravity, nearly tumbling into his lap.
“Well, if you insist.” He leered down at her, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her body flush to his.
Jif resisted, but his arm anchored her against his side. Any zing of attraction fizzled, and for a moment, her mind flashed to the warm comfort of holding hands with Miles.
“Let me go.”
His hand caressed her hip, and his breath ghosted over her ear. “Aww, don’t be like that, Jif. I thought we had something at Garrett’s event.”
She shivered, and not the good kind. “C’mon, Corey, let me up.”
He put his beer bottle on the end table and ran his hand up her arm. Jif glanced wildly around, but everyone else chatted happily among themselves. She couldn’t catch anyone’s eye, and if she made a fuss, she’d embarrass everyone.
She tried again. “You’re great, Corey, but I’m not...”
“‘Course I’m great,” he interrupted her. “Two Super Bowl rings, three-time Pro Bowler...”
Jif frowned, thinking fast.
“Yeah, fantastic,” she assured him. “I have to use the bathroom, but I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Fine.” He released her, but not before his hand trailed down her spine, then lower, brushing the short hem of her skirt.
Gritting her teeth, she stalked across the patio, ignoring everyone. Reaching the bathroom, she rested both hands on the edge of the sink.
“What. Even?” she demanded of the mirror. Sure, she liked to have fun, but Corey had seriously crossed a line.
What could she say, though? She had a reputation at house parties like this. She’d made her own bed.
Nausea churned her stomach, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Her reputation didn’t make Corey’s behavior okay.
“I want to go home,” she whispered to herself.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Hang on.” She ran the faucet for a moment and let the cold water wash over her wrists, then dabbed it gently on her cheeks.
Pulling the door open, she stumbled back a step as a massive, looming shadow surprised her, and a bolt of fear stole her breath. Had Corey followed her into the house?
“You okay?”
Jif blinked, and the shadow resolved itself into a familiar head of wiry dark hair and molten brown eyes.
“Donte.” Her knees shook, threatening to collapse beneath her as the adrenaline bled away.
“Corey pre-gamed before the party, jawing about...” He trailed off, then shook his head, unwilling to repeat whatever Corey said. “Thought I’d check on you.”
“Thanks. He...” She trailed off, not wanting to spread stories, especially stories that might raise friction between teammates.
“You want to get out of here?”
Her eyes flicked to Donte’s face, wide open and kind, but if she said no, would he react like Corey had?
“I...”
“Jif, there you are!” Corey’s voice boomed through the hallway, and he shouldered Donte out of the way. “Come on.”
He grabbed her arm, but without the audience outside, she pulled away, shrinking behind Donte’s massive frame.
“Actually, I’m not feeling very well tonight. I think I’m gonna go home. Could you grab my shoes, Corey? I think I left them on the patio.”
His eyes darted between her and Donte, then his lip curled.
“Whatever.” He stalked away.
“Stay here, I’ll grab your shoes.” Donte kept his voice low, though not quite as gravelly as Miles’s, and Jif’s chest released, allowing a stuttering breath into her lungs.
“Thank you.”
He returned a few moments later, and as she leaned on the doorframe to slide her heels back on, he waited patiently, then he walked her out to her car.
As she slid into the driver’s seat, Donte bent down, leaning his arms on the edge of the door. “Not trying to encroach or anything, but Corey might not be your best bet.”
Jif frowned. “Yeah, I got that.”
“You ever need someone to bail you out, pull your ear, okay?”
Jif’s eyebrows rose.
“What? I got a sister, too. I’d rather Colton was keeping an eye on her than Corey harassing her.”
Donte must be a good brother. Colton had long since stopped caring about how the guys on his team viewed her. In his defense, he’d told her not to date any of them, but she’d been twenty-one and thought her big brother shouldn’t control her life anymore.
“Thanks, Donte. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good.” He paused, then cleared his throat. “Like I said, not encroaching, but...” He swallowed, his throat bobbing. “I mean, if you wanted to grab dinner sometime. Or a drink.”
His gaze alighted on the steering wheel, past her ear, the rearview mirror, and a bubble of warmth curled through Jif’s chest. She hadn’t been asked out so adorably in, well, years.
She wanted to say yes on principle, because Donte had bailed her out, because he wouldn’t use it to bargain for a date, because his nerves so clearly showed, as if any woman would say no.
She rested a hand on his arm. “You’re sweet. Thank you.”
“I’ll call you sometime, okay?”
Jif chewed her lip. She liked Donte. A sense of safety followed his presence, like...
She blinked.
Oh. Oh.
Still, she couldn’t bear to disappoint him, not after he’d been so kind. “Sometime, yeah.”
He stood, knocking on the roof twice.
As she pulled away, his form receded in the rearview mirror. Donte was a nice guy. Maybe instead of wasting her time with jerks like Corey, she should commit to more men like him.
How different would her life be right now if she’d danced with Garrett instead of Jonah? If she’d told Jordan she’d move to Cincinnati with him instead of waiting for an invitation. What if she stayed tonight, instead of retreating like a coward, and had a drink or two with Donte?
At a red light, she pulled her phone from her purse on the passenger seat.
Meet me at Mac’s?
She typed, sure about what—who—she wanted, then hit send.
Bubbles appeared, then disappeared. The light turned green, and she drove another block before checking again. More bubbles, but no response. Two lights later, it finally came through.
Give me half an hour.
Jif grinned. She couldn’t imagine anyone better suited to scraping the ick of Corey’s behavior off her skin.