Chapter 18 – Jordie #2
Disconnecting, he blows out a long breath and rubs his fingertips over his forehead before calling his administrative assistant. Once he’s made sure she and her family are okay, he gives her the updated information and asks her to make the necessary hotel changes for us and the flight crew.
Done with all the business stuff, Phoenix closes his eyes and breathes deeply for a long moment. I venture a couple steps into the room since I’m still hovering in the connecting doorway.
“Are you all right?” I ask softly, and he opens his eyes, bobbing his head up and down a few times.
“I am. Thank you.” Then he turns his head to the side and points to the spot above his right ear. “Do I have any new gray hairs? Because I think I just aged at least thirty years.”
I walk closer until I’m right in front of him, allowing my fingers to brush gently over his hair. “There are a few, but I think they were already there,” I say, letting my tone hold a hint of a tease.
“I’ve been collecting them for the past four and a half years,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m surprised I don’t look like Colonel Sanders at this point.”
“Harland Sanders was a lawyer at one point,” I note. “Like you.”
Phoenix lifts his hand and drifts his fingertips down the back of my hand and arm in an almost absent-minded gesture, like it’s the most natural thing in the world to do.
“Was he really?”
I’m distracted by the tingles his touch induces on my skin, and I’ve completely forgotten what we were talking about.
“Was who really what?” I ask stupidly, dropping my hand away because touching Phoenix apparently causes some kind of brain malfunction on my part.
“Was Colonel Sanders really a lawyer?” he asks, amused.
“Oh. That. Yes,” I say, gathering my wits. “But he got in trouble after a courtroom brawl with a client.”
Phoenix quirks an eyebrow. “And how do you know this?”
“My sister is a librarian,” I explain. “I spent a lot of summers in the stacks. For some reason, I went through a biography phase when I was about ten.”
“That’s really cool. My mom couldn’t get me to read anything but comics at that age.” He rises, and with my heels on, we’re about the same height.
As we’re walking out the door, my phone rings, and I yank it from my purse, hoping it’s not more bad weather news.
“Oh,” I say, disappointed when I read the text.
“Is something wrong?” Phoenix asks.
I place my phone back in my purse. “It’s from Kam. She’s coming to dinner and bringing Sulley, but Kennedy isn’t feeling well, so she’s not going to make it.”
“Girl, look at you,” Kam exclaims when I approach the table. “You are looking hot as hell.” She stands and takes both my hands, holding them out so she can inspect me.
“Uh, excuse me? Did you look in the mirror before you left home?” Her dress is much like mine, fitted and short, but in a vibrant red color that looks amazing with her dark hair.
“I did. I kinda wanted to spank my own ass in this dress.” She turns and gives me a wiggle of her backside, and I laugh.
I adore her confidence, and it’s somewhat contagious.
My former reticence fades away because I do look good in this tight dress.
While it’s certainly nice when men compliment you—or look at you like Phoenix did earlier—there’s something about another woman lifting you up that hits a little differently.
The other woman in the booth stands, and I recognize her immediately. Mega-basketball-superstar, Sulley O’Shea. She’s dressed in a silky plum dress with spaghetti straps and marabou fur trim around the bottom hem, which hits about mid-thigh.
We share an embrace. “It’s so nice to meet you. And congratulations on Rookie of the Year,” I say into her dark hair.
She pulls back and grins at me. “Same. I’m excited to watch you shine this year. I can’t believe there’s finally a major football league for females.”
“Been a long time coming,” I reply as we take our seats with Kam in the middle of the round booth. “I love your dress, Sulley.”
Scrunching her nose, she elbows Kam. “She made me wear it. I’d rather be in sweats.”
“Same,” I answer, and Kam rolls her eyes at us.
“I don’t think either of you are going to die from dressing up for one night.”
“This looks like something one of the women from Real Housewives would wear to bed,” Sulley argues, waving a hand up and down her torso.
Kamryn lifts an eyebrow. “Good. Then you’ll be ready for any bedtime activities you might be planning for tonight.”
My eyes ping pong back and forth, watching their banter. It’s obvious they’re good friends.
A waiter appears, interrupting their wardrobe standoff. “Can I get you ladies something to drink?”
We all order a cocktail, but Kam taps the waiter’s arm before he can leave. “Also, three buttery nipple shots.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Have you eaten here before?” I ask, picking up the menu and looking it over. It contains mostly seafood dishes, though there are a few other selections.
Kam doesn’t even look at the menu. “Yes, I always get the ginger-dill salmon.”
Sulley peruses hers. “I can’t ever decide, but I think I’m getting the shrimp scampi tonight.”
I locate that and read the description before snapping my menu shut. “Sounds perfect. I’ll have the same.”
Reaching into a designer tote that perfectly matches her dress, Kamryn pulls out two folded shirts and hands them to me. “I thought we could do a jersey exchange.”
“Oh my god, thank you,” I say, inspecting Sulley’s pink-and-white basketball jersey and Kam’s white-and-blue softball one. “But I didn’t bring one for y’all.”
Kamryn digs into her bag again and pulls out three Dragons jerseys with my name and number on them. “I picked these up today.” She hands over a Sharpie and asks, “Would it be weird if I asked you to sign them? I got Kennedy one too so she doesn’t pitch a hissy fit.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I swear, I was wondering earlier if it would be too much to ask for your autographs.” After signing all three Dragons jerseys, I hand over the marker and have the two women sign my new Beavers and Anacondas gear.
The waiter returns with our drinks, and Kam asks, “Would you take a picture of us?”
He agrees, and we pose, holding up our jerseys while he snaps a few pics. Then he leaves our drinks and takes our food orders.
“This will be perfect for social media,” Kam says, scrolling through the photos. “I’ll send them to you and tag you both in a post.”
“We can do a collaboration on Instagram. That will pull a shit-ton of views with all the followers we have between the three of us,” Sulley suggests.
“I’m not very active on social media,” I admit. “I never know what to post.”
The other two stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. “But you have over a million followers on Insta,” Sulley finally says.
“I do? I haven’t checked it in a while.” Opening the app, I see she’s right. “Wow. Okay. I didn’t expect that.”
“I’ll be happy to help you come up with some good content. I’m pretty good at stuff like that,” Kam offers. “Now pick up your shots, bitches. Let’s toast to badass women in sports.”
By the time our meals are served, we’re all a bit tipsy because Kamryn freaking Hart keeps ordering shots. I twist up some angel hair pasta and spear a shrimp, knowing I need to get some food in my stomach. The garlic and lemon burst on my tongue, and I close my eyes as I chew.
“So good,” I groan.
Kam laughs as she cuts a bite of her salmon. “Girl, you look like that shrimp just gave you an orgasm.”
“I’m pretty sure it did.”
“Is the suit not taking care of your needs?” she asks, and I pause with another bite on my fork.
“The suit?”
She nods toward the bar, which is visible from our booth. The bar where Phoenix and Tanner Montgomery are sitting on two high-backed stools.
“Oh, no, no, no. Phoenix and I aren’t together,” I assure her with a shake of my head.
“Really?” she questions. “Because I thought I caught a vibe between you two.”
Sulley interrupts. “Hush, Kam. Jordie is dating that quarterback, Miles Soren.”
I inwardly cringe. “Actually, I’m not. We were dating briefly, but we broke things off when he moved to Chicago.”
“That sucks,” Kam laments, forking some flaky salmon into her mouth. “Football guys are hot, though I personally prefer baseball players.” Her face softens a tad around her eyes.
“I like football players. They’re really good in bed,” Sulley says before quickly adding, “or so I’ve heard.”
Kam smirks at her, and I have the feeling I’m missing something. “So who’s warming your bed now, McNamara?”
“I… um… nobody.” I take a fortifying sip of my martini and straighten my shoulders. “I’m a virgin.”
The agent’s fork clatters to her plate as she gapes at me. “No shit?”
“Kam, be nice,” Sulley warns. “It’s not your business.”
“It’s okay,” I say, smiling at both of them. “I’m not holding out for marriage or anything. It just hasn’t happened for me yet.”
“Not even with Miles? Is he not into women or something because you’re hot, McNamara.”
“He’s definitely into women. We did… some stuff, but when I told him I was ready and it was my first time, that’s when he told me he’d been traded.” I take another drink before continuing. “We both decided not to pursue a long-distance relationship.”
“But you want to have sex?”
“Jesus, Kamryn,” Sulley groans, massaging her temples. “You’re so damn pushy.”
“I’m not pushy. I just want my girl here to get some dick if she wants it.”
I can’t hold back my giggle. “I would like some dick. I have an extensive supply of toys, but I’d really like to have the real thing.”
“Why didn’t you do it with the QB then?”
My nose scrunches. “He said he’d feel like a jerk taking my virginity and then leaving for Chicago.”
Kam offers me a smile. “That was actually really decent of him.”
“He’s a good guy,” I tell her honestly. “But I can’t help but feel like he thought I might get clingy or something. You know, since it would have been my first time.”
“I can see that,” Sulley adds thoughtfully.
“It’s like there’s this virginity albatross hanging around my neck. I wish I could just do it and get it over with so I don’t have to worry anymore about having that whole discussion with someone I’m dating.”
Kam flashes Sulley a smug grin. “See? She wants the dick. She just needs to find an appropriate dick to defile her.”
Sulley rams a shoulder against her friend’s. “Swear to god, I have no idea what to do with you sometimes.”
“Your undying devotion is all I require,” she coos like a smartass before turning back to me and announcing, “Jordie, you need to bang the suit.”
I’d just taken another drink and had to jerk my napkin to my mouth to keep from spewing it all over the table. “The… You mean Phoenix?” The question squeaks out of me, causing me to sound suspiciously like a mouse.
“Yep,” she confirms. “He’s hot and older. He’ll definitely know how to pop that cherry and make it good for you.”
“B-but,” I stammer, “he would never.”
“Oh, but he would,” Sulley contradicts. “The man has looked over here at least forty times since you got here.”
“He has n—” The word is cut short when I look up to find Phoenix staring directly at me. Dammit. I jerk my gaze away from his piercing blue one.
“Are you attracted to him?” Kam asks, her voice softer and laced with concern.
“Well, I mean, look at him.” I risk another quick glance. Yep, still looking at me. “Of course I’m attracted to him. I’m a virgin, not dead.”
“You know,” Sulley muses, “despite being Kam’s psycho scheme, losing your virginity to Phoenix isn’t a half-bad idea. I’m sure he’s experienced, and that’s exactly what you need. You don’t want some young buck fumbling around down there looking for your sweet spot.”
At the thought of Phoenix’s long fingers between my legs, said sweet spot throbs. I mentally tell it to cut the shit.
“My sister once told me the younger guys couldn’t find a clit if they had Indiana Jones guiding them around a vagina,” I say, and the other two women burst into laughter.
“Ladies,” the waiter says, appearing beside our table again. From his smirk, I’m ninety-nine percent sure he heard what I just said. “Looks like we’re having a good time here. More drinks?”
Kam holds up three fingers. “A round of cherry bomb shots.” Then she elbows me in the ribs and grins. “With extra cherries.”
The more we drink, the more I agree with Sulley and Kamryn, and by the time we’re done with our meals, I’ve decided sleeping with Phoenix Hale sounds like a damn fine idea.