Chapter 19
Rhett
When I was a teenager, I was head-over-heels in love with Heather Luzar, the most beautiful girl at my school.
Of course, everyone was in love with Heather Luzar because she was drop-dead gorgeous, and friendly to literally everyone in our class.
After pining after her for weeks, my dad sat me down at our kitchen table and taught me the way to a woman’s heart:
An unexpected gift at an unexpected time.
“Catch ‘em off guard,” he explained. “Women love surprises, and they love gifts. Combine them, and you can’t go wrong.”
I went to the barber and got a haircut, put on my best clothes, and bought a dozen roses. Heather worked at Ben & Jerry’s at the mall, so I sat on the bench across from the store and waited for her shift to end.
It didn’t work.
She let me down easy, because she was a sweetheart. And she told me that some day, that trick would work. I just had to wait for the right woman.
And sure as shit, it’s how I convinced Jessica Langford to go out with me a few months later.
I used it again my senior year to ask Molly Parkson to prom, even though she was the head cheerleader and therefore way out of my league.
I used it two more times in college, which is how I dated Adriana Lawson for over a year.
“We already have the same last name,” I told her after knocking on the door of the Beta Kappa Alpha house.
“It’ll save on paperwork when we fall madly in love and get married. ”
It felt kind of cheap to have a “move,” but hey, why change strategies if it worked?
Obviously, I didn’t need to do that anymore. My go-to move was now, “Hi, my name is Rhett Lawson, the starting right wing for the Atlanta Reapers.” Throw in the fact that I was a pretty good-looking guy, and it was almost too easy.
But I had one problem: the woman I wanted to win over already knew I was on the Reapers. Because she was a member of the team, too.
Ever since June and I hooked up, I was smitten. She was all I could think about, literally all the fucking time. When I fell asleep, I hugged my extra pillow and imagined it was her body curled up against mine, warm and soft.
The longer it went on, the more I realized that this feeling was new. Something I’d never felt before. It made my teenage infatuation with Heather Luzar look like puppy love.
And deep down, I was absolutely fucking terrified that our quickie in the trainer’s room would be the only time I ever felt her lips on mine.
If it were any other girl, I could’ve pushed her out of my head.
I was good at focusing, especially during the hockey season.
I’d done it half a dozen times before, letting women down easy and telling them maybe we could pick things back up in the summer, when I wasn’t spending all my time with a stick in my hands.
There was one problem: I had to see June all the fucking time.
She was always there in the trainer’s room, or on the bench next to the coaches, or supervising one of my teammates while they lifted weights in the power rack.
How was I supposed to run through my puck-handling drills while she was right there, pursing those full lips and grinning at me like she was thinking about my cock inside of her?
I felt like an alcoholic who always had a bottle of vodka dangling in front of his face.
And now she was out on a date with Cole.
It was the wake-up call I needed. I’d been screwing around too much since we hooked up. Letting too much time pass. If this girl was special—which I was growing more certain of every goddamn day—then I needed to make a move before I lost her.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late. Cole and I were buddies, and I knew him better than he knew himself.
He liked to take things slow with women.
Go out on a date. Think about it. Go on a second date.
Think about it some more. And then, after three dates, he would maybe kiss her on the cheek.
Or, if he was feeling really courageous, on the lips.
How scandalous!
So after meeting with the Reapers social media manager, I went home and hatched my master plan.
I showered, splashed on a little cologne, then put on my best clothes: a long-sleeve cotton shirt that would make my eyes pop, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal my forearms, and my favorite pair of jeans that made my ass look great.
Yes, guys thought about these kinds of things, too. Especially when the potential for true love was at stake.
I used the employee directory to look up June’s home address, which would have been super fucking creepy in any other context, but I figured she wouldn’t call me a stalker since we’d already bumped uglies.
It was a nice night, so after a quick stop at the ABC store, I sat on the bench outside her apartment complex and waited.
An unexpected gift at an unexpected time. And unlike all the other times I’d done it, tonight I had the advantage of having already slept with the woman. When June parked her black Ford Bronco and came walking up to the entrance, I couldn’t help but smile.
But when she saw me, she didn’t react with joyful surprise.
It was something closer to terror plastered on her face as she stopped in her tracks and blurted out, “Rhett?”
“I got sick of our schedules not lining up,” I said, walking toward her. “I can’t stop thinking about you, June. And about that night in the trainer’s room. There’s something real between us. I figured we could share some IPAs and see what happens.” I lifted the six pack to show her.
But the terrified expression didn’t disappear. She just stood there, frozen in shock.
Had I totally fucked up?
It was only when Cole came around the corner of the building did I realize what was happening. “Rhett? What are you doing here?”
No fucking way. Cole Thibault was going home with a woman after a single date? He must have really liked June. I couldn’t blame him.
Time to fall back on my favorite defense mechanism: humor.
“Cole? June? Surprised to see y’all here. I was just out for a stroll with my six friends here.” I raised the six-pack to eye level and addressed them like they were a person. “Let’s go home, girls. I want you inside me.”
June finally laughed, even though it was the nervous kind. Better than her looking shocked to see me.
“You two have a nice night,” I said, turning away.
“Were you… trying to hook up with June again?” Cole asked.
I turned back around, glancing back and forth between them. “Again? You told him?”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t,” she replied. “You seem like the kind of guy who brags about his sexual exploits. No offense.”
“Hey. Some offense taken,” I said.
“Rhett’s not that kind of guy,” Cole said, coming to my defense.
“Don’t need you to defend my honor, buddy,” I replied.
He held up his palms. “Just telling the truth.”
June groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fuck. I’m sorry. This was obviously a huge mistake. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with one member of the team, let alone two.” She turned to Cole. “Maybe we should say goodnight here.”
Cole glanced at me with a look that said: way to fuck things up, bro.
Damnit. Now I felt really bad. Yeah, I wanted June so badly I would slam my dick in a door just to sleep with her again, but I didn’t mean to cock-block my buddy. I wasn’t an asshole. But it was obvious I’d ruined whatever chemistry they’d had on their date.
So I tried something crazy. Something Cole might totally hate me for if it didn’t work.
“Instead of calling it a night, how about the three of us go upstairs, share a few drinks, and see where the night goes?” I said with a suggestive smile.
Cole’s eyes widened when he realized what I was going to say.
“After all,” I added, “Cole and I have done that before with a woman, and we’ve always wanted to try it again.”