34. Reid
THIRTY-FOUR
REID
Me
Sorry. I didn’t want any of the interns snooping and seeing our messages.
Come over tonight?
Avery
I won’t land from Seattle until after nine. We’re delayed because of a maintenance issue.
Me
What about tomorrow?
Avery
Girl’s night. Hoes before bros, buddy.
Me
Let’s do tonight. I don’t care that it’ll be late.
Avery
Now who’s the needy slut?
Me
Only for you, beauty queen.
It feels good to sit at the table in the dark corner of the tiny bar and sip a beer with my friends. I haven’t hung out with Dallas and Maverick in a week and a half, and even though we’re an hour past the time I’d prefer to be home and winding down for the night, I can’t find it in me to complain.
“We haven’t been here in ages,” I say. “Thank fuck for the bye week and the one time a season Dallas drinks. You two keep this place in business with your tipping, and I’d hate for it to go under.”
“It must be nice to have such an easy schedule,” Maverick says. “I’m out here covering four time zones in five days. Busting my ass between Eastern and Pacific Standard, and you all are on a twenty-minute flight to Cleveland.”
“You wouldn’t last a second in the NFL, pretty boy,” Dallas says.
“Hey. Only Emmy is allowed to call me that.” He grabs his glass and downs half his drink. “She’ll kick your ass if she hears you using her nickname for me.”
“How did you get that nickname?” I ask. “Please don’t tell me it’s some inside joke involving sex.”
“Nah.” Maverick grins. “I’ve been ashamed to tell the story, but now that there’s a ring on her finger, I think it’s safe to say she’s accepted the fact I’m never going to leave her alone. She’s stuck with me for life. The first day we met, I assumed she was a fan waiting at the arena for me.”
“How the hell did you make that mistake?” Dallas asks. “Emmy could kick my ass in an arm wrestling contest.”
“It was stupid,” Maverick says. “I saw a hot girl and got all flustered. I hit on her, and she didn’t like that I didn’t know who she was. She told me the only thing she wanted to do with me was kick my ass on the ice, I was giddy she called me pretty, and the name started.”
“And now you two are living happily ever after.” I lift my drink his way, and he knocks his glass against my bottle. “How’s the wedding planning coming? Have you two locked down a date yet? A venue? Anything?”
“I’m going to have grandchildren before he makes a damn decision,” Dallas grumbles.
“Emmy and I hardly get any time together with our travel schedules. When we are alone, I don’t want to spend the afternoon we’re in the apartment talking about flower arrangements and centerpieces.” Maverick shrugs. “It’ll happen when it happens. Maybe it won’t ever happen. Maybe we’ll go to Vegas and do it. Or Mexico. Hell, maybe I’ll have an officiant come out when we play against her team next month and we can do it before the game.”
“Those all seem tame for you,” I say. “Surprised there isn’t any mention of fire or something dramatic as fuck.”
“Don’t give him ideas,” Dallas warns, and I laugh.
“Speaking of Emmy, where are your better halves tonight? It’s normally impossible to separate you all. I haven’t been the fifth wheel in a while, and I kind of miss it. You two don’t have nearly as much gossip as the girls do.”
“Mae told me they’re meeting Avery for some drinks,” Dallas tells me. “Girl’s night.”
“That’s right.” I remember her telling me about the outfit she was going to wear when she was falling asleep in my arms last night. “The three of them are probably trouble when they’re together.”
“They could probably take over the world,” Maverick says, and he glances over my shoulder with a sharp grin. “And speaking of trouble, look who it is. Jesus, Dal. It’s like you and Mae are on the same brainwaves.”
I spin in the booth. I follow his line of sight to the door and the three women sauntering inside. Every guy in the bar watches them too, and I swear to god everything moves in slow motion.
There’s Maven with her blonde hair. Emmy with her fiery red and Avery with?—
Fucking hell.
The wind gets knocked out of me when I see thigh-high black boots and a mini skirt that barely covers her ass. Her top cuts off halfway up her stomach, showing off smooth skin.
I can tell from all the way over here she’s not wearing a bra, and she should definitely have a fucking coat on. It’s way too cold outside.
My throat goes dry.
Someone says my name, but I’m not listening. I’m too busy paying attention to the way Avery tosses her hair over her shoulder. The glitter on her neck that shimmers and sparkles under the shitty bar lighting. The bright red lipstick on her mouth and how I’d like it on my cock.
“Fuck me,” I mumble.
“You’re a good-looking guy, but you’re not really my type,” Maverick says.
“Did you all plan this?” I ask, looking at my best friends. “Is this some purposeful setup so we’d be in the same place at the same time?”
“I swear we didn’t.” Dallas holds up his hands in innocence. “But talk about timing.”
“Timing,” I repeat, and I stare at Avery again. She settles on a stool at the bar and chats with the bartender who’s giving her a not-so-subtle once-over. I don’t like the way his eyes flick to her chest when she leans her elbows on the counter. I fucking hate the way he steps closer to her, invading her space. “How do you guys do it?”
“Do what?” Maverick asks. “Pretty broad question there, Plant Daddy.”
“Watch other men flirt with your women. Know they’re undressing them with their eyes. See them laugh because someone else said something and you wish it were you,” I blurt out, and my cheeks heat with a blush. “Hypothetically speaking.”
“Putting a ring on her finger helps. It gives a pretty clear don’t even fucking try message,” Dallas says. “I guess I take it as a compliment. They can flirt with her all they want, but she’s going home with me. Now, if they ever made her uncomfortable, you bet your ass we’d have a big problem on our hands. I’m not afraid to deck someone in the face if they don’t back up when Maven asks them to.”
“Emmy tells them to fuck off before they even try to talk to her.” Maverick cradles his chin in his hand, a dopey smile settling on his mouth. “I’m the luckiest bastard in the world.”
“Is Avery your woman now?” Dallas asks.
“No,” I say. Something bitter stirs in my chest with the word, and I narrow my eyes at the guy who takes the seat right next to her. “Definitely not.”
“Sounds like you’re not sure,” Maverick says.
“We’re not—there’s no label on it or anything. But, lately, things have started to feel different.” I glance back at my friends and sigh. “Our arrangement is starting to feel less like a physical relationship and more like…” I shrug and take a long sip of my beer. “More.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” I shrug again, because I really don’t fucking know. “Maybe I’m being dramatic.”
“What’s changed?” Dallas asks.
“A month ago, we’d fuck, she’d hang around for a few minutes, then she’d leave. Now we fuck, and I ask her questions about her dad. She sleeps over, and I bring her lunch. I stand up for her when some asshole talks shit to her. I bought her a Christmas present I think she’s going to like. Before, we’d taunt each other on our official accounts and give each other shit. It’s all texting now. We keep up with each other throughout the day, and none of our arguments hold any actual heat. I think—” I swallow and pull off my glasses, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I think I could fall for her.”
“You got all of that from watching some dude try to talk to her at the bar?” Maverick asks. “That’s pretty fucking impressive.”
“No. It’s not just right now. The last couple of times we’ve hooked up, it felt like we both had something we wanted to say. Neither of us wanted to be the first to say it, though.”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment.” Maverick clears his throat. “Remember when Emmy and I thought we could do the friends with benefits thing and you told me I was an idiot because there’s no way to have a friends with benefits arrangement without someone catching feelings? That it’s just sex until it isn’t because emotions always get involved? Surprise, motherfucker. It’s you. You’re the one with the feelings, and things are about to get messy.”
I play with the coaster sitting on the table and spin it between my fingers. “In hindsight, I recognize this was a really fucking stupid idea.” I drop my head back and groan. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t go over there and be an asshole. What if she wants those guys to talk to her? She’s single and it’s allowed.”
“Wait, what? You two aren’t exclusive?” Maverick asks.
“In the bedroom we are. Flirting and dating other people are gray areas I didn’t think to address. I don’t want to cock block her because I’m an idiot who broke our rules and now has a crush on her. Besides, it’s not like I’m in love with her. I just, you know, don’t like seeing other guys talk to her.”
“What if she’s breaking your rules too?” Dallas asks. “What if she’s sitting there wishing you would come over and cock block her? You could be her hero.”
Her hero .
I don’t know why that makes me puff out my chest. It makes me roll my shoulders back and hone in on her body language.
She doesn’t look interested in the khaki-wearing guy who scoots his stool closer to her. She keeps trying to talk to Maven and Emmy, and he keeps trying to talk to her.
That won’t do.
“Move,” I tell Maverick, and he grins.
“Oh, shit. Is this about to go down?”
“Nothing is going down. I’m only going to say hi.”
I climb out of the booth and make my way over to the bar. The closer I get, the more visible Avery’s discomfort is. Her lips are in a thin line, and she’s glaring at the spot on her thigh where the douche canoe in the polo is touching.
I slide up next to her and block him from her line of vision. Her eyes widen, and relief floods her face. The corners of her mouth turn up in a pretty smile, and she tips her head to the side.
“Yes?” she asks with a curious lift of her eyebrow.
“Reid.” I hold out my hand so she can shake it. Her fingers lace through mine and squeeze. “I hear you like whiskey. Neat. Can I buy you a drink?”
“A whiskey neat, huh? I think I’d like that,” she says.
“Hey.” There’s a tap on my shoulder. “Buddy, we were in the middle of a conversation.”
I glance behind me and stare at the man. I look him up and down, and when I get to his feet, I laugh.
“Sorry, dude. She has an aversion to boat shoes. It was never going to work out between you two,” I say, wrapping my fingers around her wrist. “C’mon, pretty girl. I’m stealing you away.”
Avery beams and follows me over to the jukebox. She leans against the wall and stares at me. “Wow, you’re smooth. Thank you for the rescue. I think my IOU list is a mile long at this point. What is it with us meeting in bars surrounded by shitty men?”
“I wasn’t interrupting, was I?”
“You think I wanted to talk to that sleazebag? He was telling me how much his watch cost.” She snorts. “I prefer the company I’m with right now.”
“I didn’t like watching you give your attention to someone else. Not when I’m here.” I pause before adding, “Not ever.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she says. “I wasn’t trying to make you upset.”
“I know you weren’t. Lately, I think I’d like for you to give your attention to me. Just to me,” I say, sharing the thought that’s been on my mind all week. “In the bedroom. And outside it too.”
She hums and steps closer. Her hand moves to my collar and tugs. “I’d like that,” she whispers.
“You would?”
“Yeah. We work well in the bedroom. Maybe we could try… out of the bedroom. Maybe not dating but…going places with our friends? Together? Like tonight. We could’ve come here together, and it would’ve been fun.”
“Okay.” I nod. “So not dating.”
“But not not dating,” she adds before groaning. “I don’t know. I like spending time with you, Reid. I’m not saying we need to hold hands or anything like that, but it would stop people from flirting with us when we don’t want to be flirted with.”
“No one flirts with me,” I say, and she laughs. “What?”
“That girl three tables behind you won’t stop looking over here. And don’t get me started on the one by the bathrooms.”
“Sounds like you might be jealous, Sinclair.” I reach a hand up and brush my fingers down her cheek. “But you don’t have to worry about them. I’m only looking at you. I have been for a while now.”
Avery’s eyes soften, and I feel her smile in the center of my chest. “I’m only looking at you too, Reid.”
“Now that that’s settled, do you want to come sit at our table? I’m sure Maven and Emmy have already made their way over, and I’m not letting Boat Bro talk your ear off again,” I say.
“I’d like that.” She kisses my cheek and tugs on my arm. “Let’s go, Duncan. I want to ask our friends their opinions on the Crocs versus Sperry debate.”
Our friends .
Like we do this all the fucking time.
She drops her hand from mine as we make our way back to the table so no one asks any questions about our PDA. She sits on the opposite side of the table. We don’t touch the rest of the night, but I realize how badly I’d love to do this all the fucking time.