Chapter 22 Lincoln
LINCOLN
My knuckles are white with my grip on the balcony railing.
I managed to hold myself back for a while, but eventually the pull to search her out in the crowd is too much to ignore.
I’m just checking on her, I tell myself.
Doing my duty as her big brother’s best friend.
But it’s all bullshit.
I’m searching her out because I need to.
Trying to find her because of some weird compulsion I’ve had for…far longer than I’m willing to confess to.
I expect to find her dancing and enjoying herself. And that’s exactly what I find when my eyes finally land on her in the crowd. Only, she isn’t just dancing. She’s dancing with a guy. Rolling her hips against his, letting his hand roam over her body. Losing herself in him and the beat.
How I remain standing here is beyond me. All I want to do is race down there and drag him away from her. Replace him with myself and discover what it would feel like dancing with her…
Get it fucking together, Storm.
Closing my eyes, I tip my head back, but the second darkness sets in, all I see is her dancing with him.
The alcohol swimming in my veins does very little to wash it away.
I don’t drink that often anymore. Being focused and ready for a game is more important. But everything was different tonight. I needed something, anything, to take the edge off of everything I’ve been feeling the last few days. It’s been…a lot.
Forcing myself to take a few deep breaths, I try to empty my mind.
Forget the irritation of not being able to play and support my team tonight, lose the annoyance I’ve forced myself to feel toward Parker.
Truthfully, I’m grateful. But I can’t let her see that.
It’s easier to pretend I’m annoyed with her.
It helps to keep a barrier between us. If that slips, then…
I can’t go down that road.
Not again.
When I finally open my eyes and scan the gyrating bodies below me, I don’t find her.
My heart jumps into my throat.
What if she left with the guy?
What if he takes her back to his place? Or worse, what if she brings him to our hotel and I’m forced to see him leave in the morning? I guess I should be thankful that her room isn’t next to ours this time.
I couldn’t listen to that...
I don’t want to know what she sounds like when she’s getting fucked by someone else. I don’t want to know how hard he makes her come, or how good she is for him.
Frantically, my eyes dart around, searching for them as panic floods through my veins.
I don’t breathe until I spot her.
“Thank fuck,” I breathe, watching her, Brooke, and Leah at the bar.
For the briefest moment, I don’t think the guys are with them, but then they step closer.
He smiles down at her as if she’s just hung the moon as he runs his hand down her back, and I fight to take a breath.
I can’t even say they don’t look good together because, quite honestly, they do.
I can’t tear my eyes off them as the bartender slides their drinks over. The six of them chat and drink. At no point does he break contact with her, and it makes me want to rip his arm off.
“What’s caught your…ah,” Kodie says, coming to join me and immediately spotting the car crash I’m watching. “And here I was, thinking you were enjoying yourself.”
“Someone is,” I mutter.
“Dude, you’ve got it bad.”
“I don’t have anything. I’m just keeping an eye out is all. What if he’s a murderer?”
“What if he’s her soulmate?”
“The fuck, Rivers?” I bark.
He shrugs, not giving a shit. “You’ve been spending too much time with Casey.”
“I’m in love, man. What can I say?” His eyes go all soft as he thinks about her. It’s cute as shit.
I’m happy for him, I really am. He’s certainly less grumpy now that he’s getting laid regularly, and that’s good for all of us.
It’s just a shame that he’s upped his level of action, and mine seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth.
It’s not for lack of trying; it’s just that over the last few months, no one has really stolen my attention.
The girls who approach me are all hot, sure. But no one is sparking that match.
My eyes shoot to Parker again. Okay, so maybe not no one.
I think back to jerking off in the bathroom at our previous hotel. Yeah, there was fire in my veins then, for sure.
“I’m heading out. I—”
“What’s happening over here?” Killer barks as he and Handsy join us.
“Ah, scoping out the possibilities. Shit, she’s hot,” he says, jerking his chin in the direction of a group of girls I completely passed by earlier. “I think it’s time to get dancing, boys.”
“I’m actually leaving,” Kodie says again, taking a step away. His eyes find mine, silently asking if I’m going with him.
I should. Staying here is dangerous. I either get to watch Parker continue to grind on that guy and then eventually leave with him, or I go down there and do something about it. Both sound like disasters in the making.
But then I look at Killer and Handsy. They’re expecting me to be the one to lead the way.
Making a snap decision, I spin around and march toward the stairs with Kodie at my side.
“I just need to talk to her, then I’ll meet you outside.”
He glances at me, ready to argue, but the second he gets a look at my determined expression, he agrees.
“Five minutes or I’m leaving.”
“Fine by me.”
I look back as we get to the bottom of the stairs and find half the team following us with excitement etched onto their faces. They need this after tonight.
Coach was right: we need to get it out of our systems so we can move on.
The second the rope to the VIP section is pulled back, chaos ensues.
Safe to say our location has been leaked.
Girls scream our names and the braver ones move closer.
I brush a few off, not even bothering to look at them as I keep moving toward my destination.
Just before I turn toward the bar, I spot Kodie escaping through the exit, but the others have been swallowed into the crowd. Good for them. I hope they all have a good night. Something tells me I won’t be.
“Hey,” I say, stepping up to Parker and none too discreetly forcing her new friend to take a step back.
She turns to me, her eyes wide with shock.
“Oh, you are not serious,” she seethes.
“What? What did I do?” I balk.
“All day you’ve done nothing but scowl at me. And now, of all moments, you decide it’s time for a chat?’
“Well, no. I was just—”
“Holy shit, you’re Lincoln Storm,” the guy Parker was dancing with announces, his eyes wide with awe. “Fucking sucks you didn’t get to play tonight. Whoever made that call was wrong, in my opinion.”
I nod in agreement before turning my attention back to Parker, raising a brow.
Usually, I don’t have a problem interacting with fans, but tonight, this guy…no. Just no.
She rolls her eyes but refuses to point out that she’s the one who kept me on the bench to her little buddy.
“We’re heading back to the hotel. Did you want a ride?”
Parker’s lips part, but no words spill free. She looks at Brooke, then Leah, and finally the guy with stars in his eyes.
“No, we’re okay here,” she says confidently.
Holy shit. So this is what it feels like to be turned down.
Sure, I wasn’t propositioning her, but still.
“But—”
“No buts, Storm. Go back, ice your leg. Get some rest. Who knows, that idiot who benched you tonight might change their mind for the next game.”
I narrow my eyes, hating the way she’s talking about herself.
I might have given her a hard time over the last few days, but we both know she made the right call.
And as much as I hate to say it, my leg feels so much better.
With her working on it and a more regimented icing regime, it’s almost as good as new.
“Don’t do—”
“Go back to the hotel,” she insists. “I don’t need, and never have needed, a babysitter. I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.”
Fuck. She is. I know she is. She’s dated plenty over the years. Just…not right under my nose.
I really don’t fucking like the idea of this douche getting to spend the night with her.
“But—”
Brooke steps in front of me, her eyes holding mine despite the fact that she’s barely five feet tall.
“She told you to leave,” she states fiercely as someone steps up behind me.
“Come on, let’s go,” a familiar deep voice rumbles as a hand curls around my shoulder.
“Fletcher Ferguson. I’m a massive fan,” Douche says, holding his hand out for Fletch to shake.
Because Fletch is one of the best people I know and a fantastic captain, he shakes the guy’s hand and accepts his condolences over tonight’s loss.
“Our Uber is here,” Fletch says the second he can get a word in. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“No buts,” he warns in my ear before practically dragging me away from Parker, leaving her with Douche.
Just before we walk around the corner to leave, I look back.
My heart jumps into my throat because Parker hasn’t forgotten all about me and turned back to him. Instead, her eyes are locked on mine.
The moment she realizes what she’s doing, she looks away and turns back to the group, a fake smile pulling at her lips.
“Fuck,” I breathe.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Fletch assures me.
But as we walk out of the club and hit the cool night air, I can’t help feeling like I’m doing the opposite.
The short drive back to our hotel is in silence. Both Kodie and Fletch have their noses in their cells, no doubt messaging their women, letting them know they’ve got minutes to be phone sex ready.
Ripping my eyes from them, I focus out the window, watching the city pass by outside.
A heavy sigh passes my lips as the hotel approaches.
Heat burns down the side of my face, letting me know that they’re studying me, but I don’t look over.
I can’t; I’m too busy wondering what it must be like to be able to go home to someone who means the world to you, even if home means a hotel miles away.
“I’m gonna get another drink, give you some time,” I say as we move toward the elevators.
“You don’t have to do that,” Kodie says.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m not ready to crash yet.” I want to wait here and see if Parker comes back, and if she does, I want to know if she’s alone or not.
“Okay,” Kodie concedes, more than happy to have some alone time with his girl. “Please, don’t do anything stupid.”
“What, me?” I ask, faux-horrified. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”
“We know you too well. Why do you think he’s saying it?” Fletch laughs.
“Enjoy the rest of your night,” I say, dismissing them. “See you in the morning.”
They watch me for a moment, words dancing on the tips of their tongues, but they both decide against saying anything.
“Goodnight,” they finally say before disappearing into the elevator.
I grab myself a soda from the bar before sitting into a shadowed corner that faces the entrance to the hotel, and I wait.
Time passes slower than I’ve ever known. I picture Parker and the rest of the guys still partying hard.
It’s what I should be doing. That or icing my leg like I was instructed, but I can’t find the energy to do either.
I just need to know she’s back and alone.
I almost give up waiting when my eyes begin to close, but I’m glad I don’t, because only ten minutes later, headlights illuminate the entrance to the hotel before two familiar figures come stumbling into the building trying to smother their giggles.
The need to go to her and help her to the room again burns through me, but I don’t. I force myself to sit there and watch them disappear, happy that she isn’t spending the night with another man.