8. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
SHYLOH
Was I drunk or was Becca Dawson looking at me? There’s no way that this woman could possibly be looking at me , I was sure of it.
“What’s wrong, Mendoza? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost,” Blythe Wheeler laughed, sitting beside me at our assigned table.
Blythe was my teammate and go-to running back for the Crescent City Kings. He also happened to be one of the highest rated players in the league, yet here we were—the playboys—sitting at our team’s gala without dates.
Who am I kidding? This sucked.
“Oh my God. She’s walking over here. Be cool,” Blythe said in a hushed tone. We quickly adjusted ourselves in the seats to look like we weren’t just staring her down across the room.
“Hello, boys. Flying solo tonight, I see,” Becca greeted us, and I just couldn’t help but stare.
I don’t think I’d ever been at a loss for words around a woman, but this one… this one I just couldn’t process my words fast enough for them to leave my mouth. Her long blonde hair was pulled back, exposing her angelic face that was brewing with animosity for me, which I secretly loved.
The sting of pain rushed up my leg as I realized Blythe had kicked me under the table. I grunted softly, cutting my eyes to him. “Oh! Hey there, Becca. What brings you over here to the cool kids table.”
What the fuck was I even saying? The cool kids table… What am I, thirteen?
She laughed, tightening the grip on her red wine glass. “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?”
I glanced at Blythe then back to Becca, pointing a finger to my chest. “Who, me?”
She nodded and snorted softly. “Yes, you. I need to tell you something important and I can’t tell you in front of everyone.”
This woman could tell me to follow her to prison and I would go. I gave an awkward wave to Blythe as he sipped his whiskey neat, shaking his head in disbelief at me. I was the starting quarterback for the Kings, but here I was feeling like a teenage boy in high school all over again .
I trailed behind Becca as close as I could, walking towards the hallway entrance of the hotel. We were having our first annual gala under our new owner, Lathan Allaire. He was a pretty good pick to take over the franchise, and as long as he didn’t mess with my position, I’d be fine with him being the head of our organization.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked Becca as she opened the doors to the hallway. We proceeded to walk towards the back of the building, near the courtyard. My eyes couldn’t help but trail over the red satin dress that tied around her neck, framing her toned back.
My traitorous eyes also couldn’t help but stare at the perfectly rounded ass that the material clung to every step of the way.
Leaning over a side table in the hallway, she placed her wine glass down.
“You’ll see,” Becca laughed, a low and seductive sound escaping those plush lips.
Once we got to the end of the hallway, she pushed open a side door to a smaller dining area, empty of people but with chairs and tables stacked onto one another. The lights were out, and we were the only two in the space.
“Is this where you’ll kill me?” I asked her.
“Oh c’mon, Shy. Don’t be so dramatic. If I were going to kill you, I’d do it somewhere else. Not with hundreds of people around,” Becca replied sarcastically.
My eyes took in her frame as she stood by the floor to ceiling windows which allowed the only available light in from the full moon. It caressed her body in a way I wished I could .
“So, what am I doing here? What’s this secret you are so desperate to tell me?”
She sighed, picking at her nails and avoiding eye contact.
“Becca. Tell me.”
She tilted her head at me and whispered, “Lenna and Conrad are engaged.”
My mouth dropped open because what the hell? “When?”
“Last weekend, at their new house. Lenna asked that I tell you. I know you and Lenna were close and I didn’t want you to find out when they walked in. But I also wanted to ask if you would maybe keep it a little bit of a secret until they decide they want to tell everyone, mostly because of their jobs.”
Ah. This made more sense now.
“Yeah. That’s no problem. Are, um, are you excited?” I asked her. Becca was Lenna’s best friend, but I knew there was more under that stunning exterior of hers than what she let on. She was keeping secrets.
Her bright eyes flickered to mine, just for a moment, before they emptied of all emotion. Completely void. “I am. I’m really happy for Lenna.”
“ Are you really happy or are you just saying that?” I ask her more urgently. I needed to know what was going on in that beautiful head of hers.
She stepped back, pressing against the windowsill and moving her hands to her sides, messing with the fabric that gathered around her hips .
“I really am happy for them. They deserve so much joy after what they’ve been through.”
“But—”
Becca’s eyes narrowed on me as I stepped towards her. “But what? There’s not a but to that sentence.”
I clicked my tongue. “Ah. I think there is. You’re happy for them, but—”
She rolled her eyes at me as I stood inches from her, contemplating whether or not I should kiss her senseless right now or let her talk.
“But… It sucks. I shouldn’t be jealous of them and their relationship, but there’s a part of me that is. They get their happily ever after and—”
“And you don’t?”
Becca nodded, slowly closing her eyes and leaning her head against the window. My eyes trailed over her neck, flushed slightly from the wine, and the scar that she has from the accident I had heard about from Jordy. The accident that killed his brother and nearly killed Becca. The relationships that Becca, Conrad, and Lenna have were already so rooted in their past, and I was simply an outsider wanting to be let in.
When she opened her bright jade eyes on me, I felt a tingle spread from the top of my spine all the way to my toes. This woman had an effect on me.
“Don’t you want a happily ever after, Becks?”
She snorted. “Becks? You don’t get to call me that.”
I took another step, and I could practically see the sirens going off in her head. She pulled her hands up, placing them on my chest as I studied every inch of her. Her cleavage was pushed up, exposing her tits, and if I kept looking, I’d combust right here without even touching her.
“Shy, I don't think this is a good idea,” she said softly, with her eyes darting between mine.
“Why not? When’s the last time you had some fun for yourself?”
“It’s been a while,” Becca sighed, and I pressed my body against hers, reaching my hands around the base of her neck.
“Let me kiss you. Please,” I begged her. If I could kiss her just one time, I knew she would be able to feel what I feel when I’m around her.
She took a deep breath and replied, “I’m sure it won’t be that memorable for me.”
I laughed, a deep chuckle that rattled through my chest as I tilted her head up to mine. “I sure as fuck will make it memorable for me.”
My lips melted into her sweet and pouty mouth, with my tongue coaxing her, wanting her to play with me. Her sigh was all I needed, and immediately her body melded into mine and I lost absolute control. My hands drifted to her hips as I lifted her against the glass, pressing my already hard cock against her.
Becca moaned into my mouth and my hands slipped, finding a bare ass cheek. I pulled back quickly, apologizing and she nearly knocked me over with her hands. Gripping the back of my neck, she moaned, “Don’t you dare stop, Shyloh. ”
Holy shit. This was happening. I had been around this glorious woman ever since Lenna brought her to one of our practices. I’d tried to hang out with her, take her on dates, but she always said she was unavailable . Yet here we were.
I ground my hips against her and a small moan escaped her lips, vibrating against mine. “Mmm. Be careful, Becca,” I murmured. “I’ll fuck you against this window for everyone to see if you keep making noises like that.”
“Maybe I’d like that,” she hummed.
I smiled into her lips when the door to the room flung open. I jumped back from Becca as apologies started to pour out of Blythe’s mouth as he pulled the door back just enough that he could let his voice through.
“I’m so, so sorry. I wouldn't have—I couldn’t find,” he stuttered.
“Spit it the fuck out, won’t you, Blythe?” I yelled at him, placing Becca back on her two feet. She quickly straightened her dress and wiped under her bottom lip to make sure her lipstick wasn’t too smudged.
I stomped toward the door and flung it open to be greeted with a terrified Blythe. “I really am sorry,” he stammered. “I just– Coach Kenny was looking for you, and I thought it would be best if I found you before he did.”
I sighed, annoyed that my coach wanted to come find me. I’m a grown ass man, I don’t need anyone looking after me.
“Okay. We’ll be back in the ballroom in a minute,” I replied while closing the door, leaving Becca and I standing there, breathlessly staring at each other .
I bit my lip, nervous to ask her what I had been wanting to ask. But I knew I couldn’t wait much longer to ask. “Before we go out there, I was wondering if you’d like to come to my game this weekend. It’s a home game and you already know I have a seat reserved for you. I’d really love it if you came.”
Her expression was blank as she glanced towards her feet and back up to me. “Thanks, but no thanks.” Becca opened the door, stepped into the hallway, and began walking back to the ballroom.
I inwardly groaned at the frustration this woman continued to cause me, and I realized right then and there that I would annoy the fuck out of her until she came to a game. I didn’t care how many annoying text messages, flowers, or mariachi bands it would take—I would make it happen.