Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
CHASE
A s I adjust my shirt, I turn back and watch Hayes as he slides his feet into his sneakers. He slowly stands upright, his gaze meeting mine.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, a touch of concern washing over his expression. “Do you not feel like going out tonight?”
I stare at him for a moment, narrowing my eyes slightly as I remember the last time I decided to go out with him. "That depends on if you're going to try to set me up with someone again."
Hayes half rolls his eyes as he grabs his cap, pushes his light brown hair away from his forehead, and puts it on. "Nope, that won't be happening again. You're on your own now."
"I mean, in all fairness, I never did ask for your help," I remind him as we both head out of our condo and walk through the building.
"No, you didn’t." Hayes pauses as he holds the door open for me. We fall back into step with one another as we walk to the street where the car is waiting for us. "I think we just need to find someone who fits both of us."
Abruptly coming to a halt, I whip my head to the side to look at him as he reaches for the door. "What?"
Hayes glances at me and shrugs. This isn’t the first time we’ve had a talk like this, but it’s the first time he’s the one suggesting it. "I’ve been thinking about what you said that night and I think you’re right. We may not work out with just the two of us, but who’s to say it wouldn’t work if we had a third?"
I let his words seep into my brain, creeping into the crevices of my mind. Hayes and I have had an attraction to one another for years. We’ve acted on it before, but neither of us wanted to give up women to exclusively be together. We’ve shared before, but finding someone who fit us both was a weird balance.
We’ve never been able to make it work long term, just the two of us, but maybe there’s a solution.
Maybe he’s right.
"How would we make it work?” I ask, not fully knowing why the hell that’s the first thing that comes out of my mouth.
Hayes lowers himself into the car and scoots over for me as I slide in beside him. He exchanges a quick hello with the driver, but then he tunes us out as he answers his phone. Hayes looks back at me. “I don’t know. We’d just have to figure it out as we go.”
I tilt my head to the side as the car pulls away from the curb. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Maybe it is,” he says slowly, his voice trailing off before he gives me a devious grin. “Or maybe it’s the best fucking idea yet.” He pauses again. “I think I may have found our match, and I think you’d really like her.”
I stare at him, waiting for him to continue because I have a feeling where he might be going with this now. “Who?”
“Do you remember Quinn?” he asks, looking at his phone to see how far we are from our destination before his gaze meets mine again. “The physical therapist I was telling you about?”
Jesus Christ.
Hayes has told me all about her and honestly, I’ve been intrigued since the moment he told me about the interactions and the tension between them. But that doesn’t eliminate the fact that she works for the Aston Archers—the very team Hayes plays for. He knows it and I know it.
Shit, we all know it.
It’s a line he probably shouldn’t cross.
“I remember.”
That doesn’t mean he won’t cross it…
“She was at Matthews’ party last night.” Hayes stops talking as the driver pulls up and we both exit the vehicle. We fall into step beside each other as he starts to talk again. “We almost hooked up in his laundry room in the middle of the party.”
“What happened?”
Hayes purses his lips as we pause outside of the entrance to the bar. “Fucking Ford came to the door because Nova was looking for me. You know how she gets everyone on the team something small for the holiday.”
I nod, remembering the small handmade candle I found on the counter this morning when I woke up. “So, what happened with Quinn after that?”
Hayes shrugs and pulls open the door for me as I step inside the building. It’s relatively empty, considering it’s Christmas Day and most people are busy with their families. Hayes and I didn’t have anywhere to go and it’s one of the only places open in the outskirts of Aston.
“She hid in the cabinet and then I saw her in her car a few minutes later,” he tells me with amusement dancing in his tone. “I’m guessing she probably snuck out when no one was paying attention—probably right after we almost got caught.”
I let out a laugh, shaking my head at him as we walk up to the bar and sit down beside one another. “Wait. She hid in the cabinet?”
A chuckle rumbles in his chest and he nods. “It was an in-the-moment decision, so no one saw us together. She hid in there and I went out with Ford to find Nova.”
I stare at my best friend and roommate for a moment as I process the things he’s telling me. He made out and almost hooked up with someone who works for the Archers and didn’t talk to her afterward, yet he seems to think I would like her and she would be into both of us.
“You’re delusional.”
His eyebrows pull together as I blurt out the words. “Why?”
“What makes you think you found our match in her?” I tilt my head to the side at him before we’re interrupted by the bartender. He sets two napkins in front of us and asks for our order.
Hayes orders each of us an old-fashioned before the bartender steps away to make our drinks.
“Did you tell her about me?” I ask him, my voice semi-low as my gaze meets his again. “Did you tell her about us?”
“Well, no,” he says matter-of-factly, as if none of that is a big deal. “We didn’t really get a chance to talk specifics.”
“This is exactly why you’re delusional,” I tell him, snorting again. “You know that not all women are into bisexual men and they’re not all into being shared either.”
Hayes pushes his shoulders back, straightening his spine as the muscle in his jaw momentarily tightens. The bartender sets our drinks in front of us and I watch Hayes as he lifts his to take a sip.
“There’s something about Quinn,” he says quietly, his voice filled with confidence. “If you were there last night, I have no doubt you wouldn’t be thinking the same right now.”
I lift my own glass, swallowing back a mouthful of the liquid as I feel the burn sliding down my throat. Hayes isn’t a delusional person, even if it may seem like it in this moment. I can’t help but believe him. He doesn’t throw around suggestions like this if he doesn’t mean it. His gaze doesn’t waver and I know he means every word he says.
“Okay, I believe you,” I admit, assuring him as I give him a swift nod. “But how do you test this theory?”
Hayes slowly does a survey of the place and I watch his expression transform as his eyes fix on something across the bar. His nostrils flare as he continues to stare. My gaze follows his, landing on someone sitting alone on the other side, sipping a martini as she scrolls on her phone. I’ve seen her before, only once when Hayes showed me a picture, but she has the kind of face you don’t forget.
Quinn Sanders.
Hayes turns his head to look at me, and our gazes collide instantly. I watch the way his throat bobs as he swallows. A ghost of a smile dances across his perfectly plump lips—lips I know all too well.
“Santa decided to deliver on Christmas after all,” he says with a smirk as he motions with his head in her direction. “Come with me,” he tells me as he picks up his glass and rises to his feet. “Let’s see if I was getting the right vibes from her or if I imagined it all.”