9. Ryan
Idon’t like to lose. In fact, I hate it. Thus, I make sure it doesn’t happen often. But after seeing June destroy Jake and me, I’m grinning from ear to ear. I’ve never met a girl who could play pool like she did. She didn’t just win—she obliterated us. Lachlan barely did a thing in all three games we played. It was so hot.
Right now, she’s in the restroom with Melissa. We’re supposed to continue mingling, but so far, we haven’t moved from our spots near the pool table, and I’m still staring in the direction she went, even though I can’t see her anymore.
“What are you smiling about?” Lachlan asks. “You and Jake just lost three hundred bucks.”
“I know.” I take a sip of my beer. I had to switch to something lighter after the dirty martini. We have practice tomorrow, and I don’t want to be hungover.
“You’re far too happy though,” Jake pipes up, staring at me with his hawk eyes.
“I am.” I grin. “And I have two words for you—triple treat.”
Jake goes very still, and I can see the interest in his eyes, but then he shakes his head and grumbles. “I didn’t invite June to the party for that. What happened to not taking advantage of the situation?”
“I’m not taking advantage of anything.” I take another sip of my drink. “I think June wants it as much as we do. And before you try to deny it, let me just say I saw how you and Lachlan were looking at her.” Neither rebuffs my statement, so I continue. “Besides, if I’d been dumped on a live broadcast, you bet I’d be looking for a rebound hookup.”
“We wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” Jake finishes his second old-fashioned. He can pound those and be completely fine the next day.
“Don’t stand on your morality dais and judge me. I didn’t hear you say no to the idea.”
He narrows his eyes, then turns to Lachlan. “What do you think?”
Lachlan’s brows furrow. “I don’t know, mate. I don’t think she’s that type of lass. She seems so innocent.”
“Trust me,” I say. “When have I ever been wrong? I can’t believe you didn’t notice the hungry way she was staring at us.”
The first time we shared a girl was when we first moved into our old apartment almost ten years ago. We threw a housewarming party, and after way too many drinks, it happened. No swords were crossed, but it could have been awkward the following day nonetheless.
It wasn’t. We realized we liked sharing. It was a lot of fun, with the right girl. There were many other occasions after that.
I see June returning from the restroom alone. She trips over nothing and collides with Timothy Jensen, a jackass who used to play for the Titans until his contract was up and he wasn’t offered a new one by any team. No one was sad to see him go. Now he’s a sports commentator, hence why he’s here.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologizes.
“It’s okay, sugar.” He grins at her in a sleazy way while his gaze dips to her cleavage, and my entire body tenses. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Timothy Jensen.”
He’s putting the moves on her? Hell to the fucking no.
“Look at that lavvy heid,” Lachlan chimes in.
He and Jake make a motion to head in their direction, but I stop them. “Let me handle that asshat.”
In the blink of an eye, I reach Timothy and June, stopping next to her. “Jensen, I didn’t know you were on the guest list.”
His face twists into a scowl. “What do you want, Bertrand? I was having a pleasant conversation with…” He looks at June, waiting for her to supply her name.
“June Summers,” she replies.
“What a lovely name.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t want June to think I’m a child. Instead of wasting my time with Timothy, I turn to her. “You owe me another game.”
Her beautiful hazel eyes widen. “I do?”
“Yes, I’m tired of losing to Lachlan. Please partner with me.”
“Are you for real?” Timothy butts in like the annoying fly he is.
I give him my most condescending glance. “Why are you still here? Come on, June.” I lace my fingers with hers and steer her away from the dickface.
“What was that?” she asks.
“What was what?”
“That pissing contest.” She looks over shoulder, then says, “He’s glowering in our direction. You’re not his favorite person, are you?”
“You can say that. He used to play for the Titans before he retired from the NHL.”
“But why doesn’t he like you?”
“I don’t think you’re going to appreciate the answer.”
She stops walking and plants her feet. “I’d like to know anyway.”
I glance at Jake and Lachlan, who are watching us with keen interest. I can’t believe they haven’t joined us yet. But I take advantage of being alone with June to seal the deal. The question is, will she agree to it? She’s still expecting an answer, and unfortunately, the truth might be a deal-breaker for her. But I won’t lie to her. That’s not how I roll.
“All right. I slept with his ex-fiancée.” Her mouth makes a perfect O, and damn, I wish I could kiss her now. Her plump lips are delectable.
“If they were broken up…”
“An hour after she dumped him.”
Her brows furrow. “You could have left that detail out. Are you trying to make me not like you?”
I shake my head. “On the contrary, June. I want you to like me, but I won’t lie or omit things. I’m not Prince Charming, and I’ll never pretend otherwise.”
Blush spreads across her cheeks. “Why do you want me to like you?”
Unable to restrain myself, I caress her face with the back of my fingers. “Because you’re a cool chick.”
“Oh,” she whispers, almost disappointed.
“And really hot. A dynamite combo.”
Her entire face is red now. If she blushes like that because of a compliment, I can’t imagine what she’ll be like in the throes of an orgasm. Shit. Thinking about her like that is giving me a hard-on already.
I clear my throat. “Where’s Melissa?”
“She’s on a call with her fiancé.”
I wonder what Melissa told June about us. She’s never mentioned to us that she knows about our bedroom games, but I bet she does. There isn’t a thing that happens in this team that she isn’t aware of.
“What about another round of pool? Are you in?”
June nibbles her lower lip, drawing my focus to it. Once again, I want to do the dirtiest things to her. She isn’t usually the type of woman that I get involved with. Not that I don’t find her attractive, but she’s a bit timid, and my hookups are usually more aggressive. They know what they want—me—and they aren’t afraid to show it. It makes it easier to keep things casual. But tonight, I’m willing to break my own rules. Underneath all that sweetness, I saw the firecracker June is. She didn’t hold back during the game, and I’d love to see that in the bedroom as well.
“Actually, I was ready to head to my room,” she replies. “These sandals are murder, and the events of the day are finally catching up with me.”
Disappoint rushes through me, but I try to keep that hidden. “Ah, that’s too bad, but I get it.”
She tilts her head. “You, Jake, and Lachlan could come up. I barely had a chance to talk to you.”
I’d never refuse such an invitation, but I need to be sure she’s on the same page we are. I step closer, invading her personal space. She needs to lift her chin to keep her eyes locked with mine. “Do you really want to talk?”
She blinks fast, swallowing hard. “Yes.”
I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Nothing else?”
There’s a sharp intake of breath, then a pause. “Maybe... maybe something else,” she finally replies in a soft and shaky voice.
I pull back to look into her eyes again. “There’s no need to be nervous. We’ll come up, and if you decide you just want to get to know us and nothing more, that’s cool.”
“Okay.”
Jake and Lachlan finally decide to join us. It took them long enough.
“Did you survive meeting Timothy, June?” Jake asks, looking at her in his intense way.
She touches a strand of her hair, running her fingers up and down the length of it. “Oh, Ryan rescued me just in time.”
“That guy’s a total gommy,” Lachlan pipes up. “Where did Melissa go?”
“She’s on a phone call,” I reply. “June is tired, and I volunteered us to escort her to her room.”
She invited us, but judging by how nervous she is, the white lie won’t hurt. I honestly think she’d combust on the spot if I told the guys it was her idea. First timers need to be handled with care.
“Yeah, I’m beat,” she chimes in. “But I told Ryan we can totally hang out for a bit longer, that is, if you aren’t needed at the party anymore.”
My eyes widen. I guess she isn’t as timid as I thought.
“We can hang out,” Jake replies. “I’ll text Melissa so she won’t worry about you.”
“Thank you.”
We make our way to the restaurant’s exit. I walk next to June, and to test the waters—and because I can’t resist—I place my hand on the small of her back. She doesn’t tense, nor does she increase the distance between us.
I smile. I wasn’t expecting tonight to end in a foursome with a hot middle-school teacher, but I love to be surprised.