CHAPTER 21 DANNY
When the text from AJ comes through asking if I’m up for drinks tonight with him and Nick, I opt in for a change.
My girl just left, my father is blackmailing me, and it feels like my life is falling apart. Going out with some buddies and drinking my troubles away for the night sounds like exactly what I need right now.
I text Rush and Cooper on a whim, and as it turns out, they’re both in, too.
It’s just like old times with the five of us out on the town…except it’s nothing like old times since Cooper has a kid, Rush is banging my sister, and I’m tied up with the world’s most famous pop princess.
What the hell happened to us?
I swear to God, if Cooper shows up in a Hawaiian shirt and starts telling Dad jokes, I may lose it.
I’ve already lost so much of myself that I’m starting to feel unsure of who I even am anymore.
Without Alexis here, I feel myself falling apart. It’s the off-season, and I always go through a bit of a mourning period after every season. It felt like it took a little longer to get here since we were busy celebrating our World Series win, but I think that’s where I’m finding myself tonight.
Or maybe it’s my father’s threats and her being back in Los Angeles just crashing into my emotions. Whatever it is, I don’t like what I feel, and what better way to get rid of that than not feeling it at all?
With that in mind, I hit my vape a few times while I wait for a car to drag me over to Skip’s to meet the boys. The THC hits my bloodstream before the car arrives, and I’m already feeling a calming sensation before I even leave my house.
This was what I needed.
When I arrive, I spot Cooper first. He’s laughing, and my eyes slide to Rush beside him, who surely said something to make him laugh the way he is. AJ is there, too, and I slip into the booth next to him. A full beer sits in front of me, and I grab it and take a sip.
“That’s Nick’s,” AJ says, and I shrug.
“Looks like it’s mine now.” I wave Kelly over and tap my drink when she shows up. “I stole Nick’s, and it’s a little light for me. Can you bring another one of these plus a whiskey for me?”
She nods, and I get to work on the light beer.
Nick returns from his trip, presumably to the restroom, and he glares at me as I finish his drink.
I hold up both hands. “Sorry. In my defense, it was full, and I was thirsty.”
“Dick,” Nick mutters, and I laugh.
The laughter feels good. It feels like it’s been far too long since I really and truly laughed, though I’m sure Alexis and I were laughing over some dumb shit just the other day.
Before things got so damn heavy.
Before the weight started crushing my chest.
I put it out of my mind for now. I have to. I’m out with friends, and nothing changes anyway, even if I wasn’t.
“How was everyone’s Thanksgiving?” Cooper asks.
Everyone shares a little about how theirs went, and I glance at Rush before he pipes up.
He knows this thing with Alexis is supposed to be secret, but liquor makes loose lips sometimes.
“Mine was nice. I spent time with the woman I’ve been seeing and her family,” he says.
“This thing with this mystery woman…it’s getting pretty serious, yeah?” AJ asks.
Rush presses his lips together and bobs his head up and down a little. “Yep, it is. She’s near LA now and looking to move here to Vegas.”
Cooper’s brows shoot up, and I realize nobody here knows that Rush is with my sister. But if he’s not sharing my secret, I won’t share his, either.
“Wow, that’s big news,” Cooper says.
“Yeah,” he murmurs. He shifts his attention to me. “How ‘bout you?”
“It was good. Spent time with my family,” I say a little absently. I leave out the part that I also spent time with my girlfriend—and, of course, with Rush.
I want to talk to him about my sister moving here and what it all means, but I don’t want to do it in front of everyone else. And for a beat, I even consider confiding in him about what’s been going on. I feel like I can trust him, and we’ve gotten pretty close over the last year.
But considering how close he is with my sister, I’m not sure he’s the right person to talk to.
I glance over at Cooper, who’s eyeing me curiously—as if he already suspects something. And I know if there’s one dude at this table I can trust with my life, it’s Cooper Noah.
Even if he tells Gabby.
I guess at this point…I trust her, too.
Eventually, AJ and Nick saunter out of the booth and hit the prowl, leaving Rush, Coop, and me alone.
“So this mystery woman,” Cooper begins, pinning Rush with a look.
Rush nods. “It’s Danny’s sister.”
“Ah. And you’re okay with this?” He turns to me.
I shrug. “Not my place to tell either of them who they can or can’t see.”
“Wow,” Cooper breathes. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Never thought you’d see what day?” I ask.
“The day where you were so taken with somebody that you’re actually okay with a teammate being with your sister.” He gives me a pointed look.
“Apparently, they were secretly seeing each other for quite some time, scared to tell me what they’d been doing. And you know what?” I take a quick sip of whiskey. “Everyone deserves a little slice of happiness, and if that’s what they give to each other, then good for them.”
“Wow, man. You know what that tells me?” Cooper asks.
I glance up at him.
“That you’re in deep with AB.” He picks up his beer.
“Oh, he’s in deep. Balls deep,” Rush says snidely, and I can’t help but laugh at that.
But that laugh is quickly followed by a sigh when I remember just how deep I actually find myself. “Yeah, I’m in deep all right.”
“Why all the heaviness, then?” Cooper asks, sharp as always.
I glance between the two men on the other side of the table, and I realize telling Alexis that we need to keep this quiet was the wrong call. She should get advice from Gregory. And I should get advice from my friends.
Maybe a little stoned paired with a little drunk isn’t the exact formula for going about that, yet here I am.
I lean in a little closer to my friends even though the music is loud enough in here that nobody will overhear me.
“My dad has something on us. He planted a camera and caught a private conversation, among other things, and now he’s blackmailing me for money and plans to expose us if I don’t pay up.”
“What other things?” Rush asks at the same time Cooper says, “Jesus Christ. Are you serious?”
I give Rush a pointed look. “The same things I walked in on my father doing to another woman when I was seven. He claims me telling my mother about that whole thing ruined his life, and this is apparently some twisted act of revenge.”
“Was the conversation damning?” Cooper asks.
I nod. “It spelled out in no uncertain terms what we mean to each other. And, uh…what other relationships don’t mean.”
“That’s criminal, isn’t it?” Rush asks.
I nod as my brows rise. “You bet your ass it is. But turning him in means turning that tape in, which means I can’t protect her.”
They both stare at me as if they’re not quite sure what to say and honestly…I’m not quite sure, either.
“How much have you paid him?” Cooper asks.
“A hundred grand so far, but he also wants me to publicly acknowledge that we’ve mended our relationship and that he’s a great father,” I admit. “Which…I can’t even think about it without feeling like I’m going to vomit.”
“Wow,” Cooper breathes. “So what are you going to do? Keep paying him out?”
“What’s my other choice?” I ask.
Cooper shakes his head a little as he processes it all, but Rush jumps right in with an answer.
“If he found shit on you…you find shit right back on him.” He says it like I’m stupid for not considering that myself—and maybe I am.
Maybe he’s right.
“You know anybody who could do that kind of thing for me?” I ask.
Cooper remains silent, but Rush nods. “I have a cousin who’s a private investigator. I’d be happy to hook you up.”
Well, you learn something new every day about your friends, I guess.
“Talk to him for me, would you?” I ask. “See if he has room in his schedule for me.”
“She,” he says pointedly.
“She?”
He nods. “She. Chloe. And she’s incredible at what she does.”
“Okay, then. Hook us up as soon as you can.”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and sends a text. “She’ll be in touch with you.”
“Thanks, man,” I say. And now, I suppose…we wait.