Chapter 9 #2
Sutton’s grin was wide, and he swayed a little on his feet.
“He made a few of us promise to have your back and make sure you’re not alone.
” He patted my shoulder and bobbed his head.
“Though since the guy’s barely taken his eyes off you, I can’t see what the fuss is about.
” He squinted a little. I would have sworn just fifteen minutes ago he didn’t seem this drunk.
“No leaving and making him freak out,” he ended with, followed by a belch that had him laughing as he walked away.
I stared after him, my brain struggling to process everything Sutton had shared. I didn’t have time to think before a new body appeared at my side. I angled to take a look, expecting it to be one of Ryan’s teammates who I recognized. My eyes widened in surprise, taking in a man unfamiliar to me.
His smile was wide but seemed natural, friendly even. He was a little shorter than me, maybe by an inch, and was likely in his late forties. What was distinctive about the guy above anything was how polished he seemed.
He didn’t look like he’d been knocking them back and seemed a little too dressy for this place. The bar was far from a dump, too friendly and a little too well-kept for that. But it didn’t quite seem the place this bloke would hang out.
His voice lifted as he spoke over the last few chords of Tina’s “Nutbush City Limits,” a distinctive twang that was all-American, but beyond that, I had no idea what accent it was. “You’re Nate, right? Ryan’s friend from Australia?”
“Yeah, mate, and you are?” I angled my head a little closer to hear him as the volume on the small dance floor rose with laughter.
He reached out his hand, saying, “Micky, Ryan’s agent.”
Surprise had my brows shooting high. Ryan had said a thing or two over the last few months about his agent, which of course I’d ribbed him about.
As, hello, agent! The dude had an agent, for crying out loud.
It was still hard to think of Ryan in the big leagues, especially when I flicked my gaze in his direction and watched him line dancing with his thumbs in his belt loops.
The only things he’d shared really were that Micky was an okay bloke, a bit straight—in the not breaking the rules sense, though looking at the guy I expected the other way too—and he left Ryan to it, which was the way my friend liked it.
Micky being here was unexpected. Though what did I know? It was Ryan’s last game of the season, but I imagined he had other clients too.
“G’day.” I shook his hand and offered a friendly smile. Even if I couldn’t get a read on the man, he looked after Ryan and made sure he was paid well.
“How’s your visit?”
“Yeah, great. Crazy the last couple of days, but looking forward to heading out of LA and seeing where Ryan’s put down some roots.”
“That’s good. I’ll only need to steal him away for a couple of things when he heads to Minnesota. One’s taking place near the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. Make sure you come along to take it in. Whenever I head over, it’s a good spot to see.”
“Sounds good, thanks. I think that place is on my list.”
“Let me give you my card with my number on it in case you come unstuck while you’re here, okay.” A small card was passed over, thick and embossed.
“Cheers.” I took it off him and shoved it in my pocket.
“And here’s the man himself.” Micky’s attention shifted, the same friendly smile on his face. I followed his gaze, grinning when Ryan appeared.
Sweat covered Ryan’s forehead, and a wide grin stretched his face. In the few strides it took to reach us, his eyes were locked to mine.
I had no idea if Ryan knew what he did to me, the power in that one look, that smile of his. But if he did, he was an arsehole, because it made me wish for things I didn’t know were possible or not.
The worst thing, though, I expected I was too chicken to find out.
Bouncing brows joined his words. “Dead set legend, right?” A wide, bright smile followed, the genuine joy radiating from the man easy to bask in. The words took me back to another time, long before this day had arrived.
He’d done it, made it, set out to do everything he’d intended to.
Somehow, I kept my feet planted rather than leaning into him, trying to absorb some of the joy for myself.
“Definitely. You nailed it.”
He stopped less than a meter away from me and cast his attention to Micky. “G’day, Micky. If I’d known you were here, I would’ve dragged your ass up.”
Micky chuckled. “I would have liked to see you try, and… ‘g’day?’ You’ve only been with Nate here for a couple of days, and already your accent is coming back.”
“It’s true,” I added, having noticed on the phone a few subtle differences from what I thought to be a bit of an American accent to something a little more like mine.
“Trying to get ready for heading back home. Don’t wanna stand out like a sore thumb,” he jested. Ryan reached past me and picked up his beer, which I’d been guarding.
“For your vacation, right? A short trip before you come back and we seriously start talking about next year and you being a free agent.”
My focus moved to Ryan, wondering if he’d been avoiding this discussion. His brows furrowed slightly, head tilting. I knew this reaction. Knew full well this was him holding back from rolling his eyes and sighing.
“Yeah, I know. We’ll talk.”
Part of me felt like I should step away, but the quick snap of Ryan’s attention to me before he refocused on Micky told me he didn’t want me going anywhere.
Micky’s tone remained the same as every other word he’d spoken in the last few minutes. “I know we’ve only just finished this season, and there’s a whole other season to go, but we need to start looking for the best deal for you.”
“I get it, Micky. Thanks.” Ryan’s voice was tight. It was clear that he didn’t want to be thinking about so far into the future, and based on the bombshell he’d dropped when I’d first arrived, I understood it.
“You know I’m just looking out for you.” Micky’s tone changed a little, this time appearing so much more genuine. “That ankle of yours, ice it, and perhaps take your weight off it for a while.”
Guilt slammed into me. After beers and riding on the high of the win and celebrating the end of their season, the last thing I’d considered was Ryan’s ankle. “Shit, he’s right. Is it hurting?” I grimaced and eyed his covered ankle.
“I’m okay,” he answered, glancing at me. I bit my lip to stop myself from calling bullshit. I expected it was the booze in his system making it feel okay. That and the high of the game.
“Remember we’re staying in LA for an extra day before we head back.”
“Got it.” Micky nodded. “I’ll email you anything you need to know for when you get to Minnesota so you can wrap things up as quickly as possible ready for your flight next week. Just promise me you’ll look after that ankle, okay?”
He offered Micky a head lift. “Will do. We’re heading to the hotel.”
That was something at least. I said goodbye to Micky and waved off a few of the players, all while wondering why Ryan perhaps wasn’t being honest with his agent. I was pretty sure over the past few years he’d looked out for Ryan and done right by him.
Once in the cab, and a little blinded by the camera flashes that had taken me by surprise, I focused on the bright city lights and the overwhelming amount of traffic.
“Have you been to LA much?” I cast Ryan a quick glance before turning my attention to the sights.
While he seemed more together than a few minutes ago, he’d gone quiet.
A sure sign he was lost in thought, probably overthinking.
“Only once that wasn’t linked to work.”
I chuckled.
“What?”
“Nothing really, it’s just work. Can you believe your job is playing professional basketball?
” I angled toward him as much as the seat belt would allow.
“I always knew you could do it, but seeing you today….” I shook my head, awe and emotion sweeping through me at just how spectacular he’d been on the court.
Shit, I’d had far too much to drink if I was close to weeping with pride over the man.
My gaze snagged Ryan’s before dropping to the soft smile on his mouth. “Sometimes I pinch myself,” he admitted, lowering his voice.
“I bet you do.” I stopped speaking when the car pulled over, and I figured we’d arrived at the hotel. “This us?” I peered out the window at the bustling street and finally saw the hotel’s sign. “Yep.”
I looked on as Ryan handed the guy a few bills and stepped out, shaking my head. When he joined me, I said, “I keep forgetting about the whole tipping thing.” Tipping was alien to me, something we didn’t really do in Australia.
Ryan grunted as his hand latched on to my arm, leading me out of the path of a rowdy group.
He started saying something about tipping, but it took everything in me just to remember to breathe, let alone pay attention to his words or our surroundings.
My whole focus was on his warm fingers on my arm.
And if that wasn’t a cue to remind me just how much trouble I could get in being here with Ryan, then I didn’t know what else could be more obvious.
“Huh?” We’d made it inside the foyer and stopped short.
“Beer or jet lag finally kicking in?” His mouth twitched.
It would be easy to blame the booze, but in all honesty, my buzz had mellowed considerably. And my jet lag had seriously been nonexistent, courtesy of my upgrade. Rather than bullshitting him, I answered, “Just overwhelmed by being here, finally seeing you play, spending time with you.”
As I spoke, his gaze roamed my face, alternating between my eyes before continuing their journey. There was a moment’s hesitation before Ryan said, “I was asking if you wanted a beer at the bar, but I think we should head to the suite instead.”
I bobbed my head, up for anything he wanted to do. Being alone with him after a full-on day and surrounded by so many people was a decision I happily got on board with. “Sounds good.”
His gaze dipped again, this time the movement making my heart stop before punching wildly in my chest. Biology may not have been my best subject in school, but I knew the exact positioning of every part of my body, and Ryan’s focus on my lips was as clear to me as the twinge in my pants.
And that flare in his eyes that followed…
suck me hard and make me blow, but Ryan Broadwater was interested, as in eyeballing my mouth and looking like he was ready to pounce.
While I knew exactly what I wanted to do with that, the question was, should I?