63. Jackson
Jackson
“Hayes! We’re heading to Sidelines bar. Come on, man, you have to come and celebrate with us!” Donovan shouts across the noisy locker room.
Logan walks up, tossing his arm casually over my shoulder. “Come on, just one drink. Then you can go straight home and write another letter to your man.”
I sigh, giving in. “Fine, but only one! And he’s not my man yet.”
Sidelines bar is absolutely packed to the brim when we arrive. Looking at the dense crowd, I immediately wonder if I can just sneak away right now unnoticed.
“Nope, don’t even think about it,” Logan shouts over the loud music, reading my mind. He grabs my arm and forcefully drags me toward a booth tucked into the back corner. “Look, Cap’s already at the bar getting the beers. Just stay for one, come on, Hayes!”
I glance up toward the bar to see Donovan waiting for the drinks, currently talking to a very attractive man. Suddenly, the stranger turns his head, and our eyes lock across the crowded room.
“Fuck.” Fuck, did I say that out loud?
“What’s up?” Logan asks, instantly looking in the exact direction I’m staring. A smirk spreads across his face. “Ohhhh… so you’re not going straight home to write to your man?”
I suddenly want to get up and walk entirely out of this bar, away from the man who has taken it upon himself to openly, intensely stare at me. Why do I get the distinct, uncanny sense that I somehow know him? I can feel a physical, magnetic pull drawing me to him. I can feel his eyes tracking me.
All I can hear is Logan laughing loudly next to me. “Piss. I need a piss,” I say abruptly, standing up to head for the men’s room.
Even inside the restroom, that sense of relief never comes. I can still feel his gaze burning into the back of my head as I walk away.
“What the actual fuck is wrong with me?” I whisper to myself, splashing freezing cold water over my face at the sink. I stare at my reflection. “Pull yourself together!”
I dry my face and head back out to the main bar.
Donovan is already back at our corner booth, passing out beers.
I take mine and swallow a massive, cold gulp.
Fuck, I’m going to need this tonight. I look around, but I can’t find him anymore.
Maybe this whole magnetic connection is just entirely in my head.
“Sit the fuck down,” Logan shouts at me over his beer. Donovan eyes me suspiciously. “You good, Hayes?”
“Yeah,” I lie, sitting. “Just thought I saw someone I knew.”
The table conversation carries on easily, focusing on our performance tonight. I try to focus, but the air in the booth suddenly shifts.
The Adonis of a man from the bar approaches our table. My breath catches as he reaches down and slides a single cookie across the wood, placing it directly in front of me.
“I see you,” his voice says. It’s sexy as fuck, deep, and he is staring straight into what feels like my actual soul.
The entire table instantly goes dead silent. Everyone’s eyes snap between the two of us. My heart stops beating. I have only ever told one single person in my entire life that I want to be seen, truly seen for who I am.
My breath hitches horribly. “Soldier?”