Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Britt squeezed Jif’s arm in a tight embrace and crowded close to her, despite the early hour and how few people had arrived. “Thank you for coming to this. I’m a wreck.”
Jif grinned, then arranged her face into the perfect expression she’d perfected for these kinds of events. “Of course. I’m so glad Garrett asked you to co-host his event, even if you haven’t been dating very long.”
“I don’t know what to do. Should I mingle?” Her wide, frightened eyes, skipping over the other guests with a frenetic kind of unease, betrayed Britt’s discomfort.
Jif squeezed her friend’s hand, then tugged her across the floor toward a couple of players who had congregated to one side of the bar. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
She sauntered up to the group, Britt’s nails biting into her skin.
Corey greeted their arrival with a slow perusal, his eyes dragging slowly up Jif’s body. His mom had battled breast cancer the previous year, so his presence at Garrett’s event to raise money for the Oncology department at the hospital made sense.
Donte, Pierce, and Mike Clemens, who preferred to go by his last name both on and off the field, greeted them as they approached, too.
She nudged Britt until she stood on her own two feet.
“Hey, guys! Not sure if you’ve met Britt yet.”
“Garrett’s girlfriend, right?” Donte offered a hand to shake, and Britt automatically took it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Do you ladies need a drink?”
She could always count on Corey to keep everyone well-hydrated.
“Yes, please. White wine?”
“Red, please?” Britt’s voice still wavered, but Jif gave her an encouraging nod, and she swallowed hard, then stiffened her spine.
“What do you do, Britt?” Pierce took a sip of his dark drink, more ice than alcohol, as he blatantly ogled her.
Jif rolled her eyes. “Back off, Pierce. You don’t stand a chance with my girl.”
Britt jerked, and oh good grief, she wasn’t going to survive the night at this rate.
But, she surprised Jif by glaring back as she replied, “I teach middle school math. Did you know some studies suggest male athletes’ prefrontal cortices never mature beyond the ninth grade?”
Jif’s mouth dropped open as Corey slid a glass first into her hand, then into her friend’s. “She’s got your number, man.”
Donte laughed at the crestfallen expression on Pierce’s face and clinked the rim of his tumbler against Britt’s drink. “No kidding.”
As the conversation started up, Jif hid a grin behind a sip. Britt would be fine.
A few minutes later, Garrett joined them, sliding an arm around Britt’s shoulders. “You doing okay?”
“She’s doing fabulous,” Donte answered him.
“You shoulda heard the way she handed Pierce’s butt to him earlier.”
Britt’s cheeks flared pink, but Garrett squeezed her into his side and whispered into her ear. They were... sweet.
Jif took another sip of her drink, quashing down her jealousy. She’d had that with Jordan not too long ago.
Britt said she could bring a plus-one, but who would she ask who wasn’t already coming? Miles?
She coughed as her next swallow went astray.
“I’m fine.” She waved off their concern, stepping aside and clearing her throat.
Corey passed her a napkin and waited while she patted her lips.
“You sure you’re okay?” He moved away with her, keeping the conversation quietly between them. Intimate.
The steps of this dance were as familiar to Jif as a playbook.
Next, she’d step closer, reassure him, crack a delicate joke.
He’d place his hand on her lower back and ask if she wanted to take a turn around the floor.
The evening unfurled in her mind. Shuffling the seats so they could sit together.
Laughing as the emcee cracked jokes and reminded the audience, generosity showed strong character.
Things winding down with a final drink, maybe an extra-long glance between them, a hand trailing, an invitation.
She stepped back. “Yeah, just swallowed wrong. There’s Colton; I’m going to go say hi.”
“I’ll come with you,” Donte interrupted. “He still has to pay up for last year’s draft before I’ll let him into this year’s pool.”
Jif shot a final glance at Britt, but her friend’s gaze didn’t waver from Garrett.
“She seems nice. He wouldn’t quit yakking about her at Poker night last week.”
“She is,” Jif assured Donte. “He kind of surprised her, but I think they’re well-matched.”
“Good. Good. Not if it wasn’t serious...”
Jif laughed. “Don’t worry, I get it. She’s not me.”
He ducked his head. “I didn’t mean...”
“Come on, Donte, gossip spreads through the locker room, even in the off-season.” She chewed her lip before forcing herself to take another sip of her drink instead.
She’d spent too much time on her lipstick to ruin it so early in the evening.
“Everyone knows I’m out for a fun time, not the kind of girl you settle down with.
” It came out more bitter than she’d anticipated.
Jordan’s words still echoed in her mind, and even several weeks out, they stung.
Neither of us was serious.
But she couldn’t quite convince herself enough to avoid the lingering disappointment.
Donte stopped her with a hand on her arm. “We don’t think that, I promise.”
She tossed her head, her hair drifting in a halo around her shoulders and brushing her bare back. “Of course it is, but whatever.”
She’d made her own bed. More than once. Literally.
Ugh, introspection was exhausting.
“You didn’t take Corey up on his invitation.”
A slow roll of nausea churned in her belly. Did they take bets in the locker room about her?
She loved hanging out with the guys, and she refused to let anyone guilt-trip her for enjoying some fun. She loved the perks of being with them. She loved thumbing her nose at Colton’s rules about who she could date...
Whoa, where did that come from?
“I’m trying the single life for a while.” She hoped the slight waver in her voice wasn’t too noticeable. “On that note...”
She clinked her glass against his, then headed toward her brother, not slowing even as Donte lengthened his stride to keep up with her.
When Colton caught sight of them, a flash of a frown crumpled his features for a moment, but he pulled her into his side and kissed her cheek.
Twining her arm through his, she clung to him for a moment, steadying herself and patting the tiny rubber ducky lapel pin he always wore.
His good luck charm, and one of the few personal touches he allowed himself to display.
Unlike Jif, Colton’s work ethic couldn’t be matched, and his professionalism never wavered.
He and Donte did a bro handshake and argued good-naturedly about money, then Colton whipped out his phone and bumped it against Donte’s.
“Good doing business with you, man. I’ll get your picks into the pool before the draft.”
After a quick goodbye, he wandered off into the crowd, leaving Jif and Colton alone.
Pulling his arm from her grasp, Colton demanded, “Are you okay?”
Was she? She thought so, but she couldn’t deny that, as much as she loved Britt, as much as these kinds of events were usually exactly her vibe, a vague sense of disquiet overshadowed the evening.
Perhaps because she’d come alone? Maybe, but as her eyes swept over the room, now filled almost to capacity, she realized she didn’t really want to spend time with anyone here tonight.
No, not quite. She had plenty of friends, people she liked or who shared her interests, but no one she wanted to get serious with.
Oh God, how had her mother forced her way into her head?
She tossed her hair, fighting to silence her mother’s voice. “I’m fine. I thought I’d hang out with my favorite brother tonight, let Britt have a turn in the spotlight.”
Colton’s brows quirked together, but after a moment, he wound his arm back through hers. “I’m your only brother.”
“That you know of.” The words came out before she could filter them, and both of them stared at each other, eyes wide for a moment.
“It’s possible...” he began.
“Nope.” She popped the P and turned, dragging him by the arm toward the bar. “Definitely not talking about this. Not a chance.”
He chuckled. “Ignoring things doesn’t make them go away, Jif.”
“Sure it does,” she replied.
Except lately, it hadn’t at all. Ignoring her fear after the accident at the school had only resulted in nightmares and shaking hands, but when she talked about it, the intensity of the experience faded.
Ignoring the conflict with Britt drove them apart, but talking about it earned her a new friend.
She swept her eyes through the crowd, searching for Jimmy.
Catching sight of him, she waited until Colton had his whiskey.
“Come on. I want to introduce you to Jimmy’s girlfriend.”