8. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
T hat was two nights in a row they’d played like shit. Thank fuck they’d managed to pull out the win. Gonzo leaned against the wall of the elevator and eyed his teammates. From what he knew, Brandon was okay. The jury was still out on Charles. All he knew was they better not suck as hard at video games as they did on the field tonight. Fuck, he missed when his friends were single. Now he was forced to make new friends and he was too old for this shit.
“How long you lived here?” Brandon asked.
“Almost five years. Bought it just after I signed.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah, got everything I need. No point in having a big house with a yard and shit when it’s just me.”
The elevator dinged at his floor, and he led the way down the hall to his place. The music pumping inside his apartment practically shook the door as he walked up. Jesus, Bay. He rolled his eyes at his friends. “Roommate.”
“You have a roommate?” Charles asked. “Why?”
He pushed open the front door and headed toward the living room so he could hit the stereo. Gonzo rounded the corner and immediately saw Bailey, dressed in a skimpy pair of green shorts and matching tank top, like those sexy little things women liked to sleep in. Damn, her curves were insane. Oblivious to them, she threw her head back with her eyes closed as she moved to the music. Her hips gyrated back and forth, and his mind instantly thought of sex. Jesus. Who knew Bailey could move like that?
“Ah, now I see why you have a roommate,” Charles said. His mouth curved up in a sleazy kind of smile that Gonzo wanted to smack off his face.
There was no fucking way he wanted his teammate looking at her like that.
Bailey shimmied to the beat. She spun, spotted them, screamed, and dropped to the floor, then scrambled behind the island.
Suddenly, her hand whipped up, and the sweatshirt hanging on the back of the chair disappeared. What the hell?
Grabbing the stereo remote, he clicked the button to turn the music down. After several clicks, he finally managed to hear himself think. “Hi Bailey,” he called out.
“Hey, how’s it going?” her muffled voice replied.
He chuckled. What was she doing down there? “You all good?”
“Yep, of course.” A moment later, she stood up, clad in his sweatshirt. The hood curled up around her head, looking all cozy, and his heart did a weird little stutter step. As she stepped out from behind the island, his gaze landed on her legs, peeking out beneath his oversized hoodie. His dick sprung to life in a little ‘hi how are ya’ twitch. Why the hell did she look so freaking sexy in his shirt?
“Sorry, I thought you’d be going out with your teammates after the game.” She pulled the edge of his hoodie down further on her thighs and flashed a little embarrassed wave. “Hi, I’m Bailey.”
“This is Brandon and Charles.” Gonzo pointed at his two teammates.
Bailey’s forehead crinkled and she eyed him curiously. “Brandon and Charles?”
He nodded. Yeah, the names were foreign to her. He’d never mentioned them because he’d never hung out with them before. She turned her attention to the other men and smiled. “Nice to meet you.” She flicked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll get out of your way.”
Charles rounded the island and walked toward her. “No need, the more the merrier.” He wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulder and guided her toward the living room.
Gonzo’s jaw tightened. Brandon made a little snorting sound beside him, then smirked and followed Charles and Bailey into the living room.
He rubbed a hand across his sternum. Why did he care if his teammate homed in on Bailey? She was a beautiful woman. Of course his teammates would notice. So why did he feel jealous? That made no fucking sense. It was Bailey.
Shaking it off, he pulled open the fridge door. “You want a beer, Bay?”
“No thanks, I’ve got water.”
“That bubbly shit?” he asked. How she could drink that flavored crap was beyond him.
“We’ve discussed this, Gonz. Why drink flat when you can have bubbles?” Bailey picked up her can of sparkling water and took a sip. “Mmm.”
When he cringed in disgust, she giggled. Gonzo pulled three beers out of the fridge and handed one off to each of his teammates. He pushed the power button on the gaming console and grabbed the basket of controllers, then sat down on the sofa on the other side of Bailey.
“Do you play?” Brandon asked Bailey.
“Depends on what game it is. If it’s like football or something, then no, I suck. If it’s shooting things, then absolutely.”
“You like shooter games?” Brandon leaned forward in his chair and angled his body toward Bailey.
What the actual fuck. They were seriously both going to flirt with her? And why the hell did he care?
“I don’t like girls who play video games,” Charles mumbled.
“I’m sorry, what? You don’t like girls who play video games?” Bailey’s eyes goggled as she looked at him.
“No, there are some things that girls just shouldn’t do.”
Bailey held up her hand like a stop sign. “Oh my god, please tell me you did not just say that.”
“What? I know what I like and I want my woman to sit and watch me play video games, not play them,” he scoffed.
“Cuz the little lady’s brain can’t handle something as complex as a children’s video game?” Bailey drawled.
Damn, she was good at that lowbrow accent.
“I didn’t say her brain couldn’t handle it. I just said I didn’t like it.”
“Should she be feeding you grapes and sitting in lingerie while she watches you be all manly playing video games there, Chuck?” The annoyance in Bailey’s tone was palpable. Gonzo sat back. He fucking loved when she tore into some guy spewing chauvinistic shit. This was the Bailey he knew and loved. Not the meek woman who’d first shown up in town.
“It’s Charles.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Somehow she’d put a world of meaning into one little word.
Brandon sputtered out a laugh that he tried to cover like it was a cough. “How long have you been roommates?” Brandon asked. The attempt to change the subject made Gonzo chuckle. The guy didn’t even know Bailey and he could tell she was about to go on a tear if Charles kept talking.
Bailey took one last look at Charles and shook her head, then turned to Brandon. “I just moved in on Thursday. My apartment fell through and Gonzo was nice enough to let me crash here till I figure things out.”
“You just moved here a couple of days ago?” Brandon asked.
“I did.”
“That’s cool. So are you two…” Brandon pointed his fingers back and forth between them.
“God no.” Bailey laughed.
“Cool, well if you need a tour guide let me know,” Brandon said.
“Thanks.” Bailey smiled.
Gonzo’s shoulders tensed. He wasn’t loving the way his teammates were looking at Bailey. His gaze landed on her legs, her very naked legs. He made a rough sound in his throat.
Bailey glanced over at him, then down at her legs.
She winced and a blush ran up her cheeks. “I’m just gonna go throw a pair of pants on.” She hopped up and dashed out of the room.
Gonzo pinned his teammate with a glare. “What the hell, man? What are you doing?”
“What do you mean what am I doing?”
“You don’t date girls like Bailey.” Gonzo challenged.
“Nope.” Brandon shrugged.
Nope? What the fuck did that mean? Was he interested in Bailey or not? Before he could ask, Bailey walked back into the room. Shit, how much had she heard?
She was going to be pissed if she thought he was blocking her from getting dates again, but he couldn’t stand the idea of her dating one of his teammates. Gonzo held his breath as Bailey sat down beside him. What was she going to say?
“Do you guys hang out a lot?” Bailey asked Brandon and Charles. Gonzo breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t heard him talking to Brandon about asking her out.
“No, not really,” Brandon replied.
Charles looked at Gonzo and smirked, then turned and leered at Bailey. “So, how do you two know each other?”
Was the idiot seriously going to flirt with Bailey when he’d just made it clear to Brandon he didn’t want that shit happening?
“We were next-door neighbors growing up,” Bailey replied.
“Oh yeah? That mean you played doctor?” Charles waggled his eyebrows at her.
Bailey’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Seriously?”
“What?” Charles snickered. “Please tell me you weren’t like fucking childhood sweethearts who stayed friends or some shit.”
“We weren’t, but what would be wrong with that if we were?” Bailey pressed.
“Because my opinion of Gonzo would go down a lot if you were.”
Gonzo sat up straight and leaned forward. Where the fuck was he going with this? “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“I’ve seen the kind of ladies you pull.”
“And?” Gonzo’s shoulders tensed. It wouldn’t be pretty if he said anything to insult Bailey.
Charles shrugged. “Just thought you’d be better in bed, that’s all.”
Gonzo reared back. “What the fuck?”
“Just saying man.” Charles picked up his beer and took a sip. Bastard throws out an insult and then acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
Bailey placed her hand on his arm and instantly some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared. “What is it you’re saying exactly?” Bailey asked.
“If you stay friends after fucking, then the sex sucked. You can’t be just friends with someone you had good sex with.”
Brandon burst out laughing. “What?”
Charles leaned back in his seat and crossed his foot over his knee. “It’s true. It’s like a scientific fact. If you had great sex, you’re always going to want to fuck them. You can’t be friends with someone you want to fuck.”
“Dude.” Brandon shook his head and chuckled like he couldn’t quite believe what Charles said.
“Hang on. Are you saying men and women can’t be friends?” Bailey asked.
“No, I’m saying men can’t be friends with a woman they find attractive, especially if they’ve had killer sex. Clearly, you two either didn’t have sex or it sucked.”
“Wow.” Bailey ran her hand over her mouth and pinched her bottom lip between her fingers.
“We’ve never had sex,” Gonzo growled.
Charles looked over at Bailey, his leer scanned down her body, then he glanced at Gonzo. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
Bailey’s body went ramrod straight beside him. “On that note, if you’ll excuse me, I’m kind of tired. I think I’m gonna head to bed.” She pushed up from the sofa. “It was nice meeting you, Brandon.” She glanced at Charles, the disgust she felt for him clear on her face. She rolled her eyes, then looked at Gonzo. “Night, Gonz.”
He watched Bailey walk out of the room. Everything in him wanted to kick the guys out and follow her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow her as Bailey the friend, or Bailey the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. He was so fucking confused. So he did nothing. The moment he heard her bedroom door snick shut he turned to Charles and smacked him on the chest.
Charles rubbed his hand against his sternum. “Ow, why’d you do that?”
“Have you never talked to a woman before? Jesus.”
“What? What’d I say?” The dumb fuck looked like he didn’t have a clue.
“You’re a fucking idiot,” Gonzo muttered. And there wasn’t enough time in the world to explain it to him. Gonzo chucked the gaming remote at him. “Just shut up and play the fucking game.”
As the game loaded up on screen, he glanced toward the hallway. It wasn’t like Bailey to back down from a fight. Especially not with someone like Charles. He itched to go check on her. And do what?
Shit. The woman had his mind all fucked up.
So instead of checking on her, he settled for destroying Charles at video games. What guy in his right mind would want a woman to sit around and watch him suck that hard at something? Now he was kind of disappointed Bailey hadn’t stuck around to watch him kick good ol’ Chuck’s ass.
Looked like his attempt to find new guys to hang out with had been a flop, at least as far as Charles was concerned.