Chapter 2 #2
“They lost though,” Spenser said. “And now they're fifteen and two instead. But I can see why, since they didn't want their starters getting hurt before the playoffs.”
“They were pretty impressive this year. The Wolves have their work cut out for them,” Reese said. “But it's not over until it's over.”
If this last weekend had taught them anything, it's that.
“True,” Andre said. “But we won that one, so I’ll take it.”
Andre held up his glass, and they all cheered, tapping their glasses together before taking a drink.
Spenser left the circle and headed over to Carter and Amy, leaving the four of them alone.
Sutton stepped a little closer to him, accidentally bumping his arm. She didn’t say anything, so he ignored it, but he could feel the heat from her elbow on his arm, and it didn’t bother him.
“So, Sutton,” Nicole said, drawing her gaze to her, “are you going to be at the championship game on Sunday?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “I have a lot going on, so I might have to miss it. I’ll do my best to watch it if I can’t be there, though.”
“Doesn’t Magnus always have a suite?” Reese asked.
She looked back at him. “He does, but Amy likes to sit with the WAGS, so we usually end up with them for the games.”
“Isn’t Hailey to die for?” Nicole asked. “She and Eli have been a couple his entire football career. Aren’t they cute together?”
Andre turned to her. “Are we cute together?”
She smiled and placed her hand on his chest and leaned close. “Of course.” Her eyes lit up. “Let’s take a picture!”
They turned their backs to Reese and Sutton, and Nicole grabbed her phone, handing it to Andre to take the photo.
Reese finished his scotch and leaned over to ask Sutton, “Are you here with anyone?”
She glanced over at him, and he watched her blue eyes cloud over, then clear. “No, I’m not.” She casually took a sip of her wine before she asked, “What about you?”
He shook his head. “Flying solo tonight.”
“Do you fly solo often?”
He watched Andre and Nicole walk away from them, wrapped in each other’s arms, and shook his head with a smile. He turned back to Sutton. “Not that often, no.”
Her eyes widened, and he took a half-step back. “Oh, you’re the one Hailey told me about.”
He frowned. “The one Hailey told you about? What exactly did she tell you about me?”
She pursed her lips, guilt covering her face.
“Sutton, what did she tell you?”
She worried her lips with her teeth, and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to run his thumb over her soft pink lips in the middle of Carter’s living room.
Releasing the gentle flesh, she replied, “She said you’ve dated a lot of women, that’s all. She also might have said she was a little surprised you were still single, given your breakup with Nicole was a while ago.”
He was surprised by the irritation that flared up at being labeled a playboy. The label didn’t usually bother him, but when she talked about his lack of commitment, he almost felt… bad?
What the hell is happening to you?
He ignored the screaming red alert that went off in his mind, instead choosing to tamp down the irritation and play it off. “I do enjoy the presence of female company, yes.”
He cleared his throat. “Right now, though, I need to focus on the game. We have one more to win before we get to the big one, and right now, I’m giving it my all.”
She tipped her wine glass in his direction. “I can understand that. Two very important events back-to-back definitely require your full attention. I’ve been there.”
He smiled, and she said, “Well, not quite the same way as y’all do. The two big events things, I mean.”
“It’s okay,” he said, putting a hand on hers. “I get where you’re coming from. Do you have a lot of occasions?”
“We do, actually. We recently had a community day for Christmas with kids who wouldn’t get any Christmas presents. We are a children-based foundation, so we have a lot of kid friendly events.”
“You must love kids,” Reese said.
“I like kids, sure. I don’t plan on having my own, though.” Sutton took another drink of her wine. “I’ve never felt that pull to be a mom, but I like helping the kids at Somebody’s Child.”
A funny look appeared on her face. “I think you would have to at least like kids to work at a child organization.”
“Very true,” Reese said. “We do a lot of those kind of events, too, and there’s always a bunch of kids.”
“Do you like kids?” she asked.
“I like them enough, but not enough to have my own. I am more than willing to be the fun Uncle Reese, though. That way I can spoil them and hype them up on sugar and send them back to mom and dad.”
She laughed, finishing off her wine.
“Now, the most important question,” Reese stated. “Do you wear Tennessee Orange? There is only one right answer here.”
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “I don’t.”
He clapped a hand on his chest. “Heartbroken.”
His eyes narrowed as he took her in. “University of Texas?”
She shook her head and took a step back, motioning to her red dress.
“Oh no,” he said, taking it in. With all the drama he could muster, he said, “Please don’t say Georgia. Anything but red.”
She put her hand on his arm, and he did his best to ignore the heat that splintered through his disappointment.
“University of Georgia, class of 2018,” she said. “Go Bulldogs.”
He looked forlornly down at the empty glass in his hand. “And here I am, out of scotch. I need a drink after that information.”
“Now, now. I’m sure there are others here who don’t love the orange as much as you.” She pointed to Preston. “I know for a fact that he went to the University of Arizona.”
He laughed, drawing people’s gazes to them. “Oops.”
She smothered her smile with her hand, a pink tinge on her cheeks.
He tugged his phone from his pocket and texted Carter that he was going to grab some more scotch from the basement.
“Would you like to accompany me to Carter’s man-cave for more scotch?” he asked.
It looked like she might say no, but she surprised him when she replied, “Sure.”
He stepped back to allow her to go first, fighting to keep his eyes forward instead of appreciating her fine bottom in that tight red dress.
Damn, it had to be red.
“Good play, letting me go first so I can lead the way, so you don’t look bad because you don’t know where to go,” she quipped as they arrived at the door to the man-cave. She turned to face him, her hand on the handle.
“Let you?” he replied, his eyes widening. “What makes you think I don’t know where I was going?”
She arched a dark brow at him. “You memorized the way to get down here after coming down here once?”
“I have to memorize multiple plays and routes, players’ names and jersey numbers. It’s not too hard to remember how to get to a basement.” He shrugged. “I was simply being a gentleman and let the lady I was with go first.”
She took a sip of her wine, her blue eyes heating with desire. “Oh dang, and here I thought you just wanted to look at my butt in this dress as I walked in front of you.”
He smiled and leaned in, the sweet smell of cherries filling his nostrils. Looking deep into her blue eyes, he reached up to brush a loose tendril of hair from her face. “I did enjoy the view, don’t worry.”
He brushed his fingers over her cheek, and she shifted, bringing their bodies flush. Cupping her face in his hand, he brought their lips together, her soft sigh filling the space as he kissed her.
Heat stormed through him, and he groaned, setting his empty glass down on the small table by the door to put his hands on her hips.
He heard the clink of the wine glass on the table and felt her hands on his arms, clutching the fabric of his coat as she moaned.
Breaking the kiss, he drank her in, the scarlet lipstick she wore smudged on her swollen lips. Her blue eyes burned with a desire that matched his own, and he reveled in it.
He bent down to kiss her again when footsteps on the basement stairs reached them.
Her eyes rounded, and she grabbed their glasses.
“In here,” she said, dragging him through a nearby door.
They hurried into the small bathroom, and she shut the door, leaving the light off to not give away their hiding spot.
Once they heard the man-cave door close, she flicked on the light and looked at him, a giggle escaping from her. “You look ridiculous.”
He turned to the mirror and laughed; his lips were smothered in red lipstick.
Looking around, he pointed to the towels on a small rack nearby. “Can I use these?”
She shook her head. “Amy will kill you. Let me see.”
He moved out of the way and took the time to admire her ass as she bent down to look under the cabinet, straightening with a roll of paper towels.
“Here we go,” she said, tearing one off. She wet it and turned to work on his face, holding his chin as she scrubbed at the red.
“How does that look?” she asked.
He looked over her head at the large mirror above the vanity. “Looks good.”
The red was gone, as far as he could tell.
She spun around and grabbed another paper towel to wash her face, as Reese tried to process what exactly happened.
Well, first, he kissed his boss’ niece, and now, he was hiding in a bathroom with her while half-erect. Looking at her bent over the vanity sent a slew of dirty thoughts through his head, and he quickly looked away.
He did his best to think of something to calm his randy body, starting with thinking of his teammates in tutus, which made him chuckle.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, catching his eye in the mirror.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Are you ready?”
“One second,” she said. She shoved her hands into a pocket on her dress and pulled a slim tube out. “Have to reapply.”
He watched her apply the red, fascinated by the way her lips stayed open as she took her time, covering her bottom lip before moving onto her top lip.
She drew the outline with the color, making sure it was perfect before filling it in. She pursed her lips together, then pointed behind him.
“Can I get some toilet paper?”
He turned, grabbed some, and handed it to her.
She folded the roll in half and tucked it between her lips, leaving behind some lipstick on the paper. She folded it again and did it again, less residue left behind this time.
Satisfied, she crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash.
“Why did you do that?” he asked.
She arched a brow. “Do what?”
“The paper thing.”
“It gets the extra lipstick off my lips, so I don’t make as much of a mess.” She gave him a curious, but cute, look, disappearing when she moved her attention to the tube. “I usually wear no-mess lipstick, but this one is my favorite, so I like to wear it from time to time.”
“Makes sense.”
She tucked the tube back into her pocket. “Thanks.”
Looking around at the bathroom, she grabbed the paper towels and put them back under the sink. “Ready?”
He moved to the door and grabbed the handle to pull it open for her. “Yep.”
She walked into the hall, then came back to grab their glasses. “Can’t forget these.”
She handed him his, and they left the bathroom, heading into the man-cave to refill the drinks and get back to the party.