CHAPTER 11 KAYLEE
My stomach flips as I watch Ben Olson walk away, his fresh, sporty scent trailing behind him.
I don’t remember him smelling like that before, but damn.
It should be illegal for anyone to be that hot—or at the very least, for abs to look like his.
Good God, he’s sexy.
My eyes fall to his butt as he walks. Even in his short, hot pink swim trunks with alligators all over them, he’s still hot as hell. My eyes move down to the muscles in his legs.
Damn.
I let off a soft sigh.
“Kay?” Ellie’s voice pulls me out of my trance.
“Huh?” I ask stupidly. I try to shake it off. I’ve never really had that sort of reaction to him before.
“Do you want to get in the water?” she asks.
I chug the rest of my vodka-Seven. “Let’s get more drinks first,” I suggest.
She laughs and looks at Luke. “I don’t think I can keep up with this one.”
“She’s fresh out of college,” Luke says. “She’s still got stamina and tolerance.”
Ellie laughs. “And I’m a mom now.”
I raise a brow. “Prove you’ve still got it.”
“She’s trouble,” Ellie says, and I laugh as Luke shakes his head with a wry smile.
“Behave yourself,” Luke says to me, and then he turns to his wife. “You don’t need to behave.” He growls it at her, and she giggles, and it’s all a little much for me to witness considering it’s my brother. I’m happy he’s happy, but I don’t need to see his bedroom eyes for his wife.
Luke turns toward a group of guys I recognize who play on the Aces, and Ellie and I walk over toward the bar to grab our second round before we dip into the water.
We find some wall space to lean against while we chat.
I spot Ben laughing with some friends. He’s a hot commodity at this party—it’s his party, for one thing, but also because he’s got the kind of fun personality where everyone just wants to be around him.
“Cory Marshall’s cute,” Ellie says, nodding toward one of the younger wide receivers on the Aces who Luke is talking to.
I glance over. “He’s not bad, but I don’t date football players.” My eyes return to Ben, and I’m pretty sure he’s looking at me, too.
I must be mistaken. There’s just no way.
I’m starting to wonder if my whole I don’t date football players agenda is still valid. I don’t want to be with someone who thinks they can use me to get to my brothers. I think that’s a fair statement.
But someone who’s already established as a player in the league…now that’s not a horrendous idea.
Except I don’t want football to be my whole entire life, and I know it is for the girlfriends and wives of players.
I like the game, of course. I love it. But I’m tired of living it, which is why I so badly want to find someone who’s interested in me for me and who doesn’t allow their entire existence to be centered on a game.
“So I know your job isn’t the best, but are you liking Vegas?” she asks.
I shrug. “Days like today?” I nod around at the scenery.
We’re partying with celebrities at one of the most extravagant pools in Vegas, with palm trees surrounding us, beautiful people everywhere, live music pumping through speakers nearby, and a cold drink in hand.
“Apart from the job from hell, I can’t complain too much. ”
“Is it really the job from hell?”
I nod. The truth is that I worked hard to become a teacher. I spent four years in classrooms learning about history and theories of education only to learn in one year that I don’t want to do this.
I chose this career because it’s what my mom and dad wanted for me.
When I was a sophomore, I had to make a choice.
I like books, and my dad always said I’d make a good teacher, so I chose English.
I was pressured into a major, and I chose wrong.
But even now, nearly a year after graduation…
I have no idea what I would’ve done differently.
I still don’t know what I want to do with my life.
I glance at Ellie, who seems to have it all together.
She’s got a husband who adores her, a cute little kid, and she’s running her own business.
I’d love that—being my own boss. Except I have no clue what I want to do.
I wonder if I would’ve enjoyed teaching physical education or health classes to younger kids.
Middle school is tough, and it’s not that I don’t like my students…
but some days, I wish I would’ve chosen elementary education instead.
I blow out a breath. “Yeah,” I finally say, and then I go for a complete subject change. “How’s Prince Charming Public Relations?” Also known as PCPR, it’s the company Luke helped Ellie start when she moved to Vegas.
“It’s really picking up,” she says. “I almost stayed home today so I could get some work done. It’s been crazy busy with all these Aces players wanting my services, and I’m starting to think I need to hire another publicist to help out.”
My ears perk up. I’m not a publicist, but I could probably help. I know a lot about the players and about the game considering I’m sister to two pro players and the daughter of a former college coach. But I don’t really want to dedicate even more of my life to the game.
“That’s great,” I say.
She launches into more details, which, to be honest, I’m only half-listening to. I glance around the pool area and Ben’s eyes meet mine again—I think. It’s hard to tell since he’s wearing sunglasses, but I swear I’ve caught him looking in my direction every time I’ve glanced around to look in his.
“I need to use the bathroom. Nolan wrecked my bladder, I swear. Want to come?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I’ll wait here.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” She gets out of the pool, and I turn around and rest my elbows on the tile decking that surrounds the water. She’s been out of the water all of ten seconds when I hear a voice beside me.
“You here all alone?”
I turn and look at the guy who owns the voice, and he looks vaguely familiar. I think he might be an actor. He’s attractive, but I can tell from the glassy eyes that he’s already had one too many.
“No,” I say, brushing him off. “My friend will be right back.”
“You want some company while you wait?”
“Not really,” I say, and he laughs.
“Oh, come on,” he says. “I can be pretty entertaining. You might’ve seen me entertaining on a certain prime time television show about firefighters.”
Aha! That’s where I know him from. He’s Andrew Kinney from that show LAFD. I’ve never watched it but I’ve seen commercials.
I open my mouth to issue another rejection because seriously, who name drops like that?
Totally not my type. But before I get the chance to say a word, I’m interrupted when an arm slides around my waist in a rather possessive way.
He fingers the gold hoop near my hip, and a pulse of need echoes through my core.
“Having a good time?” Ben’s deep voice rasps too close to my ear.
“Better now,” I say, ignoring Andrew as I look up at Ben. Those damn mirrored sunglasses hide where he’s looking, but his face is angled toward mine and if I tip my chin up and stand on my tiptoes, I could kiss him.
I want to kiss him.
His skin on mine is warm and luxurious and somehow comforting. It feels natural to have him next to me, but the buzzing in my chest is far from natural, and the ache that pulses between my thighs is nearly unbearable.
Andrew narrows his gaze at Ben, but he’s the party host. It’s not like Andrew’s going to fight him for a girl he doesn’t even know. “You’re here with Ben?” Andrew asks me.
I lift a shoulder, and Ben laughs as he tightens his hold around my waist, his fingertips landing somewhere in the middle of one of the hoops.
It’s possessive, maybe a little overprotective, a little alpha caveman-like…and it’s hot.
“Yeah, she is,” Ben affirms. “So you can run along now.” I glance up at him, and he smirks at Andrew, who shrugs as if to say it’s not worth the fight as he walks away.
He looks down at me once Andrew’s out of hearing distance, but he doesn’t drop his arm from around my waist. “You’re welcome.”
“Excuse me?” I ask. “You just scared off a perfectly nice gentleman. And for what?”
He leans down so his lips are close to my ear. “Because I’m going to make damn sure I’m the only one allowed to see what’s under that hot as fuck bikini.” He tightens his arm around me once again in a side hug before he lets me go and saunters off.
Whoa.
Thank God I’m in a pool because I definitely need to cool down after that exchange.