Chapter 14
Grayson
“You okay, bro?” Mason asked me.
I blinked and turned to my rookie teammate. “Yeah. I’m fine. Why? What’s up?”
“You’ve been staring at that truck across the street. I said your name three times and you didn’t hear me.”
“Sorry. I’m thinking about our road trip tomorrow,” I lied. In truth, I was thinking about Josie. About the extremely vivid sex dream. Ever since waking up that morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My entire perspective had changed in a way I couldn’t explain.
It was just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything. I once had a sex dream about Judge Judy, but that doesn’t mean I want to fuck her.
Except I wasn’t about to go on a date with Judy Sheindlin.
“It’ll be a tough road trip,” Mason said. “Honestly, I just hope we can win two of the four games. I know we can beat the Predators and Blues, but the Stars…”
“You don’t have to wait out here with me,” I said. We were standing outside my condo, waiting for the team driver to arrive.
“And miss a chance to be in the background of your photos? No chance. My agent says I need all the publicity I can get. That’s what leads to endorsements.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’ve never sat courtside at a Spurs game before. And against the Lakers! I know I’m, like, a professional athlete myself now, but I would still lose my shit being that close to LeBron James.”
“Talk to the marketing department,” I said absently. “They’re always trying to cross-promote both teams. They can put you courtside any time you want.”
“Seriously? Hell yeah.”
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot. I felt my pulse quicken. I had a strange sense of anticipation for our date, a feeling that hadn’t existed before my dream. I was almost looking forward to seeing Josie in person.
Almost.
The car pulled up to the curb and Manny jumped out of the front seat. “Stay right there, captain. We’re going to do some promo shots before you both leave.”
He opened the rear door, and Josie stepped out.
My breath seized in my throat as I took in the sight of her. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a white Spurs jersey. It was exactly what she had told me she was going to wear, the information I had relayed to our wardrobe department.
But it was also what she had been wearing in my dream, a fact which had escaped me until this exact moment.
“Getting a good eyeful?” she said with a glare.
“I’m just surprised you actually wore what you said. I expected you to change outfits just to fuck up our coordination.”
“Let’s get this over with.” She glanced at Mason. “Hey there, rookie. I like the goal you scored last night. You want to take his place? I’d much rather go out with you than Grayson Aluminum here. And unlike him, you just might score.”
Jealousy flooded through my veins in an instant, filling me with rage. My first instinct was to shove Mason in the chest to put myself between the two of them. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the jealousy died away.
What was wrong with me?
“Really?” Mason’s eyebrows rose. “I mean, if Grayson doesn’t want to go…”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Manny said, “but we’re kind of on a tight schedule here.”
“She’s fucking with you,” I told Mason before turning back to Josie. “Leave the kid alone.”
“Sorry, but he’s right,” Josie told Mason. “Let’s get this over with so I can go back to more important things.”
“I’d hardly call TikTok videos important,” I muttered as Manny positioned us for photos.
“Literally anything else I could be doing would be more important than this,” she whispered back.
“Asshole.”
“Dick,” she hissed at me.
“Can you two at least pretend to be excited?” Manny said. “Right now you look like you’re on your way to divorce court.”
We snapped photos in front of the car. Mason stood to the side and pouted while Manny gave us instructions. Turn to the side. Lean close together. Put your arm around each other. No, lean in closer.
I breathed in Josie’s scent, luxuriating in the flowery smell. It stirred something inside of me, and it took all of my willpower not to think about my dream.
The final shot was me opening the door for her while she climbed into the SUV, as if I was a gentleman and this wasn’t all scripted. While Manny gave a thumbs-up and climbed into the front passenger seat, Josie immediately dropped her smile.
“You two have fun!” Mason waved from the curb. “Don’t stay out too late!”
“He seems nice,” Josie said as we drove to the game. “He hasn’t allowed fame and fortune to go to his head yet, unlike some other Surge players I know.”
“He’s basically a puppy,” I said, looking out the window. “It’ll be nice when he gets his own place.”
“Wait a minute. He lives with you?”
“We have a mentorship program. For the first year, rookies on the team stay with veterans. It helps build camaraderie and makes them feel like part of the team.”
“That sucks.”
I turned to look at her. “It’s not so bad. It’s only for a few months, and he’s not that annoying.”
Josie gave me a wicked smile. “I meant that sucks for him. Getting stuck with you instead of a likable teammate.”
I turned back to the window. “You’re insufferable.”
“Eat my ass,” she shot back.
But even that insult just conjured more images—and feelings—from my dream. Intrusive thoughts pummeled my imagination, so I opened my phone and scrolled through sports news until we reached the stadium.
We parked in the underground garage where the players entered the arena, to avoid too much attention. Manny hopped out first and took more photos while snapping away, capturing the moment as I opened the door for her and took her hand to help her down.
“Such a gentleman,” she said sarcastically.
“Hey, I don’t want to tell you how to act,” Manny said as we went inside. “But can you two at least pretend to be having a good time together? Bob’s gonna chew me out if we don’t get some convincing shots tonight.”
“I’ll do my best, but no promises,” I replied.
“Same,” Josie said. “I’m sure it’ll make Grayson Aluminum feel right at home. He’s probably used to women faking things around him.”
“You already used that joke once.”
“I wanted to make sure you got the joke,” she said patronizingly. “Because your last name is Steele. And Aluminum is a different kind of metal. A weaker kind.”
“Can you explain it slower? I still don’t get it, since I’m just a stupid hockey player.”
Josie sneered over at me. “Just giving you a taste of what you sounded like at Carlo’s.” She turned to Manny. “Grayson called me pussycat on our first date, then mansplained the nickname to me.”
“You’ve probably heard that joke your whole life,” Manny replied.
“Yes! Exactly! See?” She pointed at him. “This guy gets it.”
“We’ll make it convincing,” I said to change the subject. “Come on, sweetie. We have to put on a show for the fans.”
I took her hand in mine, yanking it toward me when she tried to pull away.
“Fine,” she said. “Anything to make sure this is the last time I have to be around you.”
I put on a fake smile as we exited the tunnel and walked out onto the arena floor. One more date. Just a few more hours and I would never have to see this insufferable woman again.
But deep down, in a place where I would refuse to admit it, her fingers felt good in mine.