“Jesus, Mad. You know you don’t have to sleep with them, right?” I rub a hand over my eyebrows.
He bursts into laughter. “It’s too easy to rile you up, QB. I’m just fucking with you. I have no problem wining and dining an octogenarian widow. Hell, I’m cool to hang out with a guy who’s just coming out of the closet. None of that shit bothers me. As long as the charity gets a ton of money, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m hopeful it will. Also thankful they’re letting me MC instead of being up for auction,” I say with an exaggerated shudder.
Maddox lowers his voice. “You gonna be okay with being on the mic? I know you’ve come a long way since our first years in the league, but this is a different situation.”
There are no more than ten people on the team who know about my autism diagnosis, and I’d like to keep it that way. Maddox found out accidentally, but has been so supportive and instrumental in ensuring I’m always in a good situation. “I should be fine. I’ll have a script to work with, and I’ve been paired with a local veterinarian who will assist me while the auction goes on.”
“Oh? What’s his name? Could be my vet for all I know.”
“Audrey.”
Maddox’s eyes bug out of his head. “You got paired with a female vet? Is she hot? You like her. I can tell. You have to be smart to be a vet, right? They, like, have their own medical school. And she loves animals. This may be your perfect woman.”
I can feel embarrassment creeping up my neck, and I turn slightly away from Maddox. He’s been my best friend for over a decade, and he’ll see right through me if I lie. “She seems very intelligent, yes. And she definitely loves animals. Someone dropped off a box of guinea pigs at her clinic, and she’s fallen in love with them.”
Maddox snorts. “Does Jax know?”
I nod. “I had him give her advice. It turns out she’s a big fan of his wife.”
He chortles. “Fucking love that for him. The pretty boy of the NHL getting knocked down a notch because of his hot and nerdy wife.”
“Nerdy?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I happen to know that Maddox is a closet nerd, even playing in a World of Warcraft group online when he has time. He’s one of the few who actually enjoyed college, choosing to stay all four years to complete his bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
He smiles. “You know I think being a nerd is a plus. Just so happens she’s pretty damn hot too.”
Becca is definitely attractive by society’s standards, but she’s not my type. Mine just so happens to be a foot shorter than me with curves for days.
“So,” Maddox says as we walk onto the field to stretch, “you put the moves on this Audrey chick yet?”
“What? No!” I yell, making everyone turn to me. Maddox waves his hand nonchalantly.
“He’s fine. I just dropped aGrey’s Anatomyspoiler he wasn’t ready for,” he lies. When I look at him questionably, he shrugs. “I know you watch that show.”
“I’m a few seasons behind,” I admit with a laugh. “But I’m not putting any moves on Audrey. First of all, I don’t even know if she’s interested. And secondly, we have to work together for the next couple of months to plan this event. If I put the moves on her now, and it goes badly, it’s going to make for a horrendous time for me.”
“Or, you could be having fun sex with a woman you’re attracted to, and then you’ll be done with the auction, and you can date her for real,” he says casually.
I shake my head. “I don’t think she’s interested. She hasn’t given any vibes that she’s attracted to me.”
“With all due respect, Jamie, your ability to decipher vibes is nonexistent. She could have a neon sign pointing straight to her pussy that says, ‘get it here’ and I still don’t think you’d recognize the invitation.”
He’s not exactly wrong. “I hate that I don’t see these social cues, and that I’m way too used to women basically throwing themselves at me. I don’t know how to pinpoint a valid interest.”
“If she looks at your lips, bites her own lips, or her nipples get hard enough they poke through her shirt, she’s interested.”
“Seriously? It’s just that easy?”
“Yep. You wanna know the surefire way to determine interest?”
“Obviously,” I answer, on pins and needles waiting for Maddox to school me.
“Casually look at her lips, then tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.”
“Her hair is almost always in a bun.”
“Act like there’s a piece out anyway.” He looks at me smugly. “Just do it as an excuse to touch her. I bet she looks at your lips right after. Or she sighs all romantically.”
