“Shocking,” Maddox drawls, and Max snarls at him. “What? You mean this sunny disposition isn’t sitting well with fans?”
“Guess not. It’s all bullshit. Fans back in San Diego loved me.”
I laugh. “No, they didn’t. But they put up with you because you kept hitting home runs.”
“And you haven’t hit one here yet,” Maddox adds, before looking at me. “Isn’t there some kind of thing about balls going farther in high altitude?”
“That is true,” I answer. “But our boy Max here hasn’t actually made contact with the ball yet.”
“Dayum,” Maddox whistles. “You ever gone a month without an RBI, Maxy?”
“No,” Max growls, “and don’t even think for one second you can call me Maxy.”
I hear a high-pitched cackle, and turn to see where it came from. “Crap. Does she look drunk to you? I told her not to get wasted. Coach even told her not to drink.”
“This isn’t a good look,” Maddox murmurs. We all push off the wall, silently on the same page as we stride toward where Tessa hangs on Damian Scott, a rookie on the basketball team. Damian looks less than thrilled with the situation, but Tessa is blissfully clueless. Multiple empty glasses are scattered on the table, but Damian holds a longneck bottle of Coors in his hand. My assumption that Tessa is drunk is most likely correct.
“Tessa,” I say sharply, when we reach them. Her glazed eyes slowly meet mine. “Remember what I said about confirming consent before touching someone?”
“Oh, Heyyyy! It’s my favorite ass stick!” she exclaims happily.
Brow furrowed, I stare at her. “Your what?”
“Ass stick. Stick ass. Something. I don’t know. You got something so far up your butt you can’t loosen up. Hence, the asssss stick.” Suddenly, she gasps. “Oh my God! Are you gay? Do youlikethe ass stick?”
“Jesus Christ,” Maddox mutters behind me, as Damian muffles a snicker.
I am not amused. “Not gay, Tessa. Just not interested in you.”
“Well!” she harrumphs. “I’ll have you know I’m a fucking tiger in bed, Mr. Ass Stick Ass. You wouldn’t even know what to do with me. I could rock. Your. Fucking. World.” She pokes my chest hard with every word, her entire body swaying.
“Okay, I think it’s time for you to —” I say, but I’m interrupted.
“Excuse me.”
I look over my shoulder to find a couple looking very displeased. “I’m getting her out of here.”
“Yes, well, you should leave too. We don’t need your kind making a mockery of this entire event,” the man says with a sneer as he glares at us. How a man five inches shorter than me manages to look down his nose at me, I’ll never understand.
“Our kind?” Maddox growls.
“The fuck?” Max adds.
“Yes. Your kind. Please leave.”
Tessa takes the opportunity to grab onto the lapels of my tuxedo jacket. “Oh, please. The only reason there are cameras here is because of these guys, you dusty old fuckers.”
The couple gasp in outrage. “The disrespect!”
Tessa cackles again, and I notice many heads turning our way. “We’ll leave, it’s fine.”
“No!” Tessa shouts, teetering in her stilettos, and she grabs onto my shirt. “They are the dissspectful ones. They need to ‘pologize toyou. No one dissspects my man!”
Fuck me.
Can this get any worse?
Yes. Yes, it can.
