It’s why I came here to gamble. I thought a game might take my mind off her, but I wound up here in her father’s casino. My plan was to play in the secret underground room. Instead, I’m in the main lounge at the bar sipping Lagavulin 16 as if I wasn’t just trying to get downstairs.
I try to tell myself that the only reason I keep coming back here is because of the underground room. IfI win big, I don’t have to pay taxes on my winnings. And if I lose big, the casino doesn’t have to, either.
I knew it belonged to the Bradley family since Everleigh told me it did, and I suspected the man in the suit who walks around schmoozing players was the Bradley patriarch. I can see a little of Dex in him, a little of Madden. I don’t know the others as well, but I’ve either played with or against all four of the Bradley football brothers at some point in my career.
Maybe it was the fact that Everleigh told me the money I’m depositing here will go to her future kids’ college tuition. It was a sassy way for her to tease me, but the idea of the money going to her felt more right than it going to some other establishment here in town.
I wish that weren’t true, but I can’t change it.
Just like I wish I could stop thinking of the way her face twisted as she came. Just like I wish I could stop thinking about what the fuck her cunt tastes like. It was a slip of phrase that I should’ve kept inside, but the truth is that I need toknow just as much as she wants me to know.
It’s getting late, and I need to travel with the team tomorrow even if I’m not suiting up to take the field.
That’s what I tell myself, anyway. I certainly don’t stand at the bar instead of going to a table because I’m hoping to catch her before she stalks off—so I can confront her to ask her why the fuck she followed me here.
I spot Everleigh stalking through the lounge, so I chug what’s left in my glass and take off toward her. I catch up to her just as she exits the lounge and walks over toward the valet to bring her car around.
I walk over and stand beside her. “What are the odds I’d run into you here for a second time?”
“Pretty good considering my father owns it. What are you up to, Jennings?” she demands.
“Just paying toward your future kids’ college tuition funds.”
She purses her lips, and maybe the sex didn’t have the same effect on her that it had on me. “Illegally?”
I hold up both hands. “I was invited to a private poker game. That’s all it is.”
“And it’s ammo for you. Something for you to hold over me,” she says flatly.
I wish I could say I won’t, but I’m not sure that’s true. Knowing something about her family gives me an advantage, and if push comes to shove, I’ll do what I have to in order to come out on top.
I supposethatis the legacy I’ll leave behind. The grinding athlete who stops at nothing to win against every opponent. Jack didn’t bring me over to the Aces so I’d be compliant. He brought me over to win.
I don’t respond to her words, instead asking, “Can I bum a ride home?”
She offers a small glare as she folds her arms over her chest, and with a purse of her lips, she finally nods. “Fine.”
Once we’re in the car and on our way, I break the silence by asking, “Why do you keep following me?”
“I didn’t!” she yells at me, slamming her open palm against the steering wheel. “I went there to look for my dad. I had no idea you’d be there. I had no idea I’d find him in some basement doing God knows what sort of illegal activities.” She’s still yelling, and clearly she’s angry.
I reach over and slide my hand on her leg in some effort to calm her down. “Okay. Sorry for asking.”
She bats my hand away. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Being a totally different person. You’ve made it clear we aren’t friends, and your hand on my leg is crossing into territory neither of us wants.”
I think about her words. Yeah, Iama totally different person after what happened last night.
She unlocked pieces of me that I stored away. She opened up doors that had been closed for years. She awakened feelings I didn’t think I was allowed to feel anymore after all I’ve been through. It’s confusing as fuck, and I tried to play it off like it didn’t happen, like everything was business as usual this morning.
It’s not.
It took one goddamn night for me to feel something I didn’t think I deserved, and now that I’ve felt it, I’m afraid I won’t be able to let it go. It’s an addiction. Something I crave. Something I need. Something I’m terrified of.
Something that has the power to change me.
