“And no filter.”
“My success never came about because I avoided risks.”
And here I was assuming that his success came because he was lucky at birth. But jealousy and nepotism aside, Hawk had done more work to change the culture in his short tenure than his grandfather had in decades. He wasn’t lazy, and he was brilliant.
“And what exactly were you risking then? When you were commenting on my tits?”
“After seeing you dress down Connor, I probably should have expected a smack in the face.”
A giggle bubbled out of me, the 99,000th reminder that I’d had too much to drink.
“I should have known not to bother this close to the holidays. It’s slim pickings after cuffing season closes.”
“Cuffing season?”
“The shoulder season right before Thanksgiving, is where you pick your partner for the holidays. You know, so you don’t have to show up at Nana’s house and answer her questions about why you don’t have a girlfriend. Viola! Here’s Sophie!”
“Or you just don’t bother dating anyone and tell your Nonna you married your job instead.”
“Only a man could get away with that. Luckily for me, my parents are so distracted with Kelsey’s wedding that they wouldn’t notice. They haven’t even noticed how torn up Kylie is over your pitching coach.”
Oh, shit! There goes my mouth again. I could never keep it shut when it counted. It’s how I managed to get my nephew’s paternity blasted on Reddit before they had even told his father. Even now, I could sense Kelsey’s resistance to fully letting me into her life.
Hawk had switched to water, and instead of annoyance at my buzz, he seemed amused. I rarely drank this much, but it felt nice to be able to let off some steam and not worry about anyone taking advantage of me. Maybe I should have worried more about it with Hawk, but I didn’t. I trusted him to spot me at the gym and respect me at the office, and now he was my wingman and protector.
“The wedding is on St. John? Have you ever been?”
Kelsey and Sam had invited several players and some of the team management, but because it was Christmas, the wedding celebration was limited to a small, intimate group.
“No. And Kelsey hasn’t either. She’s only seen photos. Have you been?” It was in times like these that I realized just how much more of the world Hawk had seen than me. His grandfather had been a billionaire before accounting for what he earned owning the team, and Hawk had been written up in Forbes as one of the wealthiest men under thirty.
Would you know it? Nope. He was not only well-liked at The Mighty Oak, he was genuinely kind to anyone he encountered. Not exactly stereotypical billionaire behavior.
“I went once when I was in high school. I don’t remember much more than sneaking Bushwhackers and snorkeling with sea turtles. I’m sure I would get more out of it now.”
I polished off my glass of wine and realized that I’d gone from buzzed to too drunk to be out in public.
I swayed on the barstool. “I need to go home.”
Hawk signaled for the check and slid his card to pay. I protested weakly. Drinking too much always made me forget why I preferred to pay my own tab. I cared only about getting home, curling up in bed, and sleeping off the wine.
“Come on. My car is out front.”
The valet handed Hawk his keys, and we got into an expensive-looking car that I didn’t recognize. Growing up in the city, cars had value only for getting out of Boston; in the city, they got in the way. Between traffic and limited parking, it was a pain in the ass to own a car if you lived within walking distance of your job, and I hadn’t bothered to get one. Certain that Hawk lived in a penthouse with a garage, he didn’t have the same barriers with parking that I would have.
I gave him the address and watched out the window as he negotiated the traffic. When he pulled up in front of my building, I didn’t expect him to turn off the car and follow me into my apartment.
“You don’t need to walk me in.”
“It’s okay. You’ve had a lot to drink. I would rather make sure you’re okay before I leave.”
And at that moment, I started to feel terrible. The light meal I had before meeting Connor did nothing to absorb the wine in my stomach, and it lurched. I covered my mouth and rushed to get the key in the door. Once I unlocked it, I rushed to my bathroom and barely reached the toilet before I vomited.
Fuck.
EIGHT
hawk
