“Here.” Derek holds up the pizza to me, and I shake my head. “You don’t want any?”
“It’s your pizza, plus I ate most of your sushi.” This is true, and now it makes sense why he let me.
“Come on, have you ever had this kind before?” he asks, and when I shake my head, he holds the pizza up. I take a bite, squealing when the oil threatens to spill down my chin. Derek laughs and takes a napkin, cleaning me up as I chew. “See? Good, right?”
“Um, phenomenal, actually,” I reply, nodding my head as we all start to walk.
I glance up at the sign ahead and see the entrance to the baseball field, and there’s a woman with honey hair standing outside, arguing with a very tall man.
“Hattie!” I call out to my sister as we approach, and she turns, surprised by the sight of me. “Why are you at work still?”
“Oh, you know how it is, keeping pain-in-the-ass baseball players in line.” Hattie grins and pulls me into a hug.
The man behind her eyes me with curiosity, and I smile and wave. “Hi! I’m Elizabeth, Hattie’s big sister.”
His eyes widen with surprise, and he steps forward to shake my hand. “Ah, nice to meet you. Dean Maddox.”
Arms grip mine as I pull my hand back, and I glance back at the group behind me, all staring. “Oh, sorry guys, Hattie, this is Derek.” I flare my eyes to get her to understand, but I might have had too much to drink already because she rolls her eyes in anobviouslykind of way. “And all of his friends.”
“And her friends!” Viviana shouts, claiming me.
I clutch my chest. “Aw. Guys, this is Hattie, my baby sister. She works for the Cobras.”
“Nice to meet you guys,” Hattie says and gives me a look when she glances at Derek’s hands clutching my arms.
The look says,we will be discussing this.
“Hey man, good game yesterday.” Garrett is the one who speaks up, and Dean gives a nod of appreciation to him.
“Thanks, man.”
“Oh yeah, I watched it! Rora was screaming the whole game, but I don’t think she knew what was going on.”
“That’s your daughter?” Dean asks, looking from me to Hattie. I can tell something is going on here that I’m not sure I’m involved in, but I nod my head and give him a polite smile.
“Well! You all should get going. I need to wrap up and head home.” Hattie pulls me into a hug and whispers, “We’re so talking tomorrow.”
“Uh, yeah, same!” I whisper back, and my group forges on, leaving my sister to deal with her grumpy baseball player.
“Holy shit,” Enzo says, “I had no idea your sister works for the Cobras.”
“Yup. She’s a PR specialist for them,” I say, wishing I could take my shoes off and walk the rest of the waybarefoot. But even if I felt comfortable doing that, I would never trust the streets of Denver.
Derek clasps my hand tightly and helps me up the little hill to the entrance of the club, and we all file in, flashing our IDs as we go.
We all find a drink in our hands quickly and down them just as fast, eager to get onto the thumping dance floor with our guys.
Derek holds me closely, not letting me get too far from him, and it’s the first time in my life that I feel actually cherished by the guy I’m with. I’ve felt attractive, I’ve felt hormones rage, but never have I felt comfortable and confident with a man I was dating—or hopefully dating. Truth be told, it feels like a date, but there technically hasn’t been any clarification.
His lips graze over my ear as he says, “Care to dance?”
I nod and let him lead me out, and before long I let the music take over, and all my concerns, worries, and fears drift away.
All because of the man who was holding on to me.
Chapter Seventeen
“Take the damn shot, you dummy.” - Garrett
