“Why not?” His eyes dance with mirth. The fucker’s laughter follows me all the way to the bar.
I push through the crowd, so I end up right next to Mira and the suit, and drape my arm around her shoulder. “Hey Lil’ Gravesy. Thought you got lost.” I motion to the bartender and call out my order.
Mira rolls her eyes and shrugs off my arm. “I told you, Griffy. I’m a big girl.”
That, she is. And I’m being an ass, I know I am. Doesn’t stop me from sticking out my hand and staring suit guy down, though. “Hey, man. I’m Griffin.”
Although the suit looks confused, he’s been socially conditioned to return a shake when offered, so he clasps my hand. He squeezes harder than he needs to, probably thinking I’ll do the same, but I don’t need a strength contest to know who has the bigger dick.
Obviously, it’s me.
Turning back to Mira, I grin brightly. “Everyone was worried you got lost or something. Come back and dance with us.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Right. I’m sure they were so worried.” But she must not be that into the suit, because she sighs and turns her attention his way. “It was nice to meet you, but I’m here with my friends, so I’m going to head back there.”
Suit guy’s brow furrows, even as he plasters on a smile. “No worries. Can I get your number?”
I’m about to drag her away before she can offer it, but Mira surprises me. “I don’t think so. You seem nice and all, but I just moved back to town and got out of a relationship. I’m not really looking to hook up with anyone right now.”
The guy’s smile slips. “Oh, uh, sure. Maybe if we run into each other again.”
That won’t happen.
“Right. Sure. Maybe then.” Mira lifts her beer in a little salute, then I grab her hand and lead her back across the dance floor toward our friends. She rolls her eyes but doesn’t protest. “You’re a clit block, you know that, right?”
“Me? No way. Just helping you find your way back to the group.” Luckily, she’s behind me enough that she doesn’t see my lips twitching.
“Sure. Whatever you say, Griffin. You’re just lucky I wasn’t really interested in that guy.”
I knew she wasn’t. “What was his name, anyway?”
She laughs at that. “You know what? I wasn’t even paying attention when he said it. I was calling him Mr. Fancy in my head because of his suit.”
I throw my head back and laugh as we dodge dancing couples and spilling drinks. “I was calling him The Suit in mine. Seriously, who wears a suit to a club like this?”
All her feigned annoyance forgotten Mira wrinkles her nose. “Right? Totally weird.”
We start dancing again, and I completely ignore the knowing look Navarro throws my way.
five
MIRA
Griffinand I slip into an easy routine, and three months fly by in a blink. Although he’s gone a lot with practice and games, when he’s home, we spend a lot of time hanging out. Part of me thought we’d sort of coexist, but he’s gone out of his way to make me feel welcome and included. I no longer think of him as my brother’s friend. I think of him as mine.
Which is one reason I’m so excited for tonight. Because I love cheering on my friends. That, and we’re in Las Vegas. And compared to the sub-zero temperatures of Minneapolis at the end of January, the almost sixty-degree evening here feels utterly balmy.
“I love going to away games,” Isla says with a bright smile. Her long, red hair shines under the bright lights that are so quintessentially Vegas. Her blue eyes scan the crowd of fans, most of them decked out in the gold and brown of the Scorpions. We occasionally catch a flash of gold and gray jerseys with Rogues’ logos on them, but they’re few and far between. “No one recognizes me here.”
A few months ago, Griffin helped my brother put together a plan to win Isla back. It was the most romantic thing, but it was very public, and between the team’s social media manager and fans with phones, Maddox and Isla have become something of a local spectacle. But they’re back together, so that’s all that matters. My brother has the love of his life back, and I have my friend.
Hopefully, soon to be my sister. Isla doesn’t know it yet, but Maddox has plans for her after tonight’s game. The kind of plans that involve sparkly diamond rings. It’s a struggle to keep my face in check because if I beam at her like an idiot, she’ll know something is up.
I only wish Ryder Hanson’s girlfriend could have come with us. Lexi Cross is awesome, and the three of us have become fast friends. It still blows my mind that her dad was the head coach for the Rogues. Until he got sacked for being a deeply disgusting misogynist who called his daughter all sorts of vile names at a game where the whole thing was caught on camera. It was super traumatic for her, but the rookie won us all over when he stood up for Lexi without caring about what happened to his career.
Talk about romantic.
We make our way to our seats three rows up from the boards, both of us in our Graves jerseys. It’s convenient to share a name with one of the star players. And I grin like an idiot when I realize Isla may share that name soon too.
