Walsh: Is that wise 4 Randy 2 be there around half-naked women?
Christian: Seth isn’t alone at home.
Walsh: Ahhh.
Seth: Shower and shave and I’ll head over.
Walsh: Seth can have the whiskey, and Randy can have the sour.
Christian: I was going to get him a cocktail. Sex on the beach, orgasm, or they have liquid pussy shots for only 4 bucks.
Me: U guys are great friends. I’ll stick with beer. Thanks, Cap, I’ll take another.
Two hours in and several games of pool and I’m getting a little buzz. Some girls have joined us for a few games of pool, and Christian has sent off text messages to our friends.
Seth, Harper, and Walsh walk through the door making tracks toward us. Shelby, Letti, and Travis join soon after, and before long, twenty of our friends are here, buying jugs, playing pool, and watching the playoff games.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jaxson, another fellow Raptor, asks as we sit at a large wooden table and I watch Seth and Harper enter the room and head over to Christian and Shelby.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my fingers tightening around the cold glass as I take a slow sip of beer, noticing how relaxed Seth and Harper look. The bitterness lingers, though not as heavily as the weight of where this conversation is headed.
“We have women hanging all around us, you’re half drunk and haven’t even tried to flirt with anyone. It’s Saturday night in our off season, and you should have nothing on your mind but pussy.”
“He’s gone over to the other side,” Walsh answers for me before I have a chance to reply.
And here we go. I throw him a knowing glance as he leans casually on the cue, waiting for his next shot. It has me thinking back to Rachel and how incredible she is at pool. I would love her to be here right now, destroying all my teammates; that would shut them up.
Jaxson raises one brow to me in response, surprised by the news, his brown hair swept over his forehead as he scratches at his 5 o’clock shadow. “Well, well, well. Would you look at that?”
I flick a sharp glance between them, willing them to drop this before my patience runs out.
“Where is she?” he asks.
“She’s giving him the cold shoulder…doesn’t want anything to do with him,” Walsh answers.Look at the person who all of a sudden has the big mouth.
“He’s sex starved,” Seth cuts in, joining the conversation that just won’t end.
“Sounds like you’re already married to her,” Jaxson laughs. “Sounds exactly like my parents’ relationship,” he says, turning his head to the DJ setting up in the corner and downing the rest of his beer.
Several hours later, we are all properly smashed, the kind of carefree, messy fun that comes with fake IDs, cheap beers, and countless cocktails. Everyone has spilled onto the dance floor, caught in whatever rhythm the DJ sets. The space hums with music and laughter, a steady, buzzing energy, all while I stay back at the table, watching my friends, soaking in their joy. It’s enough to sit here, to smile to myself, content from the sidelines.
“Will you dance with me?” the Aussie voice comes up from behind me.
“Where did you come from?” I ask in surprise.
“Bathroom,” she says, holding out her hand.
I nod and accept her hand as she leads me out to the dance floor. We make our way to the center and move our bodies around to the music, her hands resting on my shoulders as mine rest on her lower back.
“Heard from Rachel lately?”
“I actually took her and Sam to the stadium to kick the ball around.”
“Really? That’s fantastic!” She looks at me as I push her backward, holding one hand and spinning her around. “It’s progress,” I say.
“Keep at it. She’ll come around.”
“Well, I have you to dance with, so it’s not a total loss.”
