There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Dani was hiding something or, more likely, someone. She was a private person in general, but this was different, and based on the red-and-white athletic socks I’d found discarded under our couch last week, I was pretty sure she was screwing one of my teammates.
Not that that made a difference—she was a fully grown woman who dictated her own choices, including who she slept with. The only thing that irked me was the fact that she didn’t think she could share it with me. Her roommate, her friend.
“But you’re okay, right?” I pressed. “Everything’s safe?”
Why did I feel like I was giving my sister a safe sex talk all over again? That had been an awkward conversation, to say the least, but somebody had needed to do it.
Enter the world-class swooper.
“Yes,Dad.”
I reached across to flick her short blue curls. “That’s my girl.”
She snorted, batting my hand away with hers. “I heard you arranged some tickets for a few special guests tomorrow night.”
“You heard right. I guess you were wrong about my dimples, huh?”
Her look of suspicion told me she wasn’t convinced. I should have known better than to try to deceive Dani of all people, the woman who made it her business to know everything about everyone. Meanwhile, I couldn’t figure out which of my teammates was currently warming her bed. Inmyhouse, no less.
She was more than just a roommate or colleague, the closest thing to a best friend these days. But I had agreed to Nessa’s stipulations for our arrangement—all fourteen of them—and the first on the list was to keep the details of our relationship between the two of us. Her exact verbiage had been something like, “Keep your big ass mouth shut.”
Ever the wordsmith.
Aside from June, whom she had accidentally spilled the beans to the same day we’d kissed, nobody was to know about our arrangement. That was fine by me. Hell, as I saw it, the more people that thought Nessa was taken, the better. There were only so many douche canoe barflies a guy could deal with before he snapped.
“Something’s up,” she said.
“Can’t you just believe that Nessa finally fell for my effortless charm and sparkling personality?”
She eyed me wearily. “Can’t you just believe I slept in my own bed last night?”
Aha, so that’s how we’re going to play it.
Message received. Dani would butt out of my bedroom if I butted out of hers. That, I could do. Besides, there was only one tattooed bombshell I wanted in my bed these days.
I held my Sprite can up. “To cozy beds.”
She did the same with her margarita. “To dimples.”
We clinked our drinks together and drank.
“What are we toasting to?” Matty asked, dropping into the seat next to Dani.
Even though Diaz and Bennett’s house was a good forty-minute drive from Rose City, the media room setup alone was worth the drive. It was technically Bennett’s name on the deed, but the big screen, popcorn machine, and wall-to-wall La-Z-Boys were all Diaz.
“Pink’s love story,” Dani said.
Matty smiled lazily and reclined his chair. “C’mon, we all knew it was only a matter of time.”
“Yeah,” Bennett echoed. “Those two have been staring at each other across rooms for months, like an episode ofBridgerton.”
Every head in the room turned in unison. ForgetBridgerton; this was a goddamn horror movie.
“You watchBridgerton?” Soren asked, choking back a smile.
Clarke patted his chest. “Oh, please. Don’t pretend like you didn’t watch all of season two with me, and—”
He cut her off by covering her lips with his again.
