Avery
The night’s almost over. It’s a little before midnight, and I know any second Ty is going to say we should get going—and he would be right. The team flies to Milwaukee early tomorrow for a game the following night.
But that Daniel dude hasn’t shown up yet and I really don’t want to lose this bet. I glance at Stephanie, who’s at the bar with Maddie getting fresh drinks. Ty is standing with me, and he and Larue are making fun of our teammate Drew’s latest conquest, Anne, who has gotten sloppy drunk and is trying to talk about “where this is going” with Drew on the other side of the small bar. Drew is giving the guys quick “help me” glances when she’s not looking and they’re smiling, raising their drinks in his general direction and completely ignoring his requests. I can’t keep myself from staring at Steph.
“You know what works better than undressing her with your eyes?” Larue says, nudging me. “Undressing her with your hands.”
I smile. “Mind your business, Alex.”
“Love is my business,” he replies with a grin, and sips his beer.
Maddie and Steph make their way back to us. Steph hands me a new beer. “Trying to get me drunk?” I ask.
She smiles. “Yes. So I can take advantage of you.”
“No booze required,” I promise, and then I glance at the other drink in her hand. It’s the third glass of clear liquid with lime I’ve seen her drink, and suddenly I’m worried that she’s nervous about the bet. Is she trying to drink away her fear of hooking up with me? Oh, God, I don’t want her to have to be drunk to sleep with me. I point to the tumbler in her hand. “What about you? Is that liquid courage in case you lose the bet?”
She glances down and swirls the clear liquid in my glass. “Soda water with lime.”
I can feel my face get tense, and I nervously lick my lower lip. I can’t help but notice that her eyes are following my tongue. I want to think that’s a good sign. “So you’ve stopped drinking? Why?”
She moves her eyes from my mouth, blinks as if trying to bring herself into the moment, and then smiles brightly and coyly says, “I need to be sober so the naked pictures I post of you on Instagram later are in focus.”
Those words have been my biggest fear since Instagram—and social media in general—became a thing. I frown, and she bursts out laughing. “Oh, come on, Avery! YouknowI’m kidding.”
Of course she’s kidding. Stephanie could have already sold a lot of personal information about me to the tabloids. She hasn’t and she wouldn’t—I know this, but thanks to my father’s harping I’m always waiting for people to stab me in the back. Before I can try to blow off my reaction or even apologize for it, Maddie nudges Stephanie.
“Why does Drew keep looking over here like he’s about to be stabbed or something?” Maddie asks Ty, and Larue and I chuckle.
“Anne is trying to talk about their relationship,” Ty explains.
“Trying to have a meaningful conversation after three martinis?” Stephanie raises an eyebrow. “She’s looking for trouble.”
“She found trouble when she hooked up with Drew,” Maddie adds, and then tugs on Ty’s hand. “Let’s go save him.”
“What? No. We have to let him suffer. It’s the bro code.” Ty’s eyes twinkle with mischief. Maddie rolls her eyes and drags him with her anyway.
Larue puts his glass on the bar and glances at us but his eyes linger on Stephanie. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the not-so-little boy’s room.”
He gives her an exaggerated, comical wink and she looks at him with the best unimpressed face I’ve ever seen—God bless her. Now, alone with Stephanie again, her gaze shifts to me, and I take in those insanely clear blue eyes and watch as she wraps her lips around the straw in her drink to take a long sip. It feels like foreplay. I’m that hot for her.
“So looks I’m going to win the bet,” she tells me when she stops drinking. She licks her lips, then starts to walk over to the corner of the bar where two stools have been vacated. I follow her. She jumps up and sits in one and I sit in the other, but we both turn the stools so we’re facing each other. I look down to where our knees are almost touching. She’s wearing a short black lace skirt; all night I’ve been admiring her tanned legs all the way down to her slouchy black high-heeled ankle boots. I’ve been picturing those boots next to my ears.
“Night’s not over yet,” I remind her as I send out another silent prayer that this guy lets his dick lead the way and shows up here. I could tell by the way he was looking at Stephanie at the restaurant and the way he asked about Maddie that he wants one—or both—of them. She looks skeptical, like she believes the night is over and she’s won. And then I realize I don’t know what that means if she does win.
“So let’s say this guy turns out to be gay,” I joke, and she giggles. “If he doesn’t show up tonight, what do you win?”
“What do I win?”
I lean forward and casually put a hand on her bare knee. Her skin is warm and soft and makes my dick start to come alive in my pants. “Yeah. You know ifIwin you have to come home with me. And ifyouwin…?”
She looks me square in the eye but says nothing for a long minute. Then she slides off the bar stool and uses her hip to push my legs apart so she can get closer. Standing between my legs, she leans in next to my ear, balancing herself with a hand on my shoulder. I have a brief, strong urge to look around and make sure no one is watching us—or worse, has their cell phone out taking pictures. But I fight the impulse and concentrate on the feel of her wedged so close to me. I even dare to let the fingers on my left hand run gently up and down the outer side of her thigh.
“If I win…thenyouhave to go home withme.”
My heart flips and my dick twitches. I pull back just a fraction of an inch so I can look in her eyes. She’s got the same look on her face that she had last night in her bedroom. The dead serious I’m-going-to-let-you-fuck-me look. I move my hand, pressing my palm flat against her lower back and pull her farther into the small space between my legs.
She’s still got one hand on my shoulder and the other one curled around the glass she’s holding up near her chest. I realize I’m about to kiss her at the same time she realizes I’m about to kiss her. She takes a deep breath and lets it out almost audibly. She dips her chin. I tilt my face.
