I wrestle away from her hold. “Too much wine.”
“Jade.” I look away—plausible deniability. “Do you have acrushon this player?”
“No.” Sparkling white teeth framed by dimples flash through my mind's eye, entirely unwelcome.
“I mean, it would make sense. You’re hot as fuck—even with the whole intense thing you’ve got going on—and there’s obviously a certain appeal to rugby players. I mean, the thighs alone…”
You have no idea.
“And you’re around them all the time, so it’s only natural to develop a crush.”
“I don’t get crushes…” I leave the statement hanging in the air.
“But?”
I deliberate. On one hand, it would be nice to tell someone about this, but on the other hand, even speaking it aloud instead of internalizing it might invite unwelcome thoughts. I heave out a loud sigh; I guess I’m committing to this. “But I might have, accidentally, hooked up with one of them before I knew who he was.”
She starts choking on her wine, spluttering red liquid out onto the counter. “Come again?”
“Please don’t make me repeat myself,” I groan, dropping my head into my hands.
Aanya grabs the pinot, taking a swig directly from the bottle before passing it to me. “Tell me every sordid detail.”
Bringing the bottle’s neck to my mouth, I tip it back and take a deep pull. The drink coats my tongue and imbues me with courage to finally say this out loud. I start from the beginning, when I first saw the disaster flat and how it had me seeking out the pub, then on to the creep at the bar, before I finish with blue eyes searing into mine through a mirror in a single stall bathroom, leaving out the depraved details currently running through my mind like a river.
“Wow. Only in London for a couple hours, and you got laid. Well done.” She claps, and I roll my eyes.
“I wasted no time. Had to sample the local fare,” I deadpan.
Aanya snorts. “Did you just make a joke?”
“Apparently, there’s something in the English air that’s making me do all sorts of unusual things.” I return to the hob and take the boiling noodles off the eye, draining the water into the sink.
“Mmmm,” she muses. “I think it’s good for you.”
“Ah, yes, breaking workplace ethics within hours of me being here is sure to get meEmployer of the Year.”
Grabbing a sauté pan out of the cabinet, I set it on the stove and throw the seasoned shrimp in to cook.
“Which player was it?”
I ignore her, not turning around as I push the crustaceans around in the pan. “Hmmm?”
“Jade, who was it?”
I choke out his name in a hybrid mumble cough.
“What was that?”
I repeat my answer in the same fashion.
“I’m going to swat you with a spatula if you don’t fess up in a way I can understand,” she laughs.
“Tieran Stone.”
She blinks slowly before the squealing begins. “Fuck off! You bagged the captain of the Legends in a pub loo? I’m impressed, though not surprised, since you’re basically temptation on long legs. But he is—” She whistles, and I start banging my head against the cabinets on the wall.
“How was it?”
