Page 59 of Hard to Score

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

BREXTON

THE BASE OF THE CLUB throbs against the walls and feels like it’s a second heartbeat in my chest.

It’s the last place I expected to be tonight, but I needed to put myself in check. I’m in Miami for work. Sure I slept with Drew and want to again, but reaching out to him while I’m here felt needy and stalkerish. In an attempt to keep my overromanticized heart in check, I texted one of my college girlfriends who now lives in Miami.

And now we’re here at Club Cerulean where the drinks are strong, the men are deliciously hot, and the music is on point.

It’s the perfect place to let my hair down and just breathe. It’s a chance to let loose and remind myself that man or no man, I can have a great time.

“You ready to hit the floor again?” she shouts above the beat.

“Yes. I need some air though, first.” I fan my hand in front of my face as if it’s actually going to help cool me off.

“’Kay. Let’s head to the patio for a minute. Then we’ll dance our asses off.”

We push our way through the crowd and just as we hit the exit, I run smack dab into Dax Conway, the Raptors’ tight end.

“Kincade? What the fuck are you doing here?” he asks as he wraps his arms around me in a brotherly yet drunken hug that I gently extricate myself from.

“Work. Meetings.” I push against his chest when he steps in closer and he just laughs.

“Hey. Look who I found!” Dax says as he turns to about seven other players. As I wave in greeting to all of them, Drew walks up, his feet faltering when our eyes meet.

Shock and confusion blanket his face and then if I’m not mistaken, hurt follows right after it.

“Hey,” he says in a flat tone as his eyes hold mine. They ask questions I don’t understand but I just smile softly.

“Hey,” I say in return, our gazes holding longer than is normal before I break away and introduce Lisa to everyone.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Justin says as he barrels up behind Drew and whistles, long and low. “Earlier you were all businessed-up and now you’re dressed to fucking kill, isn’t she, boys?”

I ignore the scrape of Justin’s gaze up and down my body. His objectifying me. And it’s not that I don’t care, but rather I’m too busy noticing the clench of Drew’s jaw and the fisting of his hands.

I’m definitely not privy to something that has transpired between the two of them but I have an inkling that it most definitely had something to do with me.

“Earlier?” Drew asks Justin, ignoring me.

“Yeah, bro. She took me to dinner. Wined and dined me.” He winks and slaps Drew on the shoulder. “I can’t help that I’m irresistible.”

“I’m surprised your ego fit through the door,” I say with a saccharine-sweet smile. “And for the record, some meetings, Hobbs, are supposed to remain private.” I give him a nod and a stern look and only hope when I turn to Drew that he understands what happened.

Hell, supposedly he gave Justin the push to call me, after all.

Drew gives me a slight lift of his chin but breaks eye contact when Dax says, “Come join us. We have bottle service up top.” He points to the lounge area above the dance floor that looks down onto it.

“No, we’re good—”

“C’mon, Brex. Don’t be such a stick in the mud!” Lisa says as Dax puts an arm around her and she giggles. “These guys will protect us.”

Is this the time for me to remember that Lisa becomes the giggly airhead around men when she wants their attention? How did I selectively forget that when I texted her to go out tonight?

Maybe because it only makes a difference now.

Only when I have to sit within feet of Drew and not touch him. Only now that the feel of him is at the forefront of my mind, and my blood is all but singing with unsated desire.

“Thank you for the offer, but I normally don’t mix business with pleasure.”