Page 14 of Her Coach

“Doesn’t really matter with New York.” I downed the rest of my drink before I spun the glass around slowly in my fingertips. “Don’t tell the upstaters I said that, though.”

She giggled, and the sound reverberated through me like bubbles in a hot tub.

“Another,” I said as I lifted the glass for her to view before I placed it back down onto the bar.

“Count me in for another, too,” Moose said.

She smiled and went to pour. I looked over just long enough to see Moose wink at her.

“Lookin’ pretty hard into that glass, Coach,” Rhett said as he bellied up to the bar on my other side.

I didn’t have to look up to hear the grin in his voice. “Rhett.”

He clapped his hand against my shoulder. “Most just call me ‘Stone’.”

“I will never call you that,” I said as I downed the rest of my second drink.

“You and me, both,” Brynn said with a snicker as she buzzed by and plucked my drink out of my hand.

“Another!” Moose exclaimed as he slammed his glass down onto the top of the bar.

I peeked over at him. “Another what?”

Moose beamed with pride. “Drink.”

I pinned him with a look while the team snickered around us. “Another drink, what?”

Moose blinked. “Please?”

I pointed to Brynn. “Now, turn and say that to her.”

Rhett cackled beside me as Moose turned toward her. “Sorry, Bry. I’d like another drink, please.”

She smiled, and I suddenly wanted to slam Moose’s head into the bar for making her smile.

Those were my smiles.

Not his.

The fuck has gotten into me?

“Of course,” Brynn said with a playful wink before she scooped up our empty glasses. “For you, Coach?”

“Colton,” I said. I looked down at my glass. I had already had two. I wanted another but I gritted my jaw slightly. “And, no. Just a water. Or Coke, if you’ve got it.”

She smiled. “One Coke and another Viper's Kiss for the Moose, coming right up.”

Then finally, I turned my attention to Rhett. “You need something?”

He grinned as his arms folded across his chest. “You up for some pool? The team’s about to take over the tables and rack some balls up.”

I slowly peered over my shoulder toward the side of the bar and, sure enough, the team rallied around the four pool tables over there and were already tossing money into a betting pile. The coach in me wanted to stop the bullshit. What the hell kind of team took bets on pool games at the start of the season? It was unprofessional, at worst, and stupid, at best.

But, if all of them were over there, then that meant…

“Nah, you guys go on ahead,” I said as I reached into my back pocket. I pulled out my wallet, handed Rhett forty bucks, and then slid my wallet back into my pocket. “Put forty on Jett for me.”

Rhett barked with laughter. “Jett!? You want to bet forty on the man who’s only won four pool games?”