Page 77 of Against The Boards

“You sure?” I asked into her ear.

“I’m fine,” she snapped a little too loudly, and that got us a double raised eyebrow look from my teammates.

What did I do to piss her off?

I pulled my hand off her thigh, but she yanked it back and threaded her fingers between mine underneath the table.

Okay, what is going on?

I rested my hand on her bare thigh and noticed she was wearing the red dress with the white flowers that I loved. It hugged all her curves in the right places, like someone made the dress specifically for her. She was the only woman I noticed in the bar, and I wanted to kiss her so badly. I wanted to show everyone how much she meant to me. But that wasn’t a part of our deal.

I took a sip of my beer and noticed Fi giving me a death glare.

After we ate, Riley bet me he could beat me at pool. I took that bet because he sucked at pool. Rox released my hand from underneath the table so I could stand up, and Noah joined us over at the pool table. I felt like this was a setup for them to grill me about why I was late for training today.

I lined up the balls and broke. I hit a striped ball into the back left pocket.

“You gonna tell us what’s going on with you and Rox?” Riley asked.

I gritted my teeth. “Nothing. You saw how she snapped at me.”

“Dude, I heard you fucking this morning,” Noah announced.

I stared at him while Riley took his shot. “How do you know that was me? Could have been her.”

Riley barked out a laugh. “Okay, she definitely wouldn’t fuck in her brother’s bed. Also, conveniently you said you were ‘busy’ last night, and when Fi asked Rox if she wanted to hang out, she was also ‘busy.’ We put two-and-two together, bud!”

“And I heard you screaming her name this morning,” Noah added with a grin.

FUCK!

Is that why Rox is so mad?

I hazarded a glance at the table behind us, but Rox was laughing with the girls like nothing was wrong. Was she just in a weird mood? Then why did Fi give me that death glare? What was that about?

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” I lied.

Noah sighed and seemed to weigh his words. “Is the lying because of TJ?”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about. Rox and I are just friends.”

Riley narrowed his eyes at me. “A couple of weeks ago, you were at each other’s throats. Don’t think I didn’t notice you holding hands under the table.”

“Like two sneaky teenagers!” Noah teased.

I ignored him and took my next shot. I wouldn’t dignify that with an answer. I looked up after I missed my shot and saw Fi sauntering over to us.

She sidled up to her husband. “Hey, baby. Can I borrow Benny for a second?” she asked.

Riley gave her a quick kiss. “Of course, sweetheart.”

Fi’s nails dug into my arm as she pulled me out of earshot. “You need to go talk to your girl,” she ordered.

“What?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “She seems to have it in her head that you’re gonna ask for a trade to Boston. You need to tell her that’s not happening. And for fuck’s sake, Benny, tell her you love her already.”

I sighed.