Then I spotted the bar.
“Can I start you ladies with a drink?” Penny offered as she stepped through the door making a beeline for the rows of glasses, perfectly polished and lined up.
“I’d love a glass of bubbles,” Sienna replied eagerly. “Em, you joining me?”
Hell yeah, I was. “Ah, yeah. Sure,” I answered, not wanting to appear too eager. This whole situation had me unbalanced, and I didn’t do unbalanced.
After accepting the flute, I went and sat in one of the oversized chairs in the front row. From the looks of it, this box seated twelve, but there were only the two of us, and Penny who, based on her actions so far as well as the black apron tied around her waist and neatly pressed shirt, was our waitress for the evening not our friend.
“Okay, as delicious as this champagne is, and as much as I want to gorge myself on olives right now, you need to tell me what the fuck we’re doing here.”
Taking a sip, Sienna just shrugged. “I got free passes. It seemed like it’d be a shame to waste them.”
“Of course, it would be. But who gave them to you?”
“Fine. Hunter gave them to me.”
“Hunter? As in Hunter Mitchell? That guy…right there?” I questioned, pointing to the field where the tall football god was lining up to take his warmup shot.
“Ah yeah. Him.”
“And why would he give you tickets like this for the game?” Now things were getting interesting. My anxieties were fading with each barb I could shoot in Sienna’s direction. Suddenly, everything was becoming clearer. A hell of a lot clearer. I’d been dragged out kicking and screaming because she needed a wing woman. I knew Sienna, and for weeks she’d been avoiding questions about her fling with Hunter and wouldn’t even entertain the idea that they might be something more than casual acquaintances. Yet here we were. Sitting in luxury, surrounded by the proof that Hunter at least, even if Sienna wasn’t ready to admit it yet, was thinking they could be more than just buddies.
“I… We’re… We’re…”
“We’re what, Sie?” I asked, finding it more than a little funny that she was acting so peculiar. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be all bad. Hell, between the buffet and Sienna’s awkwardness, tonight was shaping up to be entertaining as hell.
“Fine. He invited us to watch the game and join him for dinner after. We’re meeting him once he’s changed.”
I coughed. Then I coughed again. You’ve got to be shitting me. “We’re what?”
“He invited us out with him after.”
“Us or you?” I attempted to clarify. The last thing I wanted to be was a third wheel. It wasn’t like I was going to need dinner after I stuffed myself on sliders and sushi. I was going to need someone to carry me out of here.
“Us. Definitely us.”
Behind us the siren blared, and I drained my glass.
“Excuse me, Penny?” I called over my shoulder to get her attention.
“Yes, Ma’am,” she replied promptly, and I gasped in horror. Was I even old enough to be a Ma’am? I sure as shit didn’t think I was.
“Just call me Emma. And this is Sienna,” I added quickly, nudging Sienna with my elbow and causing her to choke on her champagne.
“Ah, no worries, Emma. How can I help? More champagne?”
“Well, yes, but that wasn’t my question. Do you know if anyone else is joining us in here tonight?”
I don’t know what I wanted her answer to be. If she said yes, I knew I’d start worrying about who was on their way. Strangers meant I’d have to behave myself and keep the swearing to a minimum. Not to mention slow down on the booze. But if it was just us it was going to be more than a little weird. There was so much food, more than we could eat even if we tried. It just seemed like a waste of money when we would’ve been perfectly fine sitting in the stands with beer and a hotdog. Not that I didn’t appreciate the warmth and dryness the box offered, it just felt like serious overkill.
“From what I’ve been told to prepare for, there are a few guests who should be arriving shortly.” After flicking through some papers on a clip board, she confirmed, “Another five people should be joining you.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
“Absolutely. And here’s your glass.” She handed me back a full glass, not one of those half-arsed ones waitresses usually serve you before disappearing again.
My wondering was halted when the siren sounded and the ball bounced. Well that and Sienna’s gutter mouth protests when Hunter took a knee to his thigh. The way he brushed it off and took off after the perpetrator before smashing him into the turf, told me a lot. Hunter was fine, and Sienna was stressed.
It was ferocious.
It was fast-paced.
It was brutal.
And it was sloppy. Understandable under the conditions, but there were moments when the ball was buried under a mountain of men. Lucky ball.
“Hurry up, Mum! I told you it’d started,” a cracking voice complained from behind me.
I watched the family of three shuffle into the box, unwrapping the scarves from around their necks and shrugging off jackets. It took me a minute but once they were calmer and moving slower, I realised I recognised them all.
Shit!
Shit! Shit! Shit!
These were Bryce’s parents. And Seth. And they were here.
I was stuck. In a box. For the next three hours with Bryce’s family and Sienna, someone who had no reservations about embarrassing me.
Even though initially I’d thought it ridiculous to have that amount of food and booze on hand for just the two of us, now we were a happy family of five, I was doubting it’d last until half time.
Penny, my saviour, must’ve sensed I was about to freak out, because without asking, she plucked the empty champagne flute from my fingers where it dangled precariously, before replacing it with an overly full one.
“Calm down, Seth. We’ve missed five minutes. I need a beer,” Noel grumbled, heading straight for the bar.
“Emma! You look fabulous! So good to see you,” Marley gushed as she wrapped her arms around me and gave me one of those hugs that only a mother knew how to. A hug that warmed you from the inside out. A hug that made you feel safe. Feel loved. I never wanted her to let go.
“Sit down, Mum, you’re blocking my view,” Seth mumbled.
“Seth Robert, don’t talk with your mouth full.”
After introducing Sienna to Bryce’s parents, we all settled in our seats and concentrated on the game. It was an awesome game. Even when Noel asked me which team I was barracking for; I’d managed to get away with telling him the home team. He didn’t look convinced but with a hushed word from his wife, he dropped it very quickly. I could’ve sworn after that his cheering got a little louder.
We made it to halfway through the second quarter when the final members of our party practically fell through the door in a cloud of hysterical laughter. Wrapped around each other so tightly, barely a breath of air could pass between them.
He was fucking hot.
Like there was some serious man candy in this room.
The way he looked at her, well it was enough to even make the most cynical woman jealous. And even the most committed lady’s ovaries explode. He towered over her, but his eyes never left her. It was obvious to even a stranger like me that they were madly in love and he treated her like she hung the moon.
“And where have you two love birds been?” Marley asked, rising from her seat and heading towards them.
Stealing a glance at Sienna, her mouth was dangling open like she was trying to trap flies. I must’ve been the only one in the room who had no idea who they were or why they were here.
“Busy,” Hottie McHottie replied. “How’s our boy playing?”
“Not too bad,” Noel defended. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. Noel didn’t strike me as shy about voicing his pride in his sons’ achievements. Nor should he be.
“He was always sloppy in the wet.”
; When he moved the girl attached to him, tucking her under his arm protectively, butterflies filled my stomach. I might say all the right things and try to convince myself I’m like Teflon. Nothing sticks. But I was a pathetic, soppy romantic at heart. I was obsessed with the Hallmark channel. I read the classics – like Bronte and Austin. And I hadn’t found a chick flick that wasn’t responsible for a torrent of tears and eating my body weight in chocolates. Usually on Valentine’s day, I took an annual leave day and hid at home under the covers, unable to stand the sight of all those disgustingly loved-up, happy couples.
“Logan!” she chastised him, slapping him in the stomach, not that I think he even felt it. I was willing to bet he was packing one solid set of abs under that navy woollen pullover.
“Sorry, Marley. Drink?” he asked his girlfriend.
“Champagne please.”
They separated and she made a beeline for us, pausing long enough to hug Seth and Noel as she squeezed by.
When Sienna elbowed me in the boob, I yelped. “What?”
“Don’t you know who that is?” she whisper yelled at me.
“No,” I answered. Why would I? He was a hot guy. I didn’t know hot guys. I was the chick with dirt under her nails and bits of twig in her hair. Hot guys didn’t want to know me.
“It’s Logan Oliver.”
“Ooookay?” From the look Sienna was giving me, one of those angry disbelief, remind-me-why-I’m-friends-with-you glares, I think that was supposed to mean something to me. It didn’t, but I’m guessing it should’ve.
“He’s not that special.” His girlfriend giggled as she stole the seat next to Sienna.
“Not that special? Not that special?” Smoke was starting to come out of Sienna’s ears as her nostrils flared. “He’s won premierships. He won the Brownlow Medal. He won the Norm Smith Medal. He’s got the highest clearance rate in the game. He’s been in the top five for disposals for the last four years…”
“And he farts in his sleep. Can’t cook to save his life. And his taste in movies is truly, truly horrible. I mean, who the hell wants to read a movie. If I wanted to read, I’d pick up a damn book!” the girlfriend added, ending Sienna’s rant spectacularly. I loved this chick. I had no idea who she was, what her name was or where she’d come from, but I adored her. Anyone who could silence Sienna like that, I needed in my life.
“Marry me,” I blurted out, completely overwhelmed.
“She can’t. She’s marrying me.”
Beside me, Marley snorted, and champagne came out her nose. Behind me, Noel coughed and spluttered. And Seth laughed.
“So, you finally grew a pair then?” Seth asked, high fiving him.
“How’d you know?”
“How do you think?”
Logan, Seth and Marley all groaned together. “Bryce.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BRYCE
“You started the party without us?” Hunter declared, pushing through the box doors.
The guy was larger than life in every sense of the word. Dude was a man mountain and after the arse kicking his team had dished out tonight, the only upside was the black eye he was sporting. It looked damn nasty, but I was clinging to the win anyway.
“You’re here!” A shrill cry echoed, and I found myself glancing at the glass to see if it’d shattered into a million pieces. It wouldn’t have surprised me.
Hunter’s pixie, the same one from Melbourne, leapt through the air, throwing herself at him seemingly unaware of the brutal beating that had just happened. I could barely lift my arm enough to catch a donut right now let alone a person.
Mum moved towards me, and I ducked out from behind Hunter who was now firmly attached to his female admirer by the lips.
I wrapped Mum in my arms, and her head dropped to my shoulder. She was warm and soft and smelt like home. “You played well,” she whispered.
“I played like shit.” I chuckled. I hadn’t played that badly personally but as a team, we sucked. I don’t know if it was the weather, the travel – it was our fourth consecutive away game and for myself at least, I was getting sick and tired of airports and hotels – or if it was that we just did suck.
“Ah, yeah you did. What the fuck happened in the third?”
Good old Seth. If there was one thing you could always count on your little brother for, it was for a reality check. Seth didn’t know how to sugar coat anything or pussy foot around. It was a blessing and a curse. I always knew exactly where I stood with him, but sometimes a softer approach wouldn’t kill him.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, that was future Bryce’s problem. I had no doubt Coach would torture us with frame by frame of that third quarter at our next review. At half time we’d been right in it. Ahead by seven points. Then wham! By the end of the third we were down by sixty-two. I barely even remember it happening, it just got out of hand so fast.
“You always were a pussy when you got cold and wet.”
“Speaking of being a pussy…” I raised my eyebrows at Logan, and he nodded subtly.
He’d been planning on popping the question for weeks but hadn’t followed through with it. I had no doubt he was going to, and I knew Tash would say yes; she was as crazy about him as he was about her, but still he dragged his arse. Every time I asked or made some joke about taking Tash off the market, he practically ripped my head off. The ring must’ve been burning a hole in his sock drawer by now.
“So, you finally did it?”
“Did what?” Tash asked, standing up on her tip toes and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.
I couldn’t help it.
I was an arsehole.
I never pretended to be anything else.
Never had.
Never would.
I wrapped my arm around Tash’s shoulders holding her against me. I could feel her warmth through my thin white shirt. As if she knew exactly what I was playing at, her arm wove around my waist. Leaning down just a fraction, I whispered only loud enough for her to hear. “Three. Two…” I didn’t even make it to one before Logan growled and batted my hand away before dragging Tash back into his arms like the predictable caveman he was. People thought he was lovely and patient and a genuinely nice guy. Those people didn’t know he was wicked smart, possessive as hell and funny as fuck.
“Get your own woman,” he warned.
“Speaking of…” I turned and scoured the room for Emma. She was supposed to be here. That was the deal. Hunter was getting Sienna and Emma here for the night and we were going out to have some fun where I could, hopefully, convince Emma I wasn’t a complete dick and to give me another chance. But my plans were fucked if she was nowhere to be seen.
Before I could ask, Dad stepped through the door wiping the rain from his face. “Hey, Dad.” I reached out, shaking his hand.
“Bryce.”
Well shit. He didn’t seem thrilled to see me. I had no idea what the fuck I’d done wrong, other than play like crap. I hadn’t been here to cause any trouble.
“Ah, anyone know where Emma is?” I asked, not bothering to give two shits if I looked like a desperate loser. The truth was, I was a desperate loser. I’d orchestrated this whole thing so I could persuade Emma to talk to me.
“I just put her into an Uber,” Dad replied emotionlessly.
What the actual fuck?
“Where to?” I managed to blurt out.
I could feel everyone’s eyes boring into me. I didn’t care. The whole point of this weekend, the whole point of having my family and friends there was to show her, prove to her that I’m a good guy worth getting to know. That I wasn’t the player the papers made me out to be. None of it mattered though if I couldn’t even get her to talk to me.
“She went home,” Sienna confirmed as she slid down Hunter’s front and her feet touched the floor.
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she was overwhelmed or tired or something.” Even though I knew girls covered for each other all the time, Sienna seemed genuinel
y baffled by what had her friend running for the door.
“Or she didn’t want to see your ugly mug,” Seth added, but before he could pour any more salt in the wound, Mum slapped him up the side of the head. I knew from experience that if she got you right in the ear, that shit could sting.
Defeated, I dropped into the seat and stared at the empty field. The rain was still bucketing down but from here you could see everything. For what it’d cost, you’d bloody hope so.
“Want me to call her?” Sienna offered helpfully.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, Bryce, we’re going to head out. It’s getting late and we’ve got a big day tomorrow,” Mum explained but it was all bullshit. I knew that. They would’ve had no qualms about coming to the pub and grabbing some food with us, but she was giving me space. I’d never loved her more.
As they filed out of the room, each member of my family couldn’t help but to make sure they got their two cents worth in.
After a quick, awkward, one-sided man hug, Dad clapped me on the back. “Stay tenacious, Bryce. That girl, she’s worth it.”
Then Seth stepped up, puffing out his chest. “Don’t fuck it up. Emma’s a cool chick. I like her.” Deep and inspiring words of wisdom from my baby brother.
Then it was Mum’s turn. Fiddling with my collar, she adjusted it as only a mother can. “You know those movies you love so much? The ones we don’t talk about. What’s the guy always do?” I lowered my head so Mum could kiss my cheek. “Grand gesture, my boy. Grand gesture.”
Standing there with my head spinning, I watched my family file out and down the stairs. We already had plans to meet in the morning down by the harbour for brunch, but I’d planned on bringing a date. Even though that part of the plan was now up in the air, I wouldn’t let them down. I’d rock up solo if I had to.
Played: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Playing Games Book 2) Page 9