by Tijan
There was a moment of silence. Then I heard the guy succumb. “Fine.”
He left, disappeared down the hallway, and the front door slammed shut a beat after.
Reese didn’t look at me, not at first. He stared at the door, letting out a soft, “Fuck,” before turning back. Regret flared over his face. “I’m not even going to address that guy, because honestly, you’re going to get more reactions like that. I’m sorry.”
I gulped. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not.” His face was tormented. “And I won’t be around to block it all.” He sat by me, his eyes tracing my face. “Just stay close to Marie. She’ll be here in an hour. She talked about coming early to get to know you a little.”
I was getting a wake-up call here. That guy’s reaction, the camera guy, the mural outside of the airport. Yeah. It wasn’t time for jokes, though I winced. There should always be room for jokes, but okay. Serious again.
I sat up, touching Reese’s leg. “Hey. I got it. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m not sure what to say here, because I don’t want to keep you a secret, but…”
Yes. Invisible writing on the wall. I could read it. I reached, my fingers sliding through his. I gave him a reassuring squeeze. Our roles were switching. The significance wasn’t lost on me.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not a girl who’s going to get upset you’re not telling people about whatever we are.”
His eyes flashed.
I grinned. “I mean, I know we’re having great sex, but well, you know what I mean.”
He groaned, leaning down and capturing my mouth. “You’re more than a screw. You know that, right?”
I almost preened. “The best words ever. Put that on a Valentine’s Day card.”
A grimace, then a chuckle. “Shit. I’m sorry. I…” He leaned back, tilting his head to the side. “We don’t use the big words.”
“Because of me. Because of my baggage.” I squeezed his hand. “So if you think I’m a chick who wants to shout it to the tabloids or anyone that we’re whatever—”
He laughed. “We’ve progressed. Screwing to whatever.”
I lifted a shoulder. “—then you never really knew me.” I waved a hand around. “All of this is a lot, but I’ve got too much damage in me to start getting ideas. You can relax. I’m here to whatever you and hang out. That’s it. But if Juan’s girlfriend isn’t cool, I might ditch the game.”
His eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“No.” I flashed a grin. “But I might ditch her and watch from the aisle somewhere.”
He groaned, bending down to rest his forehead to mine. His hands cupped my face. “Don’t do that. Marie’s cool, and you’ll hurt her feelings. Then Juan will get mad at me because Marie’s very picky about who she befriends.”
That made her more appealing. I perked up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead just as a honking sound came from outside. “Jesus Christ. I’m going to kill that guy.”
“Go.” I shooed him. “Get out of here.”
He backed toward the door. “Marie knows the code to lock everything up, and stick with her after the game. We’ll meet up with you guys.” He turned to jog down the stairs.
I scrambled to my knees. “Good luck!”
“Thanks,” he shouted.
Then the door shut again, and I could hear voices outside.
I couldn’t help myself. I went to the window, watching Reese get in the passenger side of a very expensive-looking car. I had no clue what kind it was, but it screamed money. The gate opened, and the car sped off.
Then it was me, and the realization of the world I’d stepped into hit me hard.
I was fairly certain I’d just crapped my pants.
Reese lied to me.
Marie was nothing like Hadley.
I mean, height and weight she was petite like Hadley, but she had black hair, a lip ring, and had a solid amount of makeup on her face. Also, her arms were crossed over her chest and she was inspecting me like I was an ant under her shoe.
“What are your intentions with Reese?”
That wasn’t even her first question. She’d started off the interrogation Monty Python-style with “What is your name? What is your favorite color?” And we’d progressed from there. I was past the first molehill of questions and she now circled me as I sat at Reese’s kitchen table.
“Uh, my intentions?” I shrugged. “Besides phenomenal sex?”
She kept circling, those arms still crossed tight. “You know what I mean. You’re a funny one, I see.”
I was tempted to snort, but I’d done that after the first four questions. She got tired of it, growling, “You’re not taking this seriously.” I’d been refraining since.
I sighed instead. More appropriate.
“Okay.” I was having déjà vu. This was the third time my cards had needed to be laid out, and I stood.
Marie paused in her circling.
I mirrored her, folding my arms over my chest. “I get that you’re being protective of Reese, but if you think I’m going to lay out all my innermost secrets to you, a stranger, you can walk right back out. Reese invited me here. He said you’d hang out with me until he was done, but I have no problem buying a scalped ticket and going to see his game by myself.”
She sneered. “It’ll be in the nosebleeds.”
“I don’t give a shit. I’m going with the pure intention of being able to say yes, I was there to support him when he asks about the game. I don’t like lying, but I’m also not going to let you interrogate me anymore. The first ten minutes were out of respect because Juan is a nice guy. The next ten minutes were for my entertainment, but these last five minutes, the arrow went real quick to not enjoying this anymore.”
“Reese never asks me to take care of someone for him. Ever.”
“Then maybe you should trust him? I don’t know what to tell you.”
Her eyes were almost slits. She tipped her chin up. “You hurt him, and I will sic a private investigator on you. I’ll ask him to expose your weakness, and whatever that is, I’ll exploit it. I don’t care. Reese is a damned good guy.”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
She cocked her head. “Because he’s rich, and famous, and hot?”
“I don’t care if he’s rich. The famous thing actually freaks me out, and yeah, the last part is nice. I’ll give you one of those.”
“Are you an actress?”
I snorted.
A small growl escaped her closed mouth.
I amended, “Sorry, but no. I was recently fired from two jobs, and I’m a mess right now, but despite all of that, Reese still invited me out here.”
“Are you a mode—”
I almost snorted again.
She amended this time. “You don’t have the height for that.” Suspicion still hung heavy. “One last question and I’ll ease up.”
“Okay?”
“Will you let me go through your purse?”
A purse. Ooooooh fuck.
I paled. “I knew I forgot something.”
“What?”
But it was no problem. I had transferred all my stuff to my carry-on. A purse wasn’t needed. Relief weakened my knees after a small heart attack.
“I would, if I’d remembered it. I took everything out and put it in my carry-on for easier access. I hate carrying two bags, so I was going to stuff my purse in my carry-on too. But it’s at my apartment right now.”
Her eyebrows went up into her forehead. “You don’t have a purse?”
“No.”
“And you only brought a carry-on with you?”
A slow nod from me.
She relaxed suddenly, her arms falling to her sides and her shoulders rolling backward. “Girl, you could’ve said that and saved us a whole lot of time.”
“Why?”
“Because no chick who only brings a carry-on to see fucking Reese Forster is out to use him. No hi
gh-maintenance chick would forget a purse.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder, pivoting and going into the kitchen. She reached for a bottle of tequila and poured two shots for us. “Here.” She pushed one to me. “We could’ve been drinking this whole time.”
I migrated to the counter. “I don’t want to argue with your theory, but I don’t quite get it either.” I picked up the shot and held it. “But here’s to an interrogation-free game? I’m hoping.”
She grinned, the first time her ice façade had cracked. She toasted me with her shot, before tossing it back. “Damn. I need one more.”
“Are you driving to the game?”
“Let’s do an Uber. The guys will drive us home later.”
She flashed me a grin, and my heart stopped. It took her from terrifying to stunning. She was a short little minx, sassy scary, though.
“And you can’t really blame me. I’ve been with Juan for four years. Reese is like family. He’s a godparent to our son.”
“You have a son with Juan?”
She nodded, smiling in pride. “And two little girls too.”
This was so not the world I came from.
She must’ve sensed my thoughts, because she held up that finger again. “And don’t be calling me Juan’s baby-momma, because it’s not like that.”
I frowned.
“You’re from the Midwest?”
Wary now. “Yeah?”
“You conservative and shit?”
“Huh?”
“You know. Looking down on me because Juan and I are shacked up, three kids together, and no ring?” She had lowered her head, giving me a side-eye I knew I’d never be able to mimic.
I was about to break one of my rules. “I lived with a guy for seven years. No kids, but no ring either.” And even though she hadn’t asked, I added, “And yes, my dad disapproved, but I didn’t care. And by the way, I’ve never used the term baby-momma in my life. I’ve only heard it on movies and television.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah. You gonna look down on me now?”
We took a moment, eyeing each other. Her side-eye was still perfection, but I was trying. I felt like a bobbing ostrich, though.
Then she sighed, every inch of her loosening up. “Okay. I got you. I think.” She paused a second. “You must have baggage?”
My lips were sealed.
She grunted, nodding to herself. “Yeah.” She threw back the second shot and grabbed two beers after that. “Definite baggage.”
She slid one of the beers to me, and I took it. I was so far out of my depth, I was just going to go with it. She said drink the beer, I’d double-fist it.
Later, after we’d both settled down and called a truce, she grinned at me from the back of our Uber.
“I should probably tell you right now that I’m into girls too, and damn—Reese has good taste.”
Awwww…
A whole chunk of thawing ice fell off my chest. “If you hadn’t won me over with the shot glasses that look like tampons, that would’ve done it.” I patted the tampon in my pocket.
At least for the time being, I had a feeling Reese was right. Marie and I were going to get along just fine.
“That’s Shelly. She’s Crusky’s current girlfriend, but don’t make eye contact for too long or she’ll start thinking we’re talking about his wife.”
“Huh?”
We were three beers in, and four shots. We’d also eaten a slice of pizza, so I was pretty sure that absorbed one of the beers. Saying I was more than tipsy would’ve been… What was I saying again?
I burped. “Crusky has a wife and a girlfriend?”
He was no longer the Cruskinator to my inner fangirl, but Crusky. I was talking like I knew him, which I didn’t, not really. He teased me once, though.
And I was talking to myself again.
I focused on what Marie was saying, blinking a few times because that seemed to help.
“—going through a divorce, but the wife is fighting it and it’s taking foooorever.”
Marie nudged me with her shoulder, leaning in from where we were standing. The game hadn’t even started. She’d brought us up to this box area because family could come up here, but it was really just to grab a few free drinks and food. She asked if I wanted to stay. The other choice was a pair of regular tickets. I opted for a fill-up, then the seats down below.
“Can’t say I blame you. It’s dangerous being up here.”
I hadn’t known what she was referring to, but when more people came into the box, I got it then. Wives. Families. I recognized the guy who’d barked at me at Reese’s and ducked when he looked back at me. Marie was shorter than me, but a little heavier. I hunched farther down.
She stopped talking about Crusky’s love life and frowned at me. Moving her hotdog out of the way to see me, she asked, “What are you doing?”
“Hiding.”
The guy moved, frowning at me, and I turned my head—because I was two again. If I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see me.
“Marie?”
Fuck. Damn. Incoming.
“Hey, Stan!”
Why’d she have to sound so friendly? Marie was my new ally. Right? Wrong. I was just visiting. Of course she’d cozy up to him.
“Hello…” He sounded stiff, and I couldn’t avoid this any longer.
I turned, standing tall again, and locked eyes with him. He wasn’t as hostile as before, his eyebrows were still pinched, confusion clouding his eyes more than anything else.
He put a hand out. “You are?”
Okay. Fine. He was playing this game.
I gave him a big smile. I loved games like this. Fitting my hand in his, I gave it a firm pump. “I’m Marie’s friend.”
She looked down, her shoulders shaking, trying to smother her laughter. She was failing so miserably.
“Right.” He sighed and pulled his hand away. “What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?”
Déjà vu again. This was a Keith 2.0 moment, except this guy was a lot younger. He didn’t look too much older than Reese.
“What?”
Marie entered the fray. “This is Stan. He’s Reese’s manager.”
“Ah.”
I didn’t care. I should have, but I didn’t. Reese and I were not a permanent thing. And even if we became—nope, I was not thinking that way. Stress, expectations, all the normal worries about relationships were starting to weigh me down, and that wasn’t Reese and me. I wouldn’t let that happen. We were fun and carefree. Free, being the key term there.
I plastered a smile on my face, nodding again. I was tempted to bow, but refrained. “It’s nice meeting you.”
I made a point of turning to look out at the gym. The team’s cheerleaders were on the court, doing a dance for the crowd. Thunder was waving his arms around.
I could feel Marie and Stan exchange a look, but it wasn’t happening. I wouldn’t get pulled in, get a label put on me, and then have to endure another round of suspicious questions. He and Marie had both put me through the wringer, but then she’d introduced me to tampon-shot-disguising tubes and told me I was hot, so I was a little in love with her.
They still hadn’t started talking, so I looked back. “Excuse me. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
Stan’s entire face was twisted in a question mark.
Marie coughed. “Oh. Okay.” She finished her hotdog, wiping her face with a napkin. “We gotta go out for the restroom. You want anything else?”
I had a full beer in hand, and my own hotdog was starting to feel unsettled. “Nope. I’m good.” I smacked my groin. “Just gotta pee.”
Stan’s head reared back, and Marie’s eyebrows shot up.
She seemed transfixed, so I led the way—around a few groups of women who looked like they could be supermodels, and men I knew had to be in positions of power and wealth to even be in that box. Once outside, I was grateful. Marie had been following, but I looked back through the door, and she’
d been caught by one of those groups of people.
The door closed.
I waited against the opposite wall.
The door opened, and two guys came out. Marie caught my gaze and held up her hand. One minute.
I nodded, settling in.
But then the door opened again and Reese’s manager stepped out. He had turned to look down the hall, so seeing me across from him drew him up short. He straightened up, smoothing out his collar and adjusting the Thunder pin before stepping toward me.
“Can we talk?”
“Why?”
He cringed. “You’re…not what I expected, I’ll admit.”
The appropriate thing would be to ask what he meant. I did nothing.
His response to me cooled. “I’d imagine you wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on Reese’s manager since I’ve worked for him since the second he turned pro.”
Seriously? “After how you talked to me at his house? You laid the groundwork first. And—” My fourth lay-your-cards-down moment. “—I’m not permanent.”
“What?”
The door opened behind him, and it was Marie. She crossed the hallway, standing to the side of Stan.
“I get that you guys want to protect him, but it’s not him you have to protect. We became friends, oddly enough, and that’s all I’m going to say. You want information, you ask him. You want my name, you ask him. You want to know my intentions, you ask him. I have no problem walking away from this. Like I told Reese before, I could ditch and watch his game from the aisle because that’s the type of girl I am. Whatever girls you’re used to, that’s not me. Promise.”
They were both quiet.
“I don’t like you,” Stan announced.
“I think I love you,” Marie countered.
Yeah. Okay then.
I stepped away from the wall. “I’m going to go find a bathroom. I can meet you at the seats?”
The door opened and a woman stepped out, calling Marie’s name. I was going to give her an option to sit with me, or stay in there. It would be up to her, but I saw the conflict flash over her face. Her mouth tightened a second.
“Hey.” I infused my voice with warmth. I was being so fake, but I was selling it. “You called me low-maintenance earlier. Well, I really am. I’m a true sports fan, so if you want to watch with your friend in there, I have no problem sitting by myself. I’m totally okay with it.”