“You’re not saying that to trick me, are you?” I still have my hand cupped against my face and I stare at him for confirmation.
“Why would I trick you into gazing upon the perfection of Landon’s gluteus muscles? What good would that do me?” He ducks his chin and meets my eyes over the top of his sunglasses.
“Excellent point.” I drop my hand. “For the record, you sounded just like him there. He definitely would refer to his ass as a gluteus of perfection.”
“Like a peach?” Aiden asks, giving me a funny look.
Sage snorts loud enough for us to hear it. “Did Mae tell you she sent Landon a text meant for me? We like to communicate in hieroglyphics. It’s our thing.”
Mae’s cheeks redden. “I think he deliberately misunderstood my meaning.”
Smiling, Aiden shifts closer to me. “He can be a giant tool. If you haven’t noticed.”
“Totally.” Nodding, I laugh along with him, although a small kernel of guilt forms in my chest. Landon promised he’d try to be less of a dickhead and he’s mostly been successful. If Aiden weren’t related, I don’t think I’d have such mixed feelings.
We’ve been texting all week. After the river trip on Saturday, he texted saying he hoped we had a great time and ended it with all the flower emojis. No more lewd innuendos. Later, he sent a bottle of champagne to my room with a note about sharing with the rest of the girls. Totally unexpected and sweet.
The man in question makes the next score, earning bear hugs and high-fives from his teammates. Standing near our end of the field, he notices us cheering for him in the front row and flashes a huge grin.
“He isn’t all bad.” I give Landon two thumbs-up and add a loud, “Woot!”
He blows me a kiss. Two women a few rows behind me start screaming their love for him. Okay, so maybe the kiss wasn’t for me specifically but all women in this general area. That would be something old Landon would do. Spread the love around.
“He has a few good points …” Aiden says, slowly and reluctantly, “I guess. I have to give him shit because he ruined my life by being born. Our feud began when he showed up. I remember being pissed when my parents brought him home and refused to take him back to the stork.”
I laugh. “I think giving Landon a hard time is a favorite past time around here. He makes it so easy.”
“I can call him off, if you want. You shouldn’t have to suffer through a date with him,” he says, sincerely.
Aiden’s words confirm he’s only looking at me as a friend. I can be that for him. Because it sounds like he needs the support. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m fine. He’s not been that bad. We’ve been texting and most of the time he’s nice. Really nice. I’m beginning to think he’s more awkward than an asshole.”
Down the row, Sage snorts. “You’re delusional.”
Beside me, Aiden chuckles again. “We all deserve a second chance.”
“I agree.” I meet his eyes, hoping he can read the sincerity in my expression.
“Leopards can’t change their spots,” Mara states.
“Also a true fact,” Aiden agrees.
“Amen to that.” Sage stretches across Zoe and I to give him a high five.
He leans into me to slap her hand, his scent wrapping around me like a storm cloud of pheromones. This is what a man should smell like. Not cloying cologne or overpowering aftershave. Aiden’s scent is crisp and fresh, like a summer rain or a morning after a nighttime snow. Inhaling greedily, I wish I could live in this bubble forever instead of in the real world full of complications and murky loyalties.
Once again, he returns to his own personal space, leaving me baffled and wanting more. He isn’t the one to give me what I want. He has more issues than Landon, who at least wants to prove himself worthy, in his own messed up way.
A few minutes later, the game ends.
“We won!” Sage bounces up from her seat, jumping up and down. “We won!”
Around us, the crowd goes wild, jumping up and down, making the whole set of stands bounce. The super fans, who shushed us earlier, take off their shirts and wave them wildly over their heads, running onto the pitch to celebrate with the team.
Seconds later, Lee runs over and pulls Sage under the ropes, scooping her into his arms and kissing her like his life depends on keeping his mouth sealed against hers. Her feet dangle off of the ground as he carries her away.
“Did I miss the game?” Jesse jogs up to our group. He’s wearing work clothes and has a fine layer of dust on his arms. A baseball cap hides most of his dark hair.
Mara squeals and stands to hug her boyfriend. “You’re here!”
Jesse’s dog, Fern, jumps on the bench and wags her tail.
“Aww, you brought my girl.” I scratch her fluffy head, paying special attention to the spot she loves behind her ears. “Who’s the best dog in the whole world? You are. Because you’re smart and talented and fearless and beautiful.”
“Hi to you, too, Mae.” Jesse laughs at me, his dark eyes crinkling in the corners with amusement.
“Don’t be jealous, Hayes.” I kiss Fern’s head and earn a lick to my cheek.
“You’re Jesse Hayes?” Aiden asks.
“Aiden? How are you, man? I heard a rumor you were back in town. Good to see you.” Jesse extends his hand to Aiden.
They exchange a handshake followed by smacks to the shoulders in a loose, man hug.
Of course, they know each other. We all grew up around here.
“You going to stick around and ski this winter?” Jesse asks him. “Cirque’s open and the powder up there will blow your mind.”
Mara giggles. “You sound like you’re talking about Vegas circus acts and cocaine.”
At her words, my eyes bug out and my mouth creates an awkward sound I try to pass off as a laugh. “Ha ha ha. No one is talking about drugs.”
Aiden rests his hand on my shoulder, giving me a confused look. “You okay?”
“Sure. Of course. Oh, there’s Landon! We should tell him congrats and pour a bucket of Gatorade over his head. Anyone bring a bucket? Or have a lot of Gatorade?”
Mara exchanges a look with Jesse before addressing me. “You sound weird.”
“She’s rambling like you do,” Jesse tells her.
“That’s it. Why are you babbling?” She focuses on me, her face scrunched up as she tries to figure out what’s wrong with me. The woman is a talented veterinarian, but I don’t think she can diagnose embarrassment.
Landon comes to my rescue, plowing through the ropes and picking me up, his sweaty body odor swarming my senses while I can feel my skin sticking to his damp shirt.
Everything happens so fast. One minute I’m on the ground and living my life. The next Landon’s tongue is in my mouth.
Chapter 13
Landon
Mae’s mouth tastes like rum and ginger.
She’s laughing and squirming against me as I lay one on her.
“Put me down, Landon. You’re all sweaty and gross.” She swats at my shoulders.
Obliging her, I set her on her feet and then drape an arm over her shoulder.
“Ugh, being trapped in the hell portal of your armpit isn’t better.” Mae shoves me away and puts some distance between us. “You need a shower.”
“Sage didn’t seem to mind Lee’s stench. He’s a sweatier bastard than I am.” I’m too happy to give a shit about the South African giant currently making out with Sage.
Easley tackles me from behind. “We won. Motherfucking champions!”
“We’re going to need to turn a fire hose on these guys. They’re out of control,” Mae mumbles under her breath.
I hope she means for my brother. Because hell yes, I saw him all cozied up to her during the match.
Fuck that.
During time-outs or even running toward their goal, my attention kept wandering over to the two of them sitting together. Laughing and touching her like he was trying to get in her pants.
We have a pa
ct. He’s supposed to help me have a shot with her.
Not fucking flirt with her.
Even from yards away, it was easy to spot him making his move on Mae.
He’s sitting on the sidelines while I’m kicking ass and fucking shit up to win this tournament.
If anyone is getting Mae’s attention today, it damn well better be me.
So, I picked her up and kissed her.
Fuck yeah, I did.
Staked my claim in front of Aiden and all of her friends.
Playing nice on text messages wasn’t getting me anywhere. He can sit there with his words and his haircut, but I was the one with my tongue in her mouth.
Action always wins over discussing feelings and shit.
I grin at Mae. “Thanks for the victory kiss.”
“Uh, I don’t think I had much choice.” She laughs it off.
“We’re going back to the club to shower and change. Everyone meeting at Little Annie’s for the celebration?” I ask the group, but my attention is solely on Mae.
Her cheeks are flushed from our kiss and her eyes are a little dazed. I think I kissed her stupid. She wouldn’t be the first woman I’ve left speechless.
Hugging Mae again, I shoot my brother a dirty look over her shoulder. “Aiden, you can join us if you don’t have anything better to do.”
“Thanks.” He nods, returning my glare with one of his own. “Maybe I’ll tag along to the club … since I have nothing better to do.”
“Let’s go,” Lee says. “We’re lining up for the presentation of the cup.”
“Champions!” Easley attempts to pick him up.
“Lift me off the ground and you’re going to pay,” Lee snarls at him. “Ask yourself how attached to your balls you are. Do you want to keep them?”
“Champions!” Easley jogs toward the rest of our teammates.
“He’s a very excited gorilla today.” Sage grins. “Anyone else think he’ll shave #1 in his chest hair like he did two years ago?”
Zoe makes a small gagging noise in her throat. “I need to go. Justin’s competing in the rodeo tonight in Glenwood. I think I’m going to surprise him.”
“I’ll join you,” Mae declares.
“We have to go home and feed the cats,” Mara tells Jesse. “You know how they get destructive if their dinner is late. I don’t want George locking Tapper in the bathroom again in another hostage situation.”
Boy, I dodged a crazy cat lady nightmare with her.
“Come on, Mae. We need to celebrate tonight. It won’t be the same without you.” I give her my wide-eyed innocent look.
“I’ll see.” She points behind me where the entire team is lined up and ready. “You need to accept your trophy.”
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Jogging backward, I keep my eyes on her, and more importantly on Aiden.
I don’t trust his supposedly selfless motivations anymore.
I might be a winner today, but I suspect he’s playing a long game.
By the time we finish taking a million team and club pictures, the girls have cleared out of the stands, leaving only Aiden hanging out with Sage and Lee, who are all over each other. He keeps speaking Afrikaans to her. Whatever he says makes her blush. My money’s on them fucking in the car, not even making it back to their condo tonight.
Per usual, Aiden’s the third wheel.
Grumpy despite our championship, I gather my shit together and stomp over to them.
“You ready?” I ask, not caring if my tone is curt.
“Let’s go, LS.” He stands and stretches his shoulder with his arm across his chest.
Sage giggles. Great. He probably told her how funny he was as a kid coming up with my nickname.
“Aren’t we a little too old for you to still be calling me that stupid name?”
“When you grow out of being a little shit, I won’t have a reason to use it anymore.” He smirks.
If we weren’t surrounded by a crowd of fans, including kids, I’d deck him right now. My fist opens and closes with the satisfying thought of throwing a punch at his stupid face.
“Do it,” he goads me. “I can see you want to hit me. You have an obvious tell. Don’t wait for permission. Just go for it.”
“Fuck off,” I growl at him, taking a step closer.
“Whoa. You need to cool off.” Lee squeezes himself between us. “What’s the deal? We just played an incredible match and you two want to fight?”
I don’t want to say too much in front of Sage because I know she’ll run and tell Mae. “Nah, we’re fine.”
“Sure,” Aiden confirms. “Great. I think I’m going to skip the party tonight. I’ll see you back at the apartment.”
After he says goodbye to Sage and Lee, he gives me a one-fingered salute. “Landon.”
I glare at his back as he walks away.
“I don’t even want to know what that was about.” Sage shakes her head. “None of my business. Not my circus and definitely not my monkeys.”
Lee slings his arm around her shoulders. “I think I’ll shower at home before we join the party. We’ll catch up with you later.”
Fucking Aiden. I blame him for pissing on my celebration. The man is a killjoy. Well, I’m not going to let him fucking ruin my night.
I wake up in an unfamiliar bed, hungover as shit. And I’m not alone.
Dark hair spills over my chest, resembling Mae’s. The woman wrapped around me is naked and my hand rests on one of her ass cheeks. Mentally, I give myself a high five.
The events of last night are hazy and choppy. I remember going to Little Annie’s and challenging everyone to do a shot for every point we scored. Given the final score of the match was fifty-six to twenty-nine, no one took me seriously enough to try to win that challenge. However, I drank a shit ton of whiskey and beer. I wish I could recall Mae showing up at the bar and how I charmed her into bed. I need to remember for next time.
For now, it’s enough to know I’m the one she came home with and had sex with. I’m not one hundred percent sure we fucked, but the odds are in my favor. My morning wood thickens at the thought of another round before I head home.
When I gently tug on a long strand of wavy hair, the owner murmurs, “Good morning,” in a husky voice that is most definitely not Mae’s.
Disappointed, I make the best of the situation by having morning sex with my new friend before saying goodbye and getting the fuck out of her hotel room.
It’s mid-morning by the time I get home. Aiden’s dad rig is still parked in his usual spot, but Easley’s truck is gone. Good. He doesn’t need to witness me throwing down with my asshole brother.
Shoving open the door with my shoulder, I find Aiden sitting on the couch, talking on the phone.
Spotting me, he holds up his index finger, silently telling me to keep quiet.
I don’t say anything, but I loudly drop my stuff on the floor. Stepping into the kitchen, I open and close a bunch of cabinets and then turn on the sink.
The jerk shoots me a dirty look as he goes out to the balcony to continue his super important call.
I see he’s made coffee, so I pour as much as I can fit into a jumbo travel mug and dump the rest down the drain. Petty as fuck, but I don’t care.
He doesn’t seem to be wrapping up his conversation any time soon, so I decide to take a shower. When I come out of the bathroom, steam fogging up the mirror, I find him in the kitchen making another pot of coffee.
“Did you tell her I went to rehab to make yourself look better? Low, even for you. You don’t know shit about my life because you never ask, only assume the worst.”
I shrug off his accusation. “I didn’t tell her anything more than you were sleeping on my couch. Guess she came to her own conclusions.”
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’m moving out,” he tells me, not bothering to make eye contact. “And I’m flying to San Francisco tomorrow for meetings all week. I’ll be moving my stuff over to Mom and Dad’s house
this afternoon.”
“Wait, no. I’m throwing you out. You don’t get to steal my thunder, asshole. I want you gone.” I block him from leaving the narrow kitchen.
“Are you going to punch me? You’re balling up your fists. What’s pissed you off so much?” His calm voice pisses me off more.
“You think you’re so slick telling me you’ll help me out with Mae, give me advice, yet the whole time you’ve been putting moves on her for yourself. It’s obvious you like her. I saw the two of you together yesterday. It made me fucking sick.” I spit out the last words and step back.
“Give me a break, Landon. You didn’t see shit yesterday while you were in the middle of playing. Fuck off with your bullshit.” He shoves past me and strides back into the living room.
I notice he doesn’t deny liking her. “You know what? She isn’t interested in some loser who fucked up his life and had to crash on his younger brother’s couch. You don’t have a chance. Never did. Not when we were in high school, not now.”
He laughs, and it comes out like another way of telling me to go fuck myself. “Right. You made your point yesterday by grabbing Mae and kissing her in front of everyone. Did you notice if she kissed you back? Didn’t look that way from where I stood.”
Lunging at him, I try to take him down like I did when we were kids. Bastard ducks out of the way and puts me in a headlock.
“Don’t.” His voice is a low, menacing rumble in his chest I can feel where my head makes contact. “I’m going to count to ten and then you’re going to stop acting like you’re having ’roid rage. One, two …”
For every number he says out loud, I silently echo it with a fuck you.
“Ten. Ready to act like a man instead of a toddler?” He tightens his grip for a second before releasing me and then quickly stepping away.
Rubbing my neck, I glare at him. “When did you say you were leaving?”
“As soon as I pack up my stuff.”
“Good.”
“Landon, it doesn’t have to be like this. If you seriously think you have a legitimate shot with Mae, take it. If she genuinely likes you, I’ll step out of the ring. But it’s going to be her decision.” He speaks calmly and deliberately, maintaining eye contact with me.
Up to You Page 12