Lainey’s List Chapter Thirty

Nick

“Great game, man!”

“What a comeback!”

“This man needs a drink!”

The standing-room-only crowd at Mel’s Tavern shouts out their greetings when I step inside. While I hold the door open for Charlie and Reese, I hand out high-fives and handshakes. A Shiner Bock is shoved into my hand almost before I can get the door closed behind me.

“Thanks.” I slap the hand of the stranger who handed me the drink. “Hey, what about—“ I try to stop a server to grab a drink for Charlie and Reese, but Charlie pulls my arm down.

“We’ll go to the bar,” she half yells so I can hear her over the din.

The two give me a wave before diving into the throng. Over the tops of the heads of the well-wishers, I see Plant making his way in my direction.

“It’s a madhouse in here,” he says. At six-four, he’s tall enough that we don’t have to scream in each other’s ears to be heard. “So you gonna celebrate tonight?”

“With you,” I reply, intentionally refusing to follow his head tilt toward a group of pretty girls dressed in tight clothes. Most of the guys are home with their families but there are plenty of single players—like Plant and ostensibly me—who are still riding the high from our win and want to exorcise some of that excess adrenaline. What better way to do that than hitting up a bar well known for hosting an after-party for the players?

Except…fuck, I haven’t had a woman in my bed since Lainey walked out on me.

“So are we joining forces or having a full-on orgy?” Plant literally rubs his hands together in anticipation. “Because if we invite more than one back, that means we don’t have to disappoint any of those lovely ladies over there.”

“I can’t wait to see the Snapchats from a night like that. How many fines would we be paying off?”

“Nah, as long as they’re all above eighteen, we’re golden. I’m a sucker for redheads. Mind if I call dibs on her?”

“Yeah, that’s cool.”

“Dude, you aren’t even looking,” Plant complains. “There is no redhead.”

This complaint does make me glance toward a small grouping of five women, all about the same height, same build, same clothes. It’s like they’re manufactured somewhere. “They all look so much alike, I don’t think we need to screw them individually. Take one and you’ve had them all,” I mutter.

“So threesome, then, is what you’re saying.”

I silently take a long drink of my beer. Plant reads my refusal easy enough. We’ve developed a Jedi-like communication with each other, both on and off the field. I only need to give him a look and a nod and he knows exactly where to run to catch the ball. It’s what’s made our offense so potent this year.

“It was worth a try,” he grins.

“I’m saving all my energy for the conquest next Sunday.”

“I gotcha. Unlike you, though, I’m able to multi-task. I can lay pipe at night and still blow by the defense by day. Besides, tomorrow’s our day off.”

“Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die?” I quip.

He laughs. “Something like that.” He pounds me hard on the shoulder. “I’m going in but let me know if you find a redhead. I really do have a thing for them. True redhead, though. I like the curtains to match the carpet.”

“They dye their hair all over these days.”

Plant pauses. “No shit?”

“No shit.”

“Huh.” He mulls this over. “I’m okay with that. Find me a girl with a lot of freckles who’s willing to dye herself all over.”

“I’ll get right on that,” I reply dryly.

“That’s my man.”

As Plant makes his way toward the ladies, I consider my options. I can go home where I’ll have another filthy dream about Lainey, which ends with my hand around my dick in a big, empty bed.

I can take home some groupie who will brag about bagging me on some forum or social media before I manage to make it out of her apartment. My ribs hurt from the sack I took in the third quarter which means I’d need her to go easy on me and that’d mean the bragging would turn to insults in short order when I never call her back.

Or I can drink with by best friend who’s finally talking to me after about five weeks of freezing me out. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked her if her PMS was now a month-long event but her blaming me for Lainey running off raised my hackles. I wasn’t the one who walked out.

Speaking of Charlie, where the hell did she disappear to? As I raise my bottle to my lips, I sweep the room once more and nearly poke my eye out when I spot a familiar face.

“What’s she doing here?” I scowl, but my traitor roommate isn’t next to me to answer. Instead, she’s leaning on the table talking to the star of my nightly dreams. The high from the win where we secured our place in the post-season is wiped away in a second replaced by twin emotions of anger and lust. One look at the pouty red lips and dark curls and my dress pants are officially two sizes two small. Damn glad I have my suit coat on.

I’m at the table without even realizing my feet were moving. Her head pops up as if she sensed my approach.

“Lainey.”

“Hello, Nick,” Lainey says coolly.

So that’s how she wants to play it. Like we’re acquaintances. Like we haven’t had our hands all over each other before. Like she hasn’t ignored every text and phone call for over nine goddamned weeks.

I turn to the table next to Lainey’s and glare at one of the men until he stands up. “Can I offer you the chair, Mr. Jackson?”

“Thanks.” I flip it around and shove it next to Lainey.

“I need to use the ladies’ room,” Charlie says. “Anyone else?”

“Me,” Lainey says but I grab her wrist before she can rise.

“No, you don’t.”

“I need someone to come with me.” Charlie tries again.

Lainey twists her wrist but I’m not letting go. I glare at Charlie until she sighs and turns to Reese. “Come on, Reese.”

“Really? Do I have to? This was getting good,” he complains but gets up and follows Charlie.

“Traitors,” Lainey mutters.

When Charlie and Reese disappear down the hallway toward the bathrooms, I finally release Lainey’s wrist.

“Why are you here?” I ask bluntly, trying to ignore a twinge of guilt as she rubs her wrist.

“Charlie asked me to come,” she says.

“You left her in a real bind.”

“I know.”

Lainey’s face falls and that twinge turns into a full-fledged pang in the back of my neck. I reach over to tap her hand. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She looks up with earnest eyes. “I’m going to make it up to her.”

And me? What are you going to do for me? I want to ask but I’ve got no right, I realize. I don’t have any right to be mad at her for leaving me. I don’t have any right to be mad at her for coming back. I never made her any promises. My sudden spate of anger drains away.

“Why are you here?” I ask. Her skin is smooth under my fingers. I can’t seem to move away from her.

Lainey’s gaze drops to her hands. “Because Charlie said you’d be here.”

 

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