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PETAL
“You sure youwant to hang out with this loser?”
I whip around just in time to catch Rake shoulder cuff a tall, gangly guy with a mop of brown hair. He fake-flinches at the punch and rubs his arm like he’s really hurt. He throws me a playful grin, and I suspect that, in spite of myself and my current state of what-the-fuck-ness, I’m going to like this goofball.
“Hey, I’m Tyler, Rake’s favorite teammate and the man who taught him everything he knows about hockey.” With a crooked grin that shows off a chipped tooth, he steps in front of Rake as if he’s not even there. It’s not the first time I’ve seen men play the cock-blocking game.
It’s always entertaining.
“You must be the charity date,” Tyler adds.
Charity date?
“What? I’m not… I mean… who told you I was acharity date?”
Is this a huge mistake? Should I be running away screaming from this whack-ass situation, rather than going to Vegas on aprivate plane with a bunch of people I don’t know? I don’t do a lot of spontaneous things.
Other than leaving assholes at the altar.
Andcharity date,my ass.
What were my so-called friends Lucy and Gilly thinking, pressuring me into this?
Rake rolls his eyes and uses his massive body to elbow Tyler back out of the way.
Cock-block challenge underway.
“She’s not a charity date, dude, and by the way, your fly is open.”
Tyler winces and his hands fly to his crotch. He tries to cover himself but when someone says a fly is open, doesn’t everyone immediately look?
I know I do.
And Tyler’s fly is just fine.
He gives Rake a dirty look. “You know, man, that’s just cold. You don’t do that to the guy you owe everything to.” He looks at me for my reaction, and in spite of myself and second-guessing the intentions of my best friends, I snicker. Can’t help it.
Rake puts a hand on my arm. It feels nice. “Petal, before you get nauseated by Tyler’s BS, let me introduce you to the rest of my friends.”
I hold my hands up. “Just a minute,” I say to them both. “What’s this business of my being a charity date? Do you realize you don’t call a woman a charity date? Like, ever? That’s a real Neanderthal move. One that could get you a knee to the balls.”
Tyler wisely covers his crotch and speaks up before Rake can. “I’m sorry, but that’s what he told me. Didn’t you?” His eyes are wide and innocent and it’s clear these guys bust on each other like this all the time.
Dude banter. I like it.
“Ty, I told you I was a charity fundraiser, and Petal bid on me. That does not equal charity date.”
Tyler’s head snaps back on his neck and he wrinkles his nose like he’s smelling something bad. He leans closer to me. “You… Petal, are you sure you bid on him? Because you seem like a smart woman?—”
I nod. “The truth is, Tyler, I didn’t actually bid on him. I was using my paddle to swat a fly, and the stupid auctioneer thought I was bidding. I never wanted Rake. But, as you can see, I got him.”
If these guys can bust on each other, I’ll be damned if I’m going to be left out.
Rake’s hands fly to his heart. “That’s just cold.”
Tyler can’t stop laughing. “Holy shit, that’s classic. Hey, I hope you didn’t spend any more than ten, twenty dollars. Please tell me you didn’t.”
I cross my arms and don my finest resting bitch face. “Tyler, I’ll have you know, I am two thousand dollars in the hole over this guy.”
