“I guess,” Taylor mumbled, shaking his head like I was a child he didn’t know what to do with.
“But on the bright side, she seemed to like what she saw.” Brooker shrugged.
“Like what she saw? She said she’d only bid on me if I was in trouble.”
“Why’re you so fucking dense? How’ve you ever gotten a date like this?”
“I’ve …” I started to explain, but then I realized the only dates I’ve gone on were because the women askedmeout. I never cared to initiate those things.
“Uh-huh. Her behavior was totally normal,” Taylor said. “She was cushioning how she feels because she doesn’t know how you feel. When push comes to shove, I bet she’ll make the bid.”
“Should we set up a pool?” Brooker asked.
“Who would vote against it happening?”
“I dunno, maybe Carter? He might think it’s too much like a movie to happen in real life.”
Taylor rolled his eyes and turned back to me.
“This is a good sign. So your next step is to one, make sure she can turn you down without feeling like her job is in jeopardy and two, find out howmuchshe likes you.”
“You say that like it’s so simple. How the hell am I supposed to do that?” I grumbled, pulling the bow tie loose and tossing it on the table beside me.
“Do you want us to ask her?” Brooker offered and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What about Jimenez’s wife? They seemed to be friendly at the Nashville game,” Taylor said. I chewed at my lip, considering how that would play out. Taylor was right, if I was going to doanything … more with Kodi, I needed to make sure she didn’t feel any type of pressure. Though given how casual she’s always been, especially when I acted like an ass, I got the feeling she’d be comfortable telling me to fuck off if she wanted to. And she clearly didn’t have any qualms about literally running away from me.
“Sure,” I huffed. “Give him a call while I get changed.”
I left the two crowded over a phone to get this stupid suit off and back into comfortable clothes. When I stepped out, the suit draped over my arm, the guys were already mid conversation.
“Come on, man. Help Kean out, he’s pathetic,” Brooker said.
“Asshole,” I muttered, slapping my tux against him before sitting down between the two.
“Look, I love my wife. She’s the most amazing woman in the world. She also eats up gossip like … I dunno, a dog eating bacon? I asked her to just talk Kean up the other night and I got, like, a million follow-up questions. If I ask her to do something like this, she won’t be subtle,” Jimenez said.
“But how else is he gonna approach this?” Booker asked.
“Doesn’t Ricci have a girlfriend?”
“She lives up north,” Taylor said.
“Then why don’t you talk to her, Taylor? You’ve got sisters, surely they can give you some tips.”
“I mean, sure. But I think this talk coming from a girl would … be better?”
“God, this is the worst,” I grumbled, covering my face with my hands. “How am I this pathetic?”
“Aw, shit,” Jimenez murmured on the phone. “Is Kean crying?”
“I’m not crying. I’m just frustrated with the whole situation.” One or two more incidents like this, though, and I just might cry.
“God, okay. Fine. I’ll ask Rosa for help, but … like I’ll just tell her we, like us teammates, think you two would be good togetherand see if she can get a vibe of … full, enthusiastic consent? That should do, right?”
I snapped up, not embarrassed by my excitement anymore.
“Yes. Please.”
