“Fifteen hundred,” another called out and then another, then the blonde again. And on and on it went. All these thirsty ass women bidding on Kean, the number only teetering when it neared 5k.
And holy fuck, I hated seeing it. Like hated it to the point that my stomach churned. And while all these women were bidding for Kean, I was looking athim. And he was looking at me, eyes pleading for me to bite the bullet, to take a chance on the attraction between us, to trust that if anything went wrong, he would do whatever it takes to make it right.
And while I was uncertain about what our relationship could be or how well any of this could go, I had the utmost faith in him.
“Six thousand,” I said, holding up my paddle. Rosa gasped beside me, whispering ‘fuck yeah’ in Spanish.
There were some murmurings amongst the women but as the announcer counted down, no one made another bid.
“What a good start,” they said with a single clap. “Mr. Kean, why don’t you join your winner, the lady in red, and we’ll move on to our next player. Mr. Brooker is …”
Kean gave a tight nod to the announcer, then the other players on the team, before taking the steps down, two at a time. I patted Rosa’s arm, leaving her and my bag behind as I went to Kean, meeting him halfway.
“Kodi.” He said my name like it was a struggle to get out. Then his hand reached out for mine, jerking to a stop halfway there.
Without thinking, I took his outstretched hand in mine and intertwined our fingers.
Kean looked down, eyes meeting mine with something set in that bright green. Then his grip on my hand tightened and he yanked me forward so I landed on his chest, our hands still held together, pinned between us. His free hand wrapped around myshoulder, hugging me tightly, his forehead rested on the top of my head.
“Thank you,” he whispered into my hair.
“Yeah, anytime,” I said with a nervous laugh.
“Kodi.” His body shook before his grip on me tightened. “Will you go on a date with me?”
“Well, I did just win one, so …” I tried to laugh but Kean squeezed me again.
“Not like that.”
“Oh.” I pulled back and Kean’s grip loosened so I could look at him properly. His jaw was tight, eyes darting all over my face as he searched for hints to how I’d answer. And damn, were his nerve contagious. “Let’s see how this date goes first, yeah?”
Kean sighed and rested his head back on mine.
“Yeah. That’s reasonable.”
And then, so light that I might have imagined it, his lips pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“I’ll be right back. Then we can … dance? That’s what happens at these things, right?”
“Right, yeah. A little dancing might be nice.”
He gave my hand a squeeze before slipping away and walking over to the bar, leaving me with my heart in my throat and my resolve to stay out of trouble completely dissolved.
A Fuck It Moment
Olli
When I stepped up to the bar to order a shot that would hopefully calm my nerves, I realized I had no idea what Kodi would want to drink. So I turned on my heel only to be surrounded by the my teammates who weren’t on stage.
“Dude!” Taylor said in an excited whisper. “That was amazing. There’s no way she isn’t falling in love with you.”
“Love?” I repeated with a scoff. “There’s no way I’m even close to that.”
Though even as I said it, my heart skipped a beat, excited at the possibility of Kodi falling for me.
“I mean, yes. But you’re on the right path. That’s a hell of an improvement.”
“She was jealous as fuck that all those women were bidding on you,” Jimenez added. “When Rosa takes credit for getting youtwo together, just let her have it. She’s the cutest when she’s gloating about being right.”
