Page 21 of Ruck Me Harder

Vivienne’s friend tosses an arm over her shoulder and leans into her. “Do you guys want to hang out?”

The friend is pretty, with reddish-brown hair falling in curls down her back. She’s older than Vivienne, maybe mid-forties.

“I’m Ceci.” She introduces herself, then her friends. “This is Sadie, Vanessa, and Rachel.”

“Nah, we’re here with friends,” I answer when Brody doesn’t.

He glares at me. I stare back. I’m not a mind reader, so I don’t know what he’s trying to tell me.

“Bring your friends over,” Sadie says. She has wavy brown hair to her shoulders and a simple silver hoop through her nose. “Any friend of Viv’s is a friend of ours.”

“He’s not my friend,” Vivienne mutters, glowering at me. “I don’t even know him.”

And even though I try to laugh it off, I can’t deny the words hurt. “She’s my sister’s team captain,” I explain to the friends and Brody.

But from the assessing looks her friends give me, they already know that. I wonder what else she’s told them.

“We’re gymnasts,” Brody says, gesturing between us.

Ceci obviously checks us out. “I’ll say,” she says, a satisfied smirk turning up her wine-red lips.

My stomach turns. I don’t enjoy feeling like a piece of meat. Her sizzle of interest isn’t real; it feels like she’s forcing it, putting on a show.

A cheer goes up in the bar, and heads swivel toward the nearest TV. The Grizzlies game is on. I should probably follow the game to see how Al’s doing.

“Sven scored,” the blonde named Vanessa says with a happy smile. She does a little dance in her seat.

“Someone’s getting laid,” Ceci teases.

Vanessa shakes her head. “They’re playing in Buffalo. Someone is getting home at two o’clock in the morning. We’ll celebrate when he wakes up.”

It takes me a second to connect the dots. “Are you talking about Sven Larsson?”

Vanessa’s smile brightens. “Yeah. He’s my boyfriend.”

“My brother is on the team too. Alberto Gonzales.”

Normally, I don’t like admitting my connection to the team. I don’t want people to think I’m boasting. Nor do I want the attention that comes along with having a famous sibling. Outside of the gymnastics world, nobody knows who I am—and I like it that way.

“Oh, I love Gonzo,” Rachel chimes in. “My boyfriend Jake is the goaltender.”

My stomach turns. No wonder Vivienne wanted to date Al. All of her friends are dating players on the team.

“What about you?” Brody asks, pointing the neck of his beer toward Sadie. “You got a boyfriend?”

She laughs. “Yeah. He’s an analyst on the intermission show.”

Brody’s attention turns to Ceci, lifting his eyebrows. I don’t know why he’s so invested in Vivienne’s friends’ relationships.

“I’m just a fan,” she says with a lascivious grin. “I might have to become a gymnastics fan too.”

“It’s a great sport,” Brody says casually. “I do personal training at a gym in Newton, if you’re ever interested in some one-on-one training.”

Rolling my eyes, I rap my knuckles twice on the table. “I’m going to head out,” I announce. “You don’t need me here.”

“You sure, man?” Brody asks.

“Yeah. I’m good.”