Page 11 of Scoring Eden

“Well, they’re a family company, yes? It could inspire a conversation about your own.”

“I have absolutely no desire to do that.”

Dr. Sharma leans back in her seat, casting a fleeting glance to the clock on the wall. “You never know, you might find it”—she pauses and rubs her chin—“freeing.”

And what if someone leaks the information, subjecting me to a media frenzy of “journalists” digging up all the sordid details of my parents’ death? No, thank you. That wouldn’t be freeing at all.

“I doubt it.” I rise from my chair. There’s still twenty minutes left of the session, but I’ve reached my limit today.

She doesn’t stop me, shrugging as she crosses her legs and watches me leave. “Something to think about.”

“Will do, Doc.” I give her a salute and close the door behind me.

I’m making eye contact with a taxidermied bison when my teammate passes me a beer and leans his back against the bar.

I hold my bottle out to him. “Cheers to the three-drink limit, courtesy of our new friends at Purview.”

Roman rolls his eyes, his jaw tight with resentment at the situation, but he clinks his drink against mine anyway. Behind him, I spot Leo with his arm wrapped around my sister’s waist as he struggles to flag down the bartender. He lifts her onto a zebra-print stool and stands between her legs, a credit card clipped between two fingers. They’re so sickening in their smittenness that it makes me want to barf into Roman’s lap.

“They’re disgusting, aren’t they?” Roman grumbles over the drunken screeching of the karaoke happening on the stage behind us. My lips twitch as I watch a girl dressed in cow print murder Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.”

My eyes flick back to Leo and Brynn, just as he grabs her chin and sticks his tongue in her mouth.

Oh, Jesus, I didn’t need to see THAT.

“Nauseating.” I nod.

Leo catches us watching as they separate, shooting us the middle finger before wincing in my direction like I'm a landmine about to go off, which I can understand, considering that the drama between us last season lost the team the championship.

He doesn't need to worry, though. I’m in therapy now.

Besides, we're still the closest thing you can get to brothers without being grown in the same womb, and it’s hard to be mad at the dude who's given your little sister everything she could ever want in life, including two adopted daughters and a fuck-off massive diamond ring—even if he does continue to feel her up within my field of vision.

Theo, a defender, sidles up beside Roman, sipping a muted-pink cocktail through a straw. It’s garnished with a slice of lime and a glazed cherry, which he fishes out with two fingers and pops into his mouth. “This is good,” he says, “you should try it.”

“What is it?”

“Unicorn jizz.”

“Huh?”

Theo shrugs. “That’s what it says on the menu. I thought it was weird too, but the girl behind the bar said I should get it, and she was nice, so I did.”

“And now you’re just…drinking unicorn jizz?” Roman drawls, frowning at the effervescing fluid.

Theo looks between us like he doesn’t understand what the big deal is. “Yep. I’ll probably get another.”

You know what, I respect it.

Clapping him on the back, I assess the bar once more. Leo and Brynn have finally separated and are now approaching, fighting through the crush of bodies waiting their turn at the bar. They both drink from glasses full of the same color liquid as Theo’s.

Unicorn jizz must be a real hit around here.

“Think we’ve got a shot of winning this season?” Theo asks, inspecting his drained glass before licking sugar off the rim. “I feel like the new investors are gonna fuck with my game.”

“How come?” Brynn asks, tone laced with concern. She’s had a soft spot for Theo since the first time they met.

Theo’s shoulders shift. “The pressure.”