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My body went rigid, and anger soon replaced the shock.
What the fuck did he just say?
“You’re feeling her, and guess what? You’re supposed to. Who is gonna spend tens of thousands of dollars on a woman they can’t vibe with? If it were just about sex, then you could hire an escort at any time, but we both know that’s not the case. You didn’t notice, but I stepped out on the patio a few times and watched y’all. Trust me when I say the same way you feel about her is the same way she feels about you. Sign the contract before someone else scoops her up because I’ll be damned if I have to listen to you boohooing into your beer twenty years from now about the one who got away.” I placed my forehead against the steering wheel and groaned loudly. “What’s the worst thing that could happen, Hart?”
“I fall in love and have to say goodbye,” I answered truthfully.
“Well, it’s like that old fuck said, it’s better to love and lost than never love at all. Sign the contract, asshole, and stop wasting my time,” he said before rudely hanging up.
Okay. I’ll sign the contract, but I want to add an amendment—the opportunity to extend at the end of the season.
Free Agent
Hart
I smoked my cigarette down to the filter as I listened to Vera’s melodic voice tell me to leave a message and that she’d get back to me for the umpteenth time. The phone beeped.
“Vera. It’s Hart… again. You told me I had twenty-four hours to get back to you, and now you’re not answering my calls or texts.” I paused to heave a frustrated sigh before continuing. “Listen, Sugar. I want to sign the contract with an amendment that benefits both of us. I just need you to pick up the damn phone.”
The backdoor to Netz opened, and Marlon sauntered out to join me. I hung up.
“Damn. Your sugar baby has you so stressed out that you’re smoking.”
“She’s fucking ghosting me and driving me crazy.”
Marlon laughed and leaned against the brick. “She’s not ghosting you—you have what she wants. She just wants you to suffer a little bit, and from the looks of it, she’s accomplishing her mission.”
“This is bullshit,” I spat, slotting another cigarette out of the pack. Marlon shrugged nonchalantly.
“Eh, you brought it on yourself.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Whose side are you on?”
He shrugged again and said, “You gave her mixed signals, man. You read her profile thoroughly. Vera’s not the type of woman you can be uncertain with.”
“No shit,” I muttered, taking a drag from my cigarette.
“Are you going to fly her out to Toronto?”
“I plan on it, but I can’t buy a ticket or book her room until she picks up the goddamn phone. Are y’all done running up my credit card?”
Marlon barked out a laugh and bent over to clutch his knees. I rolled my eyes as he snickered at my expense. The night began with 12 of us. The respectable ones who had some home training drank two or three beers before calling it quits, and the remaining five were committed to drinking me into the poor house. Last I checked, my tab was over a grand and steadily climbing.
“I can still see straight. I’m not even close to being done.”
“Good thing you didn’t drive,” I murmured, killing the cigarette before disposing of it.
We rejoined our teammates, and I rolled my eyes at the fresh beer waiting for me.
“Thanks,” I drawled, taking my seat.
“You’re welcome,” Christiansen said, slapping me on the back. “It would be rude of us if we didn’t keep you hydrated.”
I ignored my teammates’ conversation about our upcoming game against the Stars. We had beef with the Canadian team, but our rivalry was an elementary playground squabble compared to the ongoing feud between the Warriors and the Cougars. My thoughts shifted to Vera… again.
I’ve never been the clingy type, and now here I am, wondering what she’s doing, how her day went, and when I can see her again. I need to get a fucking grip.
