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I wish I knew why Selene is so obsessed with the triple date concept. It’s like this big must-do thing for her when we’re all dating people at the same time. She won’t let it go until Braxton and I agree. I guess she wants to make sure we can all still hang out together—that the people we date mesh well enough that we can be in a group and not have it completely crash and burn.
About half the time, it’s fun, usually when our semi-awkward group of six drinks enough. Other times, awkward wins and it usually heralds the end for at least one of our relationships.
This time? I’m not even sure what to think.
I’m meeting everyone at Brody’s, which feels weird since the last time I was here I met Aubrey for the first time. But today I’m not coming alone.
Derek is kind of awesome. I admit I’m a teensy bit star-struck, since he’s sort of famous, but when we’re together he’s pretty down to Earth. And there’s nothing quite like a guy who pursues you. I had to change our first date from a Tuesday to Thursday because of work, and he spent the days in between sending me a variety of sweet and sexy texts. It wasn’t annoying or invasive. It was fun and flirty, and I did not mind the attention.
We hit it off right away and have spent quite a bit of time together. His schedule is pretty open, since it’s the off season, so we hang out a lot. He’s even been talking to me about how things will change when he goes back to work. That means he’s thinking about the future, even if that isn’t too far down the road.
Different. A guy with potential. Fun. Sexy. He checks all the right boxes. This is definitely a good thing.
I pointedly ignore the fact that I have to tell myself this is a good thing way too often.
I was caught up at work late, mostly because I’ve been sneaking off and working on design projects during work hours. Which is shitty of me as an employee, but I’m kind of over it. My admin assistant job is not where I want to be five years from now—hell, even a year from now. The thought of quitting to go full time as a freelancer is scary as shit, but I’ve decided it’s my goal. Since I started working on Braxton’s logo, I’ve put myself out there a little more and picked up a couple of new clients. It’s pretty exciting.
My year of change is finally starting to come together.
Everyone is already at the table when I get there, even Derek. Matthew’s looking at him kind of wide-eyed, like he can’t quite believe he’s sitting in the presence of a pro football player.
I’m not going to lie, that makes me preen a little bit.
“Hey, you guys,” I say as I take a seat next to Derek, “sorry I’m late.” A waitress comes and passes out drinks, including a tall glass of Red Hook for me. I turn to Derek. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, Braxton ordered for you,” Derek says, and takes a drink of his beer.
“Thanks, Brax,” I say.
Braxton lifts his glass, and I clink mine against his.
Food comes out, and we all have a few beers. The conversation is easy and relaxed. The guys talk sports. Us girls talk about random things—work, how Selene is addicted to some show and can’t wait for the next season. She and Aubrey seem to get along great, and for once Braxton is dating someone who doesn’t shoot daggers out of her eyes when she looks at me.
The meal winds down; Selene looks ecstatic. It’s been pretty much the perfect triple date, and I know she’s utterly joyous over it. It feels a little weird that I’ve barely spoken to Derek through the whole meal, but I chalk it up to all the sex-segregated talk at the table tonight.
“Hey, you guys,” Aubrey says, out of the blue, as we’re dusting off a plate of fresh cinnamon sugar donuts. “I have an idea. My family has a vacation rental over in Leavenworth. What if we all went? It’s a four bedroom, so we’d have plenty of space, and all we need to pay is the cleaning fee. What do you guys think?”
“Oh my god,” Selene says. “I love this idea.”
I glance at Derek, wondering how he feels about it. He can’t be interested, right?
“Sounds great,” he says. “As long as it’s before training camp starts, I’m in.” He smiles at me and puts a hand on my thigh.
I force a smile. Why am I so hesitant about this? I have to admit, we had a pretty fun dinner, all six of us. There are worse things than spending a weekend with friends. And a little time away with Derek would give us a chance to get to know each other better before he gets busy with football season.
“Yeah, sure,” I say.
“Awesome,” Aubrey says. “I’m pretty sure they had a cancellation a few weeks from now, but I’ll text everyone to confirm.”
I look down at my plate and pick at my donut. I swear I feel Braxton’s eyes on me. I look up and, sure enough, he’s watching me. What is he thinking? I wish I could fucking read his face. I’ve known him just shy of forever, and he still has the ability to hide everything from me.
I glance away. I don’t trust myself to meet his eyes when he’s looking at me like that.
***
My phone rings, startling me awake. I suck in a quick breath and grab it, noting that it’s one in the morning.
It’s Braxton.
