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“I can’t help it. That was the first thing to come to mind.” I let go of him so I could clutch my stomach, I was laughing so hard.
“I’m going to kill you,” he said, which just made me crack up even more. It made him do the same, no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
Houston shook his head, and I wrapped an arm around him, playfully saying, “Don’t be mad at me, Bunny.”
His hands went to my waist, the two of us looking at each other, the air suddenly sucked out of the room. Just having him this close made blood rush to my dick, the moment frozen in time until I heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Ramsey, eyebrow cocked, Garrett and Tucker there with him. Behind them and across the room, a whole hell of a lot of eyes were on us.
Oops.
We pulled back, both of us trying to play it off like we hadn’t forgotten we weren’t alone.
“That was interesting,” Ramsey said softly when we joined him.
“We’re playing our roles,” Houston replied just as low.
He was right. That stung, but I’d be smart to remember that.
“You guys make a good couple,” Garrett said.
“I thought they were going to make out right there,” Tucker added.
“How about we stop talking about it?” Houston grumbled.
“All I know is it would have been hot.” I grinned.
Garrett and Tucker laughed before Garrett added, “Oh, wait. We’re talking about my brother. Gross.”
I took Houston’s hand again. I mean, we were supposed to be believable boyfriends, right? I had a job to do, and I was very thorough. One of the waiters brought us champagne as we spoke, mingling around the room. This event was raising money for athletes with disabilities, something that was important to all of us. The Rush took part in it every year. I was glad to be involved this year. I’d made a donation of my own, and there was also an auction with signed memorabilia.
Houston and I slipped away and browsed some of the items. He eyed a jersey with his old number on it—one that had his signature. It was from his first game in the NFL.
“You okay?” I asked in a voice only for us.
“I miss it.” He didn’t look at me, just at the jersey with dirt smudges on it that he had never cleaned. Houston made two touchdowns that game, which was incredible for a rookie, his first time on an NFL field.
“I know. I hate this for you. I’d change places with you in a second if I could.” Houston deserved to be out there more than anyone I knew. “Jesus, it fucking killed me to see it happen. I didn’t sleep all night. I wanted to call you so fucking bad.”
That caught his attention, making Houston turn to me. I looked away but still felt his softening gaze on me for what felt like an eternity.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Anyone would have felt the same.”
“They were from you, weren’t they?” he asked, and I knew I was fucked, knew he realized the flowers had come from me.
“What was?” I pretended I didn’t know.
“Don’t bullshit me, Cullen.”
I just shrugged. It wasn’t anything special. “It was a nice thing to do. I used to let you put your dick in my ass. The least I could do was send you flowers.”
“Cull—”
“Excuse me, Houston? Larry Dixon wanted to see if you could pose for some photos?” a man asked.
Houston but not me. I tried not to let it bother me. It clearly wasn’t team photos, and this was something they wanted special from him, but it hurt.
“I’ll be right back.”
He left, and damned if I didn’t watch him go. I mean, his ass looked fucking great in those slacks.
A few people came up and said hi, chatting with me before moving on, looking at the items they could bid on.
It was less than fifteen minutes after Houston left when I saw her. Dana, a woman I’d hooked up with a time or two in the past. She liked to fuck football players, and I liked to fuck women, so it had worked. She must have found her next conquest for her to be here at all.
“If it isn’t Cullen Atwood—the bad boy of the NFL.”
“Dana.” I nodded. There was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. It was why I’d cut it off with her.
“It’s been a while.”
“It has.”
She smiled, squeezing as close to me as possible. “Do you have plans tonight?”
Um…what the fuck? “I think you must have missed the news. I have a boyfriend. I’m here with him, as a matter of fact.”
Dana rolled her eyes. She was used to getting what she wanted. “Come on, you don’t really think I believe that, do you? You don’t settle down with one person. You never have, and you never will. I don’t know what you guys are playing at or how you got Houston McRae to agree with it, but whatever it is, I know it’s not legit. Houston can play with us, too. We have fun together. Don’t you want to have fun again?” she asked. “I want you.”
