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“Yeah… I can do lunch,” I say to my brother, mentally calculating the work I need to accomplish before Bain comes over. Anything I don’t finish this afternoon I can surely do tonight after he’s gone.
Or, if there’s time, I could cook dinner. That’s a friendly thing to do. Doesn’t mean anything other than we both need sustenance, right? Of course, that means I really need to get my work done before Bain comes over.
“A short lunch,” I amend. “I’ve got a ton of stuff to do today.”
Drake loops his arm around my shoulders and drags me into him as we traverse the sidewalk. He squeezes hard and presses his lips to my head. “Thanks, sis. For all your help. I love you.”
He releases me and I tip my head back. “I love you too.”
The smile on his face radiates pure joy and happiness. His future is nothing but sparkling promise and adventure and I’m here to watch it all go down.
CHAPTER 13
Bain
Christ… Kiera ishot as fuck tonight and I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes off her. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I’m sure that logic applies to lust as well. By the end of our seven-day road trip, I was obsessing about Kiera, or more accurately, obsessing about fucking her.
I got back three days ago and I’ve been with her every night. Our return to Pittsburgh started an almost unheard-of seven-day break in the schedule. While we have some practices to stay sharp, it’s an amazing amount of time off for the team. Some of the guys asked me to go out and party with them last night, but I declined. Merely told them I had other plans, which included rolling around with Kiera in her bed until we fell into an exhausted sleep.
Admittedly, it doesn’t feel weird at all to stay the night with her. I know it’s something more than what we agreed to with our no-strings-attached sex bargain, but this whole friends thing just makes it so easy to hang with her.
Tonight is Camden’s birthday party and I have to pretend Kiera is nothing more than a casual friend. I have to treat her like she’s Drake’s little sister, and while he’s not here tonight, it’s common knowledge among all the players that she’s off-limits. I can’t even imagine the level of concern that would result if any of these dudes knew I was banging her. They’d be afraid that Drake would kill me and yeah… he’d be pissed.
But Kiera’s her own woman and can do what she wants.
Just like I’m my own man and can do what I want.
The irony isn’t lost on me that we’re both here at Stevie’s bar and can’t acknowledge the truth to anyone.
Some say the secret makes it hotter, but right now it just sucks that I can’t touch her. Hell, I can barely talk to her without calling attention to myself.
Earlier tonight, I was playing pool and she was talking to Danica. I don’t know what Kiera was saying to her, but I knew she was talking about me. I could tell by the appraising look in her eyes when she looked at me and the way their heads were bent close. Her luscious mouth curved appreciatively as I lined up a shot.
A few minutes later, as I moved around the pool table, I had the good fortune of catching Kiera alone. I was able to sneak in a very short conversation.
“What were you and Danica talking about?” I’d asked as we stood side by side, watching the pool table action and pretending to talk casually.
“Your arms,” she said and that caught me by surprise. I turned to look at her. She boldly ran her gaze over my torso. “That black shirt you’re wearing fits you like a glove and your arms are pure porn.”
I nearly choked—a ruthless combination of laughter and lust. God, I wanted to take her into the storeroom and fuck her in the dark shadows. Or, just as appealing, I wanted to sit with her at the bar and have a beer. Talk about life and make each other laugh.
I’m so fucked when it comes to her.
As the night wears on, I have a choice to make. Kiera is having a blast, which doesn’t hurt my feelings. It’s a pleasure to watch her be herself with the women of this team. She’s partying it up with Stevie and Tillie. At one point, they’re doing shots of who knows what and when “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett is cranked, they all three dance around the bar singing along with the rock queen.
The choice is I decide to stop drinking as I’m going to be the one driving Kiera home. We had planned to meet at her house tonight after the party, but since she’s on her way to a good drunk, I’m feeling compelled to stay sober to watch out for her and make sure she gets out of here safely.
Standing at the end of the bar where I can watch Kiera unobtrusively, I see Camden coming back inside the bar. He’d walked Danica out to her car and his face is red from the cold. He moves straight to me and I have a fresh beer waiting for him. He’s the birthday boy, after all.
“Thanks, man,” he says before taking a sip.
“Danica get out of here okay?”
“Yeah.”
Something in his tone has me wondering. It’s almost a hint of guilt, but maybe I’m wrong. I lift my eyebrows but Camden shakes his head adamantly. “There’s nothing there, dude. I walked her to her car to make sure she was safe.”
“Okay,” I drawl.
