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“Hey, Max,” I greeted back. “You guys airing the Spartan’s game?”
Like most of the world, Max knew exactly why I was asking. “You know it.” He jerked his head towards the football room. “You might want to hurry up, it’s getting packed in there.”
“Can I get the usual?” I was simple when it came to my alcohols; I liked beer.
“I’ll slide it over to you inside.”
The neat thing about the honeycomb? The rooms had a direct line to the bar through two huge sliding glass windows. If you didn’t want to wait for a server, then you could just walk up to the window and order your drink. The place really was different and fun.
Walking into the room, there were three booths lined up against the left wall, ten high-chair tables placed right in the middle, and there were six televisions set anchored up high throughout the room. Since the only football games on today were the playoffs, Raven’s game was going to be the only one aired in here. Usually, there were all the current games being played or sports broadcasting news being aired; anything to make the screens come to life.
After grabbing my drink, I glanced around, and while most tables were taken, there was an empty one next to a brunette that was sitting alone. She was probably waiting for her friends or boyfriend to join her because most women didn’t frequent bars alone, much less sports bars.
Taking a seat, the screens were full of pre-game interviews and hype, and I watched for anything with Raven on it. I was minding my own business, and while I knew that a couple of people had already noticed and recognized me, they were being respectful enough to let me be. Anyone that knew anything about me would know that I was here to see Raven play and why.
Only a few minutes into pre-game antics, Raven became visible on the screen, and the lovely brunette to my right voiced her displeasure at my best friend. I could only stare at her as she muttered at the screen, though she was muttering loudly.
“Oh, so what?” she snorted. “Your stats are probably padded.”
What in the hell?
“Big fucking deal,” she went on. “You’re not the first wide receiver with those kinds of receiving yards.” I watched her take a drink of her beer. “Besides, it’s not like you got to pick your last name. People are so stupid.” Like a toddler, she made a mocking face. “Kingof Receivers.”
I couldn’t stop myself.
I really couldn’t.
“Do you have a problem with Raven King?” I asked, turning towards her. “I mean, what’d he ever do to you?”
Holy fucking shit.
When she turned to look my way, I almost fell off my chair, and that was saying something. For years, I’d been surrounded by stunning women. No matter what anyone wanted to say about gutter groupies, they weren’t an ugly lot. Desperate and determined to land themselves a thick wallet, they always made sure to look their best. They looked like perfect dolls with their real and not-real parts, and it wasn’t until the next morning that sunlight revealed the truth.
Nevertheless, the woman currently glaring my way was more than beautiful; she was stunning in that fresh-faced way that didn’t exist anymore. She had light brown hair that fell like a curtain around her shoulders, bright blue eyes that narrowed at you through thick, long, unadorned lashes. She had a pert nose, and kind of reminded me of Victoria Justice, but with a slimmer looking face and frame.
Now, while I couldn’t tell because she was sitting down, I imagined her to be around five-foot-three or four, and I could probably carry her around in my pocket with our size difference. It was also easy to tell from her petite frame that she was all-natural. If this girl was an athlete chaser, then she did it with the confidence of what The Good Lord had already blessed her with, and if she wasn’t fucking blessed, then I didn’t know who was.
“Well, considering that his touchdown in overtime cost the Hawks a chance in the playoffs, then, yes. Yes, I have a problem with Raven King,” she answered firmly and surely. “It’s called loyalty.”
This chick was lecturingmeon team loyalty?
Eyeing her carefully, I said, “While I can understand the disappointment, you can hardly blame the man for doing his job and being good at it.”
“When my team is out of the running for the fourth year in a row, I can blame anyone for anything that I want,” she retorted with her lopsided logic.
“Sounds like you should blame the Hawks’ players and coaches, instead of the Spartans,” I fired back. “If it’s been four years in row, seems like there needs to be some organization restructuring.”
Those crystalline blue eyes of hers raked over my chest. “Oh, sorry,” she mocked. “I didn’t notice the Spartans Number One Fan shirt that you’re wearing.”
Did she really not know who I was?
Not for nothing, even if she didn’t watch basketball, there was no way to watch any sport and not know who I was. At least, not football, basketball, soccer, baseball, or hockey. Sports fans couldn’t talk about any of us without bringing up the other four. Even Nova was well-known after that picture of us at her graduation had gone viral. Hell, I’d lost count of how many marketing schemes had been written around our friendship, though we’d never done anything like that. The friendship that the guys and I had was sacred, and we didn’t exploit it for anything.
“I just think that you should probably place the blame where it belongs, and the Hawks elimination from the playoffs forfour years in a rowis hardly the Spartans’ fault. Or Raven King’s, for that matter,” I told her.
The damn wench started looking around, presumably gearing up for something smart mouthed to say. When she finally looked back at me, she said, “My apologies.” Her blue eyes started fluttering over at me. “I didn’t realize that I’d been seated in the section with feelings.” She gestured around the room with her arm, and the asshole in me immediately noticed that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. “There aren’t any signs, you see.”
My lips twitched, but I was pretty sure that she was too wrapped up in her simpleton role to notice. “There’s a difference between being sensitive and asking for a little public respect,” I lectured her.
