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“Public respect?” she echoed, her perfectly arched brows lifting dramatically. “You came to asports barwith the expectation of public respect?” The spitfire cocked her head. “Maybe the public library is better suited for your entertainment needs.”
“You say that like lack of respect is a good thing,” I shot back.
“Whose respect?” she challenged.
“What?”
“Well, you’re talking about public respect, but you came in here with no consideration for the fact that I’m just being loyal tomycity’s football team and not a football team homed in California,” she replied. “So, who’s offending who here? Who’s out of line in a Texas bar, rooting for a California team?”
“There aren’t any Texas teams playing in the playoffs to root for,” I reminded her.
“Thanks to Raven fucking King,” she pointed out. “So, while I’m sure that he’s all broken up over the opinion of some stranger that lives in Texas, I’m sure that he’ll get over it.”
This fucking woman.
Chapter 6
Sinclair~
Of course, I knew who the man sitting across from me was. There was no way to live in this state or be a sports fan without knowing who Orion Knight was. Not only was he considered the best point guard in the NBA, but he was practically world-famous alongside Titan Miller, Atlas Braylon, Sebastian Havoc, and, yes, Raven freakin’ King. The five star athletes were childhood best friends and still were. They’d been dubbed The Loyal Five upon entering the world of professional sports, and the fans went crazy for them. It also didn’t hurt that they were all too gorgeous to be real. The balance of power usually insisted that a plain or ugly friend needed to exist in a group of hot men, but not in this case.
It was a real shame, actually.
At any rate, I really hadn’t meant to start talking shit about Raven King in front of him. In fact, I’d been so caught up in the pre-game broadcasting and commercials that I hadn’t even noticed him taking the table next to me. Yeah, he was taller than a skyscraper, but Harley hadn’t been wrong about my obsession with football; I’d been in the zone when Orion Knight had walked into the bar.
It also sucked that he was hotter in person than on the court. Orion Knight had one of those faces that could be mistaken for a model. He gave me Noah Mills vibes, though it was obvious that Orion was ten-times hotter than Noah Mills. An athlete in his prime, there was no need to mention how shredded he looked underneath his Quicksilver shirt. However, it was those russet-colored bedroom eyes that really did a number on you. I could only imagine how insane it’d feel to have those eyes staring down at you while he owned your body. Eyes like that should be outlawed, really.
In fact, if he played anything other than basketball, I’d be convincing myself that athlete chasers weren’t all bad. I’d argue for the validity of bedding hot men in their prime. Hell, I could even see myself starting up a members-only club.
Orion Knight was that fucking hot.
Even with the glaring.
Still, I’d been down that road before, and the last thing that I was going to do was date another athlete. Yeah, college had been years ago, and my heartbreak was mostly healed, but what woman in their right mind wanted to date a professional athlete? Yeah, if you were only in it for the money and status, then have at it. Who cared about cheating when your heart wasn’t at risk? If you needed cash, and he just needed a hot girl on his arm, then perfect. However, I wasn’t looking to cash in on a rich anything. I valued my emotions, and I respected how painful a heartbreak could be.
Yeah, no thanks.
Orion finally said the one thing that he probably felt like he never needed to say. “Do you not know who I am?” I fluttered my lashes at him again. “If you think that I won’t take you over my knee, then you’re very wrong.”
Everything in me wanted to laugh at that, but I refused to surrender to the enemy. “Let me take a wild guess,” I drawled out instead. “Raven King’s agent? Publicist? A representative for the Bratton Spartans, going around, doing a survey on how many nationwide fans you have?”
Like a man that knew his worth, through clenched teeth, he said, “I’m Orion Knight.”
I just arched a brow.
“And Raven King is one of my best friends,” he went on like I was an idiot. “So, I’d really appreciate it if you’d quit badmouthing him in front of me.”
Looking him directly in the eye, I said, “Then I suggest that you go sit somewhere else.” I jerked my head towards the other side of the room. “You know, maybe the ‘feelings’ section of the bar.”
Before he could storm over and strangle me, his name was being called out from across the room “Knight, my man.”
I looked over to see two more West Corral Devils making their way into my sanctuary. Okay, it wasn’t like I owned the bar, and there were plenty of other bars to choose from in the city, but Your Choice catered to my football psychosis, and I hadn’t gotten kicked out of here yet.
Claude Kanjorski was one of the best centers in the league, and Hickey Roman was a power forward, and though good at his position, he could do with a little more effort. Granted, I didn’t watch basketball to know this for fact, but that’s what the gossips and sports reports claimed. Plus, in my line of work, I heard a lot about the players and their performances. It was hard to escape it completely, though I did my best to try. There also hadn’t been the need to work with any of these three guys. Predictably, I worked with more of the older players.
“Saved us a seat?” Hickey asked, and that was my cue to look back at the pre-game commentary.
“Yeah, man,” Orion answered automatically, and I almost smirked. Politeness in public would always win with guys like that, and while that wasn’t a bad thing, I wasn’t a huge fan of being fake.
