“Man, I’m starving,” Carter said, rubbing his stomach like an old man waiting for Thanksgiving dinner. “I feel like I could eat a whole cow.”
“Maybe if you did, you’d be able to hit the puck better,” Jaxson said, pinching Carter’s biceps with his fingertips. “That wimpy shot you made in our scrimmage today is going to reverberate in my nightmares.”
“Fuck off. It was bar down.”
“It would have actually had to go in the net to be bar down,” Will grumped. “Not doinked off like a missed field goal.”
“It went in and you know it, Daddy P. You just don’t want to admit this rookie scored on you.”
“That’s because you didn’t, Fabio. And you never will.”
Carter and Will were still horsing around when we pushed through the front door of the restaurant. We were immediately greeted by five employees at the hostess stand, all of them eager to welcome us and see us to our table. There were more eyes on Will than the rest of us, mostly because Daddy P didn’t make public appearances often. He was usually home with his kid, where he loved to be. I was glad we’d managed to pull him out for an evening, even if just for dinner.
But that wasn’t my sole focus of the evening.
“You good?” Jaxson asked me, pulling behind a bit to walk at my side.
“Peachy.”
“That’s convincing,” he said on a laugh, and then he narrowed his eyes when he saw me searching the place as we were walked through the restaurant to a back room. “Who are you looking for?”
I didn’t answer him, but when I spotted Maven and her date at a table by the window, I stopped dead in my tracks.
She was so gorgeous it hurt.
Her onyx hair was blown out in a soft, wavy style that reminded me of the night we spent together in Baltimore, her warm brown skin glowing in the candlelight. The gloss on her lips was almost as enticing as the heels strapped to her delicate ankles, and even from a distance, I could see the slit in her velvet blue dress, could trace the lines of her legs that it revealed beneath the table.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood and stared before Jaxson’s laugh cut through the haze.
“You sly dog,” he said, shaking his head as he clapped me on the shoulder. “She know you’re here?”
“Not yet.”
He laughed again. “I’ll write a good eulogy for your funeral.”
He left me then, following the rest of the guys to our table as I stayed rooted in place. A few tables of diners began to recognize me, the chatter getting louder, and Maven must have picked up on it. Because she was in the middle of a beautiful, sing-song laugh that floated through the restaurant and right to my ears when she paused, turning toward the noise.
Her mouth went slack at the sight of me.
For a moment, I just stood there and stared at her, my heart hammering in my chest. A cocky smile slid on my lips easily, without me prompting it, like it was my natural state of being. Then, I slid my hands into my pockets and winked at her before turning and heading in the direction of our table.
I didn’t say a word when I sat down, letting the rest of the guys carry the conversation. Jaxson was watching me with a curious look over his menu, though — especially as my gaze stayed fixed on Maven across the restaurant. She was doing her best to ignore me, but when her eyes would flick to mine, I would always smile.
And she would always glare.
It was a good thing looks couldn’t actually kill, because I was pretty sure my life would be over.
Showing up here was a bold move. I knew as much when I decided to make it. Maven had politely told me after practice that she wouldn’t be around this evening, and when I asked her why, she hid a shy tinge of her cheeks with her hair when she said, “I have a date.”
Four words.
Four words was all it took to make my blood boil and my brain cease to have any common sense or rationality.
I’d pretended to be cool about it, shrugging and telling her to have fun. But as soon as I’d shut the door to my place, I’d called Livia.
“Tell me where he’s taking her,” I’d said when she answered.
She’d laughed, and I was almost certain she wasn’t going to tell me. But then, after a long pause, she’d asked, “You really like her, don’t you?”
I hadn’t been able to respond.
“You’ve got a long road ahead of you to earn her trust,” she’d warned me, and when I didn’t back down, she’d given me the name of the restaurant.
Something about that fueled me even more. Livia was her best friend, and if she’d willingly told me the location of Maven’s date, that said loud and clear everything I needed to hear. If Maven really hated me, if she really didn’t want me, Livia would have told me to leave her alone, to kick rocks, to back the hell off.
Instead, she’d handed me an invitation.
I wasn’t going to waste it.
After we placed our order, I excused myself from the table. But instead of going to the restroom like I’d said I was, I strolled right over to Maven’s table.
Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull as I approached, and she smiled at her date while trying to subtly shake her head at me.
Do not come over here, those eyes said.
But I was on a mission, and I wasn’t backing down now.
When I didn’t relent, she gritted her teeth, scratching the back of her neck with one fingernail and avoiding eye contact until she had no choice.
Because I was right there, standing at her table with a smile of my own.
“Holy shit,” her date said, beaming up at me. “You’re Vince Tanev!”
His chair made a horrible sound scraping against the floor as he stood in a hurry, taking my hand in his and shaking a little too aggressively.
“It’s amazing to meet you, man. You’ve really put Tampa back on the map.” He looked at Maven, hooking his thumb toward me. “Did you do this? Is this a surprise for me? Because if so, you just won the award for best first date.”
“She did, in fact,” I said, smiling at Maven as she set her jaw and folded her arms over her stomach. I turned back to her date. “But I didn’t realize this was your first date. Wow. Maven made it sound like you two had really hit it off.”
Maven rolled her eyes.
“You must really be a catch…”
“Damon,” he said.
“Damon,” I repeated. Then, I unfastened the button on my sports coat and pointed to the empty chair at the table behind him. “Mind if I sit for a bit?”
“Please!” he said at the same time Maven muttered, “Yes, we mind.”
Damon looked at her with a strange expression before laughing and pulling up the chair for me.
Before I could do anything else, a couple guys interrupted and asked for a photo and autograph. I scribbled one out quickly, smiling for the picture, and then I sat right between Maven and her date.
“Maven,” I said, finally greeting her properly. I let my eyes rake over her, fully appreciating the blue velvet dress up close. “You look beautiful.”
She blinked at me, her jaw clenched.
“So, Damon. What is it you do?” I asked, declining the waitress when she offered me something to drink.
“I’m in real estate.”
“Fascinating,” I mocked, leaning my chin on the heel of my hand. “Isn’t that fascinating, Maven?”
She smiled, dabbing at the corners of her lips with her napkin daintily before she folded it beside her plate. “It is. If you’ll excuse me,” she said, and then she got up from the table as calmly as she could.
I didn’t have to look at her over my shoulder to know she expected me to follow.
I entertained her date for a moment longer, mostly listening to him tell me what a huge fan he was of the team, and how he had been for years — even when we sucked. He took full advantage of Maven being away from the table, sheepishly asking me if he could have my autograph and a photo before she returned. I told him we should wait, that she’d want to be in the picture.
Because fat chance in hell was I giving this guy anything when he was here with my girl.
Then, I told him I needed to get back to my table, but I’d stop by later.
And I followed the trail Maven had made toward the bathrooms.
It smelled of smoke, like she’d burned the entire way.
There were two bathrooms, each gender neutral with one stall inside. One was empty, and one was locked. I knocked only twice, softly, before the door was ripped open and a hand jutted out, grabbing me by the collar and yanking me inside.
“Wow, really? Here, Maven?” I teased when she slammed the door shut again, locking it and pressing her back to the metal. “It’s kind of kinky, but hey, who am I to deny your fantasies…”
I took two steps toward her, and then she poked me hard in the ribs.
It would have hurt, had I been a man of smaller means. As it was, I laughed, which made her wind up like she was going to sock me in the jaw. I caught her fist, holding it in my hand as I backed her into the sink.
“What are you doing here?!” she seethed, shaking free of my hold. She kept a hand on my chest, forcing a foot between us.
“I thought it was quite obvious.”
“You,” she said, poking me in the chest with one long nail. “Are such a prick. I am on a date, Vince. Go to your table and leave us alone.”
“Is this you trying to prove it, as you so eloquently stated yesterday?”
“It’s not me trying to do anything. I am dating. Other people — not you.”
I inhaled a stiff breath, the muscle in my jaw locking at that statement. I stared back at her, my fire-breathing girl, but then my eyes were traveling down again.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Could you repeat that? Because I’m having a hard time focusing with you in this fucking dress.”
Maven flushed, but then let out an, “Ugh!” She pressed into my space, the universe answering my prayers as she did. “You’re exhausting.”
“Oh, so that’s it. It all makes sense now.”
She frowned, confused.
“You’re tired,” I said. “That’s why you can’t open your eyes and see the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That I want you,” I said, and I pressed right back, my hands finding her hips and pinning her to the bathroom sink. Even then, I pushed in farther, my nose centimeters from hers. “I want you so badly, Maven. I like you, goddamnit.”
She swallowed, attempting to wriggle free, but I held her tighter.
“No,” I said, shaking my head as my forehead fell to hers. “Don’t. Don’t make a joke. Don’t deny it. You want me, too.”
She turned her face, my lips falling against her temple as she swallowed again and looked away from me.
“Admit it,” I pleaded.
A long pause settled between us, the air charged, waiting for one tiny spark that would engulf us both in flames.
“You’re a playboy, Vince,” she breathed, just a whisper, but the words struck me as if she’d yelled them. I pulled back, and her eyes found mine. “You only want me because I haven’t let you have me.”
I shook my head, brows folding together. “You… you don’t honestly believe that.” I laughed, sure it was a joke. When she didn’t prod me further, that smile fell, my throat tight. “Tell me you don’t see me that way.”
But she didn’t.
She didn’t answer at all.
Her eyes flickered down to her shoes, and she kept her gaze there as I slowly backed away, releasing her.
This was the persona, the one I played into with everyone else. But with her? I’d let her in. I’d shown her parts of me the rest of the world had never seen before. I was nothing but honest with her, right from the start.
I let her see me.
And yet all she saw was a player.
I nodded. Again and again, laughing a little as I scrubbed a hand over my mouth.
And then I left.
The bathroom, the restaurant, and her.
