Page 78 of Keep Me
The dress she chose was tight and hugged her in all the right places. She looked good enough to eat, and I was starving. I licked my lips as I watched her and thought about all the things I wanted to do when I got her alone. We were married, after all. Fucking her in a broom closet wouldn’t be considered that bad. Maybe she’d like a good fuck from her husband.
I took a slow swig of my drink, taking in her curves as she talked to and smiled at every other person here. She’d been vulnerable with me after the game, and it almost felt like I had my best friend back, but after I told her the truth, we’d no doubt be back to square one.
“Hey guys.” Erik stood by our table, looking between us before his gaze dropped to me. He gave me a smile, but it wasn’t genuine. The venom in his eyes told me as much. I didn’t trust him, and I had no doubts he felt the same. “You having a good time?”
“I’d have an even better time if you asked my date to dance.” Jackson pointed at a shocked Thea.
“Jackson!” she squealed before giving Erik a trained smile. “Hi…”
“Erik.”
“Erik. It’s nice to meet you, but don’t worry, I’m not interested in a dance.”
“No problem. I actually came over because I was hoping to talk to Marty.”
Everyone at the table looked over at me with raised brows. I was as shocked as them. It wasn’t a secret that there was some simmering tension between us. The team had heard about the way I reacted when I saw Erik and Britt together at Covey’s Cantina, but I hadn’t talked about it any further with them since there wasn’t anything else to add.
“You mean Matty?” Thea corrected him with an almost bitchy tone.Thanks, babe.
Erik waved her off and continued to glare at me. What the fuck was he going to do? “Sure. If that’s what you want to call him.”
“Not a problem,” Aster said, grabbing Tanner by the hand and pulling him up. “We were just about to dance. Jackson, Thea. Why don’t you join us?”
Jackson’s jaw was tense as he looked at Tanner’s sister, but he rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Fine, but I’m only doing this because I think it’s important that Matty gets this talk out of his system.”
“What talk?”
He raised his brows as he stood, holding his arm out for Thea, who linked it with him without question. Their relationship was weird, but who was I to question it when the only two women I’d been involved with were Olana and Britt.
“You know the talk, but I’m not going to say it in front of company.” He gestured to Erik, and I groaned because he was right. There was a talk coming my way, I just hated thinking about it. They walked away without a second glance, so I stared at my beer and stroked the label with my thumb.
I could feel Erik’s eyes on me, but I had no intention of looking at him. I was, however, able to see him point in my periphery. “Mind if I take a seat?”
“Be my guest,” I griped.
He pulled the chair out, and when he sat, I could’ve sworn it buckled a little. He was a big guy, and his frame kind of reminded me of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I didn’t think he was break-a-chair kind of big.
“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”
“Yes we have.”
“Mm-hm. Covey’s Cantina doesn’t count.”
I couldn’t help but glance over at Britt, and I clutched my beer a little tighter. She was so oblivious to everything.
“Why are you here, Erik?” I huffed out a breath. Frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries with the guy who was trying to weasel his way into my wife’s heart.
“I just thought it would be good to talk,” he stated.
I adjusted myself so I was sitting taller in the seat, and glared at him. “Well, if you’re planning on changing sports this late in the game, then I’m sorry to say you’re too bulky to be a kicker. You need accuracy and precision. All things I hear you lack.”
“Oh, feisty.”
I pressed my lips together, holding back all the things I wanted to say.
“But you know I’m not here to talk about that. I’ve already signed an NHL contract, so I’m not wistfully dreaming about a team seeing any promise in me during my college games.” He took in a sharp breath. “Hope you aren’t either because that performance last week wasn’t great.”
“What do you want, Steele?”
