Patience, Den.
Her eyes flutter open and our gazes meet in the mirror.
“And to fuck.”
The fire in Denver’s eyes blazes to life
“Understood?” I finish.
She nods, and I walk away before I can’t.
* * *
“Funny running into you here.”
“Jesus fuck, Brax. Do I have to see your ugly mug at every one of these events?”
He winces. “Afraid so. I owe the coach the hours for helping me out of something last year. I’m on gala duty for the entire season.”
“Well, thank god it’s almost over. These things are expensive.”
“You’re telling me.” He grins. “It’s all worth it though. You should come to the Christmas one where we give out gifts to the kiddos. Seeing their little faces, man…it’s worth every single penny.”
“How much did we raise tonight?”
“Nearly $150k.”
My brows shoot up. “No shit? Damn. I’m proud of us.”
“Me too.”
“You bring a date?”
“Nah.” He takes a sip of the soda he’s nursing. “I’m not really looking to get into dating right now. I’m trying to stay focused on my career.”
My attention drifts over to Denny, who’s yet again yakking it up with new friends. I’m a little thankful Penny was willing to bow out; we’re both too antisocial in these settings. Denny, though—she thrives.
“I thought that was best once too. Made a lot of mistakes because of it, missed out on a lot of years with someone who made my whole world move.” I draw my eyes away from my biggest mistake and look to my teammate. “I was wrong, though—real goddamn wrong, Brax.”
He flicks his eyes to Denny. “She know that?”
“I think she’s finally starting to get it.”
“Good. Just—”
“Don’t fuck it up?”
He laughs, holding his hands up. “Hey, man, I’m just saying. Guys are morons sometimes. We’re prone to fucking shit up.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“Good luck, dude. I’m first on the roster and I just got my reminder. I’m out of here.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, I’m fairly certain she’s over there telling people your dick is only a few inches long again.”
“Goddammit.”
Tossing back the last of the champagne—which I still fucking hate—I make my way over to the woman in question just in time to hear some of the shit she’s spewing.
“And then he said, ‘It’s not about the size of the boat, it’s the motion in the ocean.’ I knew I couldn’t leave the poor guy after that played-out line. It was obvious he was desperate for someone to stick around.”
