“This is Aaron Carson,” he says, nodding towards the blonde guy. “New rookie and point guard.” He steps over to the blackjack table to shake hands with my teammates.
“Just getting my feet wet,” Aaron says. “Nice to meet you.” He sticks his hand out, but before I get a chance to shake it, Tanner steps in front. An angry growl comes out of his mouth, and before I know what’s happening, he shoves Aaron in the shoulder with a jolt.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve,” Tanner seethes.
I look from one to the other, the obvious shock on Aaron’s face and the sudden anger-filled scowl on Tanner’s, immediately says they know each other and they’re not friends. Luckily, no one at the blackjack table seems to notice, as they’re all engrossed in meeting each other. A few other players have walked on over to shake hands and chat.
Aaron?It dawns after a second. Basketball rookie? Could this be Jade’s ex?
Oh fuck, no.
I put an arm between the two of them and pull Tanner back with my free hand, holding him at arm’s length with my palm on his chest. The last thing we need is a brawl breaking out the night before his wedding. I’d love nothing more than to smack this idiot in the face, but I don’t think that would be smart or productive.
“You’re Jade’s cheating ex?” I spit, looking the guy up and down.
Aaron holds up his palms, his attempt at surrender is entirely pitiful. He’s not sorry. He’s a damned player in more ways than one. It’s not hard to tell from the way he holds himself. He has front row tickets to his own damned show, the way he stands here like his shit don’t stink. That air of fucking attitude ripe with ignorance.
The guy thinks he’s something before he’s even made it.
“I can explain about that!” he protests towards Tanner. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, I loved- love!” he quickly amends. “I love her, Tanner. But she won’t return any of my calls. She blocked me before I could even explain.”
Hearing that makes my blood boil, my hand curls into a fist on its own.
“You don’t know what love is!” he seethes. “And you did mean to hurt her, otherwise why would you have done what you did?”
“How fucking dare you,” I but in, because fuck, don’t I want my one chance to say it. I’ve somehow managed to keep my fist by my side, but I don’t know if it will stay there. “To do that to her and make out it was her fault. You’re an asshole.”
He opens his mouth to protest and I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I glance behind me, Tyler is standing there in aprotective stance, noticing the commotion we’ve been trying to keep at bay by stepping away from the table. Luckily, the other guys have their backs to us and don’t seem to have noticed the commotion over the crowds of people in the casino.
“Everything okay?” Tyler asks.
I flick my head in Aaron’s direction. “That depends if fuckface here wants to take it outside.”
The color drains from Aaron’s face, and just like the coward he is, he holds up his hands again, palms out. “No need to get crazy. I don’t want to fight either of you. I said I was sorry for what I did. You must know what it’s like.” He stares at me with a raise of his brows. “Being on the road all the time, there’s all kinds of temptations.”
That makes my blood boil even more. I would never do that to a woman under any circumstances. I may not be the best advocate in the world for relationships, but my past hookups were just that, I never promised any girl anything. They knew what they were in for, and it was always just for the night. There’s no way I would’ve cheated when I had a girlfriend, nor would I ever do that now.
It only tells me what an even bigger asshole this guy is.
In my peripheral I see Tanner’s fist clench, quickly pulling his arm back to his shoulder, and he’s about to swing when Ben steps in behind him and grabs him in a bear hug, dragging him back by the shoulders. “It’s not worth it,” Ben grits.
And as much as I wanna put this guy’s lights out, I don’t want to be arrested for assault and miss the big day tomorrow. Deep down, I know Tanner doesn’t want that either. Aaron seems like the kind of guy that would probably throw a lawsuit on us for our trouble.
“Don’t try to get me on your side. You’ve got no fucking clue what it’s like,” I hiss toward him. “Being away on tour is no fucking excuse to cheat. Here’s a newsflash, asswipe, don’t bein a relationship if you aren’t going to keep your dick in your pants!” If we weren’t surrounded by a room full of people, I’d swipe his head clean off his shoulders. I don’t think even Ian Hartford could stop me.
Aaron backs away, just as all eyes from the blackjack table turn to look at us. The remaining Hawks guys all jump up when they see Tanner being held back and the ruckus Aaron has caused. Ian and some of the obvious other Laker guys are looking a little confused.
“We need to get some air,” I say to Tanner when Ben finally lets him go. “Everything’s fine,” I say to my guys, and towards the Lakers ones, too. I’m appreciative that any one of my best friends would step in if I needed it. They always have my back. “Tanner and I are gonna take a beat.”
I pull Tanner in the opposite direction to where Aaron just walked off to. The last thing we need is running back into him.
We head for the nearest exit and find ourselves under the eaves at the side of the casino, where there aren’t many people around. There’s a side garden, adjacent to the nearby alfresco that leads out from the bar, but we’re away enough from people that we can talk freely.
“Fuck that asshole!” Tanner’s anger is still radiating off him in waves, and I can’t say I’m much better. Everything just happened so damned fast, I’m still trying to take it all in. What in the ever living fuck are the chances of running into Jade’s ex?
She’s gonna freak if she knows he’s here.
“She told me what happened,” I say. “And I agree with you. I can’t believe the nerve of that guy.”
