Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
His massive, talented hand, one that could score goals and mold art from clay. He smoothed his thumb over the skin just below the hemline of my skirt, and I swallowed, not daring to look down at where he touched me.
“You’re with us,” he reminded me. “And we’ve got you. Okay? We have a VIP area in there that’s completely roped off. You only have to be in the crowd for a few minutes while we make our way in.”
I nodded, a little embarrassed by my anxiety. “I’m sorry, I just…”
“Your phone.”
“What?”
“Pull out your phone. Pretend like you’re recording, or actually record it, we don’t care,” he added, and the guys nodded behind him.
“The seas will part for you, Maven. Everyone knows you.”
Those words from Carter made me blink.
Everyone knows you.
I hadn’t considered that, hadn’t thought about the fact that my social media accounts were the most watched in the city right now. I didn’t know if that made me feel better or worse.
With a final nod, I pulled a deep inhale through my nose to prepare me, and Jaxson opened the door for us to climb out.
The crowd cheered when we did, but it wasn’t the nonstop, high-pitched screams you’d hear for a rock band. It was loud and deep, a sea of grown men hollering their approval and respect for the team. Of course, there were some women in there, too. Plenty of them. But they didn’t crowd us when we got out like I thought they would.
Vince grabbed my hand, anyway.
I tried not to focus on that, on how small my hand was in his as he led us through the small opening they’d made for us to make our way into the bar. I tried not to let it impact my breathing, how confidently he held me, how proudly. He pulled me through that crowd like I belonged to him.
My free hand held my phone, and I clicked the button on the side to start the video as I followed Vince in.
“Maven! We love you!”
I followed the source of the chant, smiling a little when a group of three college-aged girls waved excitedly at me.
“Told you,” Vince whispered in my ear, tugging me close enough to do so. I felt his breath warm on the shell of my ear, and a shiver spread over my skin.
“Are you two dating?!”
“What’s it like, Maven?”
“Vince, let’s do pottery together!”
“Vince, let’s fuck,” someone else cheered louder, and that made everyone laugh.
Except me.
Vince took all of it like a champ, winking at the girl who’d offered herself up before we ducked inside the bar. It was even louder once inside, but the bouncers didn’t stop us for an ID check or anything else before ushering us to the back corner, and up a small set of stairs to the VIP area.
I felt like I could finally breathe once we were behind the ropes, and Vince dropped my hand, high-fiving one of his teammates with it a moment later while I tried to gather my bearings.
Boomer’s was more of a club than a bar, as the guys had made it sound. Strobe lights and lasers flashed in the foggy darkness, go-go dancers shaking their asses on the bar while patrons slipped dollar bills into their garters. A DJ was front and center, and he pointed back to the team’s VIP area before spinning right into their win song, which made the crowd roar and jump and dance wildly as the team celebrated from our little corner.
I couldn’t believe they were still letting people in. The place was already packed, and all I could think of was what the hell would happen should a fire break out.
Warm, long fingertips wrapped around my hip, nearly encompassing the whole of me as Vince pulled me into him from behind.
“Drink?” he asked in my ear.
My eyes fluttered shut, but I forced them open again, turning more to break contact than anything else.
“Please,” I said over the music.
Vince nodded toward one of the tables in the back of our secluded area, each piled high with bottles. He poured ice into a tumbler and topped it with mostly Grey Goose, and a small splash of pineapple juice before handing it to me.
I downed the whole thing.
I was still grimacing when Vince took my glass and refilled it on a laugh. “You can hang out back here if you want to be out of the mayhem.” He nodded toward some cushioned booths in the back. One was empty. The other had two hockey players with a girl in each of their laps.
“What about you?” I asked.
A slow, lazy grin spread on his beautiful mouth. “I am the mayhem.”
I didn’t have Vince long before he was being pulled away by his teammates, and I took his offer, curling into the smallest form of myself I could on a booth in the back. I watched from afar as the team partied in a way I hadn’t witnessed since college. They took shot after shot, dancing and horsing around as they raged into the night. Smoke swirled from vapes and cigars alike, mixing with the lights to create a heavy, neon fog.