Breathless (111 page)

He evaded her reach easily. “I don’t suppose you guys are ready to go?”

Jesse had been silent next to me. He spoke up now, his gaze hard as he lingered on Camden first and then on Angie. “We’re ready.”

“Oh, great,” my best friend muttered. Everyone heard, but no one responded.

As we all got into the elevator, I was tense. Jesse’s teammates were in a good mood, as was Justin, but Eric and Angie were both glowering in silence. Then I glanced up and caught Jesse’s gaze. He winked at me. And suddenly, I wasn’t so tense anymore either.

Sixteen

As we entered the club, a hostess met us at the door. She had perfect teeth, bleached blonde hair, and wore a skimpy uniform. Her eyes trailed over the group and lingered on Jesse, who stood next to me. He had a hand on the small of my back, but straightened as she headed straight for him. Her arm was extended. “Jesse Hunt! Welcome to Haze! It’s a pleasure to have you here.”

Then she trailed over the group again. Her eyes lingered on me, but her smile never slipped. “We were not aware you were with the Grant West group. We’ll make the accommodations immediately. Will your father be joining you?”

He straightened abruptly. The easy smile he’d had vanished. A hard look came over him. “He’s here?”

Her eyes widened a fraction. “He was in earlier, I believe.” She was rattled from the sudden intensity from him; hell, I was as well. Everyone was taken aback, but she still oozed a professional friendliness that verged on the line of being too friendly.

“Hunt, I didn’t know your dad was coming to our game.” Camden pushed through the crowd and slapped a hand on his shoulder.

The hostess’ eyes skipped over him, but snapped back to Jesse.

My eyes had narrowed as I watched the exchange and I saw the interest in her depths. I couldn’t blame her. Jesse was hot when he was laid-back, but he was lethal when he was angry, which he certainly was now. His eyes were hard, jaw clenched, and his body had tensed. A dangerous aura came off him in waves.

And then Angie pushed forward. She gave the hostess a chilly smile. “Can we please go to whatever these guys booked? I have to pee and I don’t think you want me to take a piss on your floor. Or would you like to gawk at the famous movie director’s son some more?”

The guys snickered and Camden was taken aback. He rapidly glanced from Angie to Jesse, who had shifted closer to me again.

The hostess returned Angie’s chilly smile before she turned. “Follow me, gentlemen.”

Angie huffed, but no one paid her any attention. Justin curled his arm around her waist and drew her close again.

We were taken to a private box on the second floor, overlooking the dancing area. Camden threw his arm up and gestured around the table. “Can we get a round of shots, on me?”

The hostess glanced at Jesse, who murmured, “We’ll take the VIP treatment.”

Her smile was blinding before she left.

“Dude, what was that?”

Jesse stiffened beside me. “Nothing. We’re going to get our own bottles and shit.”

A guy snorted from across the table. “Coach is going to kill us if we’re all hungover.”

“Yeah.” Camden frowned. “We should take it easy tonight, party tomorrow night.”

“I know.” Jesse’s eyes had remained hard at the mention of his father, but they slipped another notch into the danger area as he stared his captain down. Camden glanced at me, then lowered his eyes and turned to one of his friends.

“Street girl.” Cord tapped me on the shoulder.

I twisted around. “Yeah?”

He shoved his phone in front of me. There was a list of Marissa’s name on the screen, all from text messages and missed phone calls. “Your girl keeps calling. What’s up with that? I thought she had a boyfriend here.”

“She does.” Eric leaned forward now, beside Cord. Angie and Justin were beside me, in front of them. They turned to listen as well.

Angie grabbed the phone and bent over. Her fingers flew over the keyboard before she held her breath and waited. It beeped a second later and she showed me the phone.

I read the conversation. ‘hey, where are you?’

Angie had texted on his phone, ‘At Haze. Come here.’

‘how?’

‘Take a cab. Tell the lady u with the g west group.’

‘ok. B there soon.’

‘k.’

I looked up with a chest full of tension. “What’d you do?”

She shrugged and sat back. When she threw a leg up on the table in front of us, I got a glimpse of Angie that I hadn’t seen in a long while. She was pissed, she was beyond pissed, and she was calculated right now. Marissa didn’t stand a chance.

“Angie, I don’t think you should have done that.”

“Are you kidding me?” She gestured over her shoulder. “She took off and left him high and dry. She left when we were trying to talk to you about our concerns. She always just takes off and shows up with a new guy. It’s got to stop. I’m sick of it.”

She had a point, but it didn’t sit well with me. Not at all. In fact, after I had taken my third deep breath in a row, Jesse dragged me out of the booth and into a dark hallway. The music was muted slightly, but we were allowed a little privacy. A few people wandered past us, looking for their own boxes.

He pressed me against a wall and stepped close. I felt his breath on me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I looked away, but he turned my face back to his. He was so close, agonizingly close. My heart started to thump louder and louder. Then he leaned even closer. His lips brushed against mine as he asked again, “What’s wrong?”

I started to shake my head. He stopped me.

“Alex.”

His lips were on mine now, lightly. But he held back. Desire was starting to build between my legs. It was throbbing down there and I wanted to pull him tight. My arms ached to grab him, but I kept them against the wall. I knew he was tormenting me for information. He had no intention of finishing what he had started. Not then, anyway.

“Alex.” His breath caressed my skin as he whispered my name. “What’s happening? I know something’s wrong. What is it?”

“Is that Jesse Hunt?” A female voice sounded from our right.

He went stiff and didn’t move for a second.

My hand skimmed up his side, to his arm. I was about to ask what was wrong, but he turned and clipped out, “Sabrina.”

A high-pitched laugh rang out as she drew closer. She was gorgeous: tall, willowy, with long bleached hair that curled around her waist. And she had striking cheekbones underneath green eyes that looked like something I would’ve seen in a supernatural movie. Glitter was dusted over her cheeks. It matched her make-up and the glitter in her hair as well. She swept a rail-thin hand in a graceful move over her chest before it fell to her side. She could’ve been a model. Dressed in a very thin white fabric that hung on her body, but also emphasized the lack of bra or underwear, I knew for certain she wasn’t from my kind of lifestyle.

“So you remember me?” she murmured in a husky voice as she drew even closer. Her eyes narrowed at our closeness, but she pinched her lips together in a faint pout. “And who is your friend?”

Jesse’s hand tucked me behind me as he stood in front, as if to act as a barrier. Then he asked, strained, “Are you here with my father?”

“Goodness, no.” Another high-pitched giggle peeled through the air. “Why would you assume something like that?”

“Because the last time I saw you, my dad’s cock was six inches deep in you.”

Her laugh dropped to a husky tone again. “Oh. That.”

“Yes, that.”

“Who’s your friend, Jesse?”

“Why?” His hand kept me firmly behind him. He moved again as she looked around him. “So you can report back to my father who my dick has been six inches inside?”

“Has it?”

My eyes went wide at the sharp skepticism from her.

Then he delivered smoothly, “None of your business.”

“Hmmm. Something tells me your father will be very curious. He’s coming to your game tomorrow.”

Jesse straightened again, any part of me that hadn’t stiffened at the sight of her now snapped to attention at that threat. “Really?”

“And he’s having dinner with your coach right now, along with some high school’s friend’s dead parents.? No, that doesn’t make sense.”

He bit out a savage curse under his breath. “Get away from me. Now.”

“Jesse—”

“Now!” he barked before he took her shoulders and pushed her away. “I mean it. And tell my father I have no wish for his attendance at my game.”

“You don’t mean that—”

“I do! Leave.”

She hesitated again, but when he turned back to me, she didn’t linger long. As she left, a ragged breath left me. ‘Some high school friend’s dead parents…’ The old numb feeling came back as I realized who that meant. His coach and his father were having dinner with my parents. It was all about Jesse, all about Ethan, all about the two of them and their friendship. No one else mattered.

He cursed again before he cupped my face in his hands. “Alex, talk to me.”

And then I’d had enough. My parents had left me. The numbness was filled with a different emotion, one that I didn’t want to acknowledge. I didn’t want to feel. I didn’t know if I could contain it.

“Hey, guys,” Cord spoke up, apologetic.

Jesse cursed again, but looked up. “Yeah?”

He gestured behind him. “Uh, your girl showed up. Things aren’t going so well.”

“My girl?” Jesse was clueless.

Cord’s eyes slid to me. “Her girl.”

Her girl? Oh—Marissa. Shit. I shoved past both of them. I was in time to see both of my friends in a corner. Angie raised her arm and swung at Marissa, who ducked to deliver one of her own. I cursed again and hurried towards them, but Jesse’s arm went around me. He held me back. I tried to break free, but he wrapped his other one around me too. Then he yelled in my ear, “Look.”

Eric was holding Marissa in the air. She was kicking and yelling over his shoulder while Justin held Angie in the same manner as Jesse did with me. Angie’s face was twisted with rage. She tried to leap for Marissa again, but Justin ducked his head, swung her around, and barreled towards us. He grunted as he swept past us, “How do we get out of here? These girls are nuts.”

Angie was still glaring and gritting her teeth as she looked at me. The ends of her hair were wet from sweat and she blew out a puff of air so the thin hair over her forehead lifted up. I reached over to move her hair aside so she could cool down. She gave me a sloppy grin and grumbled, “I’m done with that girl. She can be your friend, but she’s no longer my best friend. She’s shady as hell. I’m done with her, Alex. I’m sorry, but I am.”

A pang of regret hit me in the chest. “I’ll talk to her.”

“It won’t do any good. She’s lost it. She’s crazy. I swear. Good luck to Eric. She came here reeking like sex and look at him now.”

We both looked over. He had her pinned against a corner in the box with his hands on her hips. His head was bent low, whispering something to her, as she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from Cord. A look passed between the two and a shiver went over me. Cord had been lying to me. I knew it then. I felt it in my gut. She’d been with him during the day, or he had known where she was. He had played clueless with us, but when her eyes darkened in lust and his answered back, a snarl came over me. If she hadn’t cheated on Eric already, she was going to. It was only a matter of time before she was in Cord’s bed again. And then it was my turn to be disgusted by a friend.

Angie was right. Marissa didn’t want our help, but then I stopped. I had never cared before, why now? Even when she went after Jesse or Eric, I had let both of them go without much of a fight. With Eric, there’d been no fight and now I was ready to rip into her because she cheated on him?

What was my life coming to? Why was I caring again?

“Hey.” Jesse’s arm tightened around my waist. He bent forward and asked in my ear, “You ready to go back? Justin can’t hear my directions so we’ll have to lead them out of here. The guys are ready to go too. We need our sleep for the game tomorrow.”

I jerked my head in a nod.

“Are you sleeping with me?”

I jerked my head in another nod. I sure as hell wasn’t staying with Marissa tonight.

After that, we left quickly. Most of the guys had already left. Camden had stayed behind, but he got some signal from Jesse, so we followed him. I could hear Angie whispering to Justin as he was behind us. He kept hushing her. In the back were Cord, Eric, and Marissa. He still had his arms around her waist and refused to let her go, even after I heard her shriek at him a few times. They waited for a different taxi, but I called out, “Cord, come with us.”

Marissa swung her head around. She glared at me before she narrowed her eyes, but she kept quiet. I stared back. I didn’t care. Eric was a good guy. He didn’t deserve to ride in the same taxi with the guy she was going to cheat on him with.

When we got back to the hotel, Jesse let go of me. He followed us as we went back to Angie’s room for my bag and then took my hand in his as we went to his room. When we got off the elevator, all the doors were shut, but we could hear the guys’ voices inside their rooms. And then, as Jesse was opening his door, his coach came out into the hallway. He ran a tired hand over his face and fought back a yawn. He pulled his robe tighter around him while his bare feet peeked out from the ends.

“Do I want to ask where you’ve been tonight, Hunt?”

Jesse’s hand curled around my waist and pushed me into the room. “No, you don’t, Coach.”

He grunted, but replied, “I met your dad tonight.”

Jesse stiffened.

“He’s an asshole.”

“I know, Coach.”

“Alright. Well, good night. I expect all of the guys in tip-top shape tomorrow and since it’s eleven now, you’ve all made your curfew. Is that girl going to be a problem?”

I stiffened this time.

“No, Coach, she won’t.”

“You promise, Jesse? I’ve never seen you attached to a female. This one doesn’t bode well with me.”

“Coach, I believe you met her parents tonight as well. And they haven’t been the best ones to her.”

“Oh.” All the gruffness was gone from his tone. “Well, alright then. Good night to you both.”