Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) (28 page)

“Then why the fuck am I seeing you here so
early? You should be going for round eight right now. I would’ve
covered for you.”

Gavin stared for a moment before returning
his attention to his screen. “We just signed Dante Gibson. We’re
finalizing his endorsement deal with EA and announcing his contract
with Adidas on Thursday. It’s gonna be a busy week.”

“Fair, fair.” Elliot shrugged, barely
crinkling the shoulders on his Loro Piana suit. “Well, not to make
you jealous here, but while you’re at the Adidas party on Thursday
and scoring numbers from a bunch of Holly lookalikes, I’ll be in
Brooklyn scouting a bunch of European string beans who probably
won’t get drafted anyway.” Elliot sighed as he lay back on Gavin’s
couch, careful not to muss his ultra-coiffed hair as he massaged
his temples. “Life can really fucking suck sometimes.”

Gavin shook his head. “You know some of the
NBA’s best players were scouted at the International Tourney,
asshole.”

“Well, I doubt there’ll be any future stars
there this year.” Elliot pulled two stapled papers from the inner
pocket of his suit, crumpling them before tossing them onto Gavin’s
desk. “Check out the roster. Buncha no names besides those two kids
from Spain who already have representation. Big ol’ waste of my
precious time.”

Smoothing out the paper, Gavin scanned it,
nodding and shrugging at the list of unspectacular prospects. At
least until his eyes swept over the final name on the roster.
Suddenly, he shot up in his chair.

“
Nicolo Piersanti’s
on the
roster?”

It was him. The twenty-two-year-old Italian
forward who was more popular with lovesick teenagers than with
hardcore sports fans. His image graced Tumblr every thirteen
seconds but had yet to make it in any issue of ESPN the Magazine.
Scouts paid little attention to him, though an American fashion
house had signed the six-foot-eight Sicilian to model for a cheesy
underwear spread about a year ago. That was about it for him when
it came to any overseas attention. It made sense that he would be
attempting to gain exposure by participating in the International
Tourney, but Gavin still couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
Holy
shit, I can’t wait to meet this asshole
, he shook his head in
disbelief.

“Uh.” Elliot’s eyes darted about Gavin’s
face of astonishment. “Am I missing something? Should I know more
about this kid?” he asked, cocking his head. “Or do you have some
weird boner for him because you’re as gay as I hear you are?”

Gavin paused. “What?”

“I don’t know, man.” Elliot laughed, leaning
back again and resting his beefy arms on the top of the couch. “I
might or might not have hooked up with one of your castoffs last
week and she might or might not have told me about how you lose all
interest by the next morning. Like you’re only into chicks for
show, when you’re at the club and in front of the clients.”

Gavin laughed. “That’s an interesting
theory.”

“Which… isn’t true, right?”

“Nope.”

“Then try to clear it up because that little
rumor is making its rounds. Get yourself a girlfriend or
something.” Elliot held his hands out when Gavin made a face. “I
mean, bro, I’m not saying you can’t have fun on the side, too. I’m
just saying, pick one of those pretty faces to play the girlfriend
role for like, a year so you can squash the rumors.”

“I’m not interested in having a girlfriend,
Smiley. Real or fake.”

“Come on, of all the fuckin’ gorgeous girls
you’ve taken home in the past year, there wasn’t
one
who you
wanted more than once?”

“No. They’re too different from me.”

“Yeah, because they don’t have penises,
which you apparently require now in a romantic partner.”

“You nailed it.”

Elliot stared for a silent second. “Are you
joking? I can’t tell if you’re…”

“I am joking, yes.”

Elliot let go of a breath. “Well, shit,
you’re a better man than I am. I wouldn’t want people thinking for
a second that I swung that way.”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Gavin said, not
bothering to explain that he used to actively joke about his
sexuality. His way of showing appreciation for friends had always
been through homoeroticism. It was just a thing of his. Though that
part of his humor had been pushed back since the breakup, which had
come around the same time as his hiring to Klein Sports Management.
No one at the agency got his humor but it didn’t matter when he
didn’t have the time to joke around anyway. It was his moment to
throw himself into his work, to prove that he deserved his job
despite landing it through connections from his Aunt Mira, who was
good friends with the company founder, Aiden Klein.

“So… care to explain this massive erection
you have for a kid who averaged nine points a game on a shitty
squad?” Elliot asked.

Gavin’s swallowed. “Nope.”

“You’re gay then, aren’t you.”

“Sure.”

Shaking his head, Elliot got up, stretching
his arms over his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. But
it’ll cost you Holly’s number. And all your extra tickets to the
Adidas party. If I can’t go, I’m at least gonna hook up a few lady
friends.”

Gavin opened his drawer, pulling out a half
dozen VIP passes hanging from strings. “Take them all. In fact,
take my place on Thursday. I’ll scout the International Tourney for
you.”

Elliot froze mid stretch. “Holy shit, you
want
to go to the International Tourney?” He gaped. “Oh my
God, you’re fucking in love with Nicolo Piersanti, aren’t you?”

“I’m not in love with him.”

“What, you had a lover’s quarrel at some
point? It didn’t work out long distance between you two?”

“Smiley, are you switching Thursday with me
or not?”

“Fuck, consider it switched. I just switched
so hard I almost fell over.” Elliot practically skipped up to
Gavin’s desk, happily swiping his supply of VIP passes. “But you
better be sure about this. You can’t change your mind after I leave
your office, you fuckin’ Piersanti fangirl.”

“I’m more concerned about you changing your
mind.”

“Don’t even worry about that,” Elliot
snorted, pointing at Gavin as he did something resembling a
moonwalk out of his office. “Now you have fun scouting those string
beans, my dude. And good luck with closing Piersanti. Let me know
if those tighty whities look as good on him in real life,
okay?”

Gavin saluted him. “Will do, brother.”

~

“Holy —
whoa
.”

The Brooklyn arena was decently full and the
crowd was beginning to cheer as players started jogging onto the
hardwood. But breaking Gavin’s concentration from the court was a
wind that the intern had caused by exhaling in awe.

“Dude.” Gavin made a face as he brushed the
tingly feeling of the intern’s breath off of his cheek. “What’s up,
Osborne?” He glanced over at Osborne, watching his eyes widen, his
mouth open and close.

“Um. That girl?” His voice broke. “Who is
she and why is she heading this way? Holy shit, she’s looking at
me. Is she looking at me?”

Cocking his head curiously, Gavin followed
Osborne’s undisturbed gaze until his own eyes landed upon the
brilliant blonde strolling away from her camera crew. In heels,
fitted jeans and a white top that stretched dangerously over her
ample chest, she drew every set of eyes as she sauntered over
toward Gavin’s courtside seats.
Always the center of
attention.

“She’s not looking at you, Oz,” Gavin
laughed, standing the moment the smirking blonde reached his seat.
He went in for the kiss on the cheek. It was just habit at this
point and he knew he’d face endless sass if he were to give a
simple hug. “Peyton. It’s been awhile.”

“And he still remembers my name. Aren’t I
the lucky one?” Peyton asked no one in particular, cocking a skinny
eyebrow. She stuck a hand on her hip, narrowing her hazel eyes at
Gavin. “You follow me here, Hunter? I figured you’d be hitting on
the escorts over at the Adidas party tonight.”

“Hey now.” Gavin slid his hands into his
jean pockets, leaning back on his heels. “Be nice. They’re not
escorts.”

They were the fitness and swimsuit models,
the network of busty women that Klein Sports tended to call up when
they threw events or entertained clients. And, of course, they were
the girls that Gavin largely hooked up with, simply because they
were already associated with work, and work was about all he had
time for these days. At least that was what he told Peyton after
ending their unofficial few months of dating.

“I’m being kind by calling them escorts,
Hunter. I think you’re pretty aware of that yourself,” Peyton said,
her long blonde waves spilling to the side as she cocked her head,
finally noticing Osborne. “Something’s wrong with your rookie, by
the way, he hasn’t blinked yet.”

“Neither have any of the other guys in this
general vicinity. You’re suddenly unaware of the effect you have on
them? If I remember correctly, you used to pride yourself on
it.”

“Mm.” Peyton shrugged, puckering her glossy
lips. “Guess it felt like I lost my touch since I had to walk all
the way over here to get your attention. Kind of degrading, don’t
you think?”

“Having to greet someone first? The worst
kind of humiliation I could think of.”

Finally, Peyton broke into a smile. A real
one, not a smirk. “What are you doing tonight?” She paused. “Or
should I ask ‘who.’ I figure your bed is booked a couple months in
advance at this point.”

Gavin snorted. “Clever. And I’m not sure
yet. Probably dinner.”

“You inviting me?” Peyton asked, though it
hardly felt like a question.

“Do I have a choice?”

Peyton smacked him, though she raised an
eyebrow the moment her hand made contact with his hard chest. She
rolled her eyes when she caught Gavin’s knowing grin. “Shut up.
You’re an asshole, you know that, right?”

“They keep telling me that but I don’t feel
like it’s true.”

An actual giggle escaped Peyton’s lips.
“Call me tonight,” she said, leaning in to kiss the corner of his
lips. A collective groan came from the men surrounding them,
putting a sparkle in her eyes since she did always feed off of
attention. “I’m gonna get back to my crew now. You better still be
looking at me as I’m walking away,” she murmured, giving his chest
a small scratch through his shirt before turning on her heel. Gavin
grinned, giving her a little nod to send her off.

But once she was out of his eye line, he
forgot his promise.

“Uh.” Osborne cleared his throat. “She’s
looking back at you, dude. Should you be… okay, I’ll wave at her
for you.”

A waving intern was probably the last thing
Peyton wanted to see. Gavin laughed at Osborne but the sound didn’t
quite come out since his attention was focused on the court. He
ignored the strangers who gave him pats on the back for reasons he
figured were related to Peyton. A few asked questions, but he could
hardly process them as his eyes followed the lean and, he had to
admit, handsome Italian giant on the court. Though as Gavin looked
closer, he realized that Piersanti had gelled his hair. He had
actually styled his hair for a basketball game.
Jesus Christ,
this guy.

“That’s crazy,” he heard Osborne
breathe.

“I know. I bet he’s wearing cologne
too.”

“What? Dude, I’m talking about Sportscaster
Barbie over there. Everyone’s staring at her right now. And you.
This is weird. Who is she? Is she famous?” Osborne continued to
himself when Gavin didn’t respond. “Well, she should be famous. She
just hijacked all the attention from this game,” he laughed.
“
Oh
, you know what? Was that your ex that Smiley always
talks about? You know, he and a bunch of guys from the office have
been trying to ‘close’ with her for like, months but none of them
have — ”

“Oz, shut the hell up and watch the
game.”

“Okay, but you should know that you’re the
man, Gavin!” Osborne whispered hastily before holding his hands up
and going, “Sorry, sorry, watching now.”

~

Predictably, the two Spanish shooting guards
drew all the post-game cameras, including Peyton’s. That was more
than fine by Gavin.

“Barcelona guys are on
that
end of
the court. Gavin. Where are you going?”

“Locker room.”

“Why?”

“Stop asking me questions, Oz.”

“Okay.”

Weaving through the press, Gavin went into
the tunnel leading towards the locker rooms, Osborne trotting
behind him.

“What’d you think of Nicolo Piersanti
today?” Gavin asked, eyes straight ahead.

“Piersanti?” Osborne repeated, as if sure
Gavin had surely meant to ask him about another player. “Uh, I
think he gelled his hair for a basketball game is what I think. I
think he should’ve dedicated more time to his jumper than his
ringlets is what I think.”

Gavin snorted, decidedly forgetting about
the defensive strengths he’d noticed. “Agreed on the ringlets,” he
said seriously. “Also, don’t forget the missed free throws.”

“He airballed two in a row! Who does that?”
Osborne threw his arms in the air incredulously. “And if you’re
gonna miss most of your shots you should at least work on a game
face. Like, what the hell, why is he always happy and smiling?
Doesn’t he know that he sucks?”

“Yeah.” Gavin laughed. “It’s a good-looking
smile, though.”

Osborne halted mid-step. “What?”

“He’s a good-looking guy.”

Osborne paused, starting his step again
slowly. “Uh. Yeah, I guess. I wasn’t really looking at him that
way. I can tell you who I
was
looking at that way though,
and that was your frickin’ smoking hot ex, sorry to say.” Gavin
cringed as he felt another one of Osborne’s whooshing breaths on
the back of his neck. “You’re… a lucky man. Can you spread the
wealth and invite me to wherever you and Peyton are going tonight?
Maybe she has friends that I can… just look at, basically. Unless
they’re into pasty dudes who are like, ten to twenty pounds
overweight, give or take. Which could possibly happen. Maybe God
hooked me up with a soul mate who is just completely out of my
league. But my soul mate nonetheless.”