I jumped at the sound of her door slamming shut. With a sigh, I grabbed my plate and went to the sink, taking hers out and putting them both in the dishwasher. Guilt ate at me, for being so harsh, but I didn’t do guilt, so it morphed into anger.
I smashed the bottom rack of the dishwasher back into place, plates rattling and silverware banging against each other. “Son of a bitch!”
I took a few moments for myself, before getting my shit together and gearing up for the fight with Mackenzie to get on the fucking bus.
Chapter 5
Knox
I brought the bar down to my chest and used the last of my energy to try and push it back into place. Julius stood there ready to reach in and grab the three hundred plus pounds in case my arms gave out on me. The two of us were in constant competition, seeing who could bench more. Though neither of us relied on that strength. Endurance and skill were more important in both our careers. Still, it gave us something to rag on each other about.
“I don’t know, pretty boy. You’re looking a little spent,” he mocked.
“I’m. Not. Spent,” I forced out the words, feeling the veins in my arms expanding. Pressure built in my face as I sputtered out, “Beat this, pussy.” I pushed up one final time and put the bar back into its place.
“Pussy, huh? Them fighting words.” Julius rubbed at his chin.
“So, you going to do something about it?” I slipped out from the bar and sat up.
He handed me a towel and I ran it down my face before wrapping it around my neck.
“Nah, I have to head out. We have a team meeting getting ready to go into preseason.” He flew in last night, but I hadn’t seen him until this morning. Now I knew why. He was celebrating his last night as a free man before his coach got his claws into him.
“Poor baby has to go back to work,” I joked.
“Could be worse. I could be working a nine to five behind a desk.”
“You wouldn’t last ten minutes.”
Julius laughed. “You’d give me that long? I was thinking more like five.”
We headed to the locker room to grab our stuff. I had a full-sized gym in my house with state-of-the-art equipment, but, for some reason, it wasn’t the same. I liked to be surrounded by people who were going after the same thing as me. Improving their strength, striving to be a better version of themselves. It was contagious and inspiring.
Besides, whenever Julius and I tried to work out at my place, we always wound up crashing on the couch and watching the Discovery Channel for five hours.
Julius rubbed at his brows and then stretched his arms, letting out an obnoxiously loud yawn.
“Better get that yawning out before the meeting. Daniels will be all over your ass.”
“Don’t worry about me. I got Coach handled. Nothing an energy drink can’t fix.”
“Late night?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
He laughed. “My night never ended.”
As we walked out of the locker room to the parking lot, I noticed all the girls’ eyes following us. We were used to it, especially after we were both on the most recent sexiest bachelors of the year list. Even if girls didn’t follow sports, they knew who we were.
Julius soaked each look up and offered a smile or a wink in return. I ignored them and kept walking. A blonde with braided pigtails smiled at us, making me think of the stripper from the other night. This girls’ body was nothing in comparison to the perfect curves and soft bumps of the stripper.
My mind drifted back to the intense lap dance, the way she rocked her pussy against my cock, how she felt beneath my hands. I shook the thoughts away; afraid they’d start showing in my gym shorts.
“Hey, did you happen to hit up the Honey Pot last night?” I asked Julius.
“Not last night why?”
“No reason,” I said, and even though he gave me a questioning look, he didn’t push.
I shifted my dick, acting like I had an itch instead of a semi. Fuck, that girl was messing with my head. No, fuck that. It had nothing to do with the girl. I just needed to get laid. It clearly had been too fucking long.
Julius got in his Escalade and we both headed our separate ways. I turned my Hummer out of the parking lot, and remembered I was out of milk. Unlike my friends, I didn’t have people do my shopping for me. I bet the last time Sebastian was in a grocery store was college.
I shook my head at the thought. I didn’t care how much money I had; I wasn’t incapable of picking up a few groceries myself.
I pulled into the nearest supermarket and grabbed my wallet out of the glove box. It was a gorgeous day, bright sunshine, temperature in the low eighties, typical Vegas weather and just the way I liked it. But, even though, I loved the constant perfect sunny weather, sometimes I missed the snowy winters in the mountains, and I missed my family. The memories were imbedded with pain though and it hurt too much to go back. It was easier to stay away.
I walked through the sliding glass door of the supermarket and heard a cute woman gasp in recognition. I watched, amused, as she spun around smacking her friend in the arm. The friend turned with an annoyed look on her face, but when she saw me all the hostility morphed into excitement. The two girls jumped up and down and giggled.
A smile tugged at my lips and I offered them a wink, which sent them into hysterics. I could probably have both of them in my bed if I really wanted to, but I wasn’t even sure they were legal and there was no way in hell I’d go there.
I continued on to the refrigerated section, grabbed the milk, and got in line. There was a short brunette in front of me, and she looked like she was buying a week’s worth of groceries. I glimpsed around to the other registers, looking for a shorter line, but they were either closed or unattended.
“Your total is one hundred and twenty-two fifty-six,” the cashier said.
“It was right here,” the woman said, her voice familiar.
I patiently watched as the brunette frantically searched her bag for payment, while I tried to figure out where I knew that voice from. “Damn it, Mackenzie,” she mumbled as her hands settled on her bag in defeat. When she glanced up to the cashier, her green eyes apologetic and embarrassed, it clicked.
What were the fucking chances? She looked different without the blonde pigtails, but I would never forget those eyes. Emerald pools of light that grabbed you by the dick and sucked you in. My gaze drifted downward to her legs covered by the tiniest jean shorts I’d ever seen. Those gorgeous legs, even though shorter than I remembered were familiar too. Lean and muscular, and now in flip flops she was at least six inches shorter than she appeared the other night when she wore those ridiculously high heels.
I pulled out my wallet, feeling the need to help her out. With a smile, I held up my milk to the cashier. “Add this in.” I handed over three fifties.
Disbelief spread across her face and then realization. She played it off though, acting as if she had no idea who I was which was adorable in itself.
Clearly embarrassed, she looked at me shaking her head no. “That is not necessary. I have money. I must have left it home.”
“And I didn’t leave my money at home, so don’t worry about it.”
“No, no.” She turned to the cashier, holding her hand up. “I’ll come back. Can you just hold this to the side?”