Shutout (Rules of the Game, #2)(77)
She freezes. I freeze. We gape at one another.
Obviously incriminating circumstances aside, I’m sure I look like I just got fucked. Thoroughly.
This is bad, isn’t it? On a scale of one to ten, how likely is this to make it back to my brother?
Siobhan recovers first. “Um, sorry. Dallas said there were more White Claws in the basement fridge. He’s still playing COD so I came down here to grab them. I didn’t realize you were down here.”
“Tyler and I were just… talking.” I jerk my thumb behind me to his room. “In there.”
A knowing smile forms on her lips. “Right. Talking.”
Evidently having heard our voices, Tyler steps through the doorway, and shock crosses his face. “Shiv.”
“Please don’t tell anyone,” I say.
She holds up her hand, pretending to shield her eyes. “I saw nothing. I know nothing.”
“Thanks Shiv,” we both say.
Overtime is crammed when we walk into the doors just past nine to meet the rest of the team for Tyler’s birthday. It’s been hard to look him in the eye without getting giddy. That he can rail me so thoroughly sometimes and be so adorable and gentle at others is a paradox that leaves me wondering in the best possible way. I never know what I’m going to get.
Though, even when he’s being dirty, he’s still sweet beneath it.
We grab empty seats at the table, placing me with Shiv and Bailey while the guys cluster together. Siobhan has been extra-nice to me all evening, probably compensating for one of the more embarrassing ways to get caught of all time.
My eyes land on the bar, and I spot Chloe standing at the register. I’d forgotten she got a new job waiting tables here. Too bad she’s working and can’t join us. I have no idea when she has the time to sleep.
When it looks like she’s got a free minute, I squeeze up to say hello. “Hey, how’s the new job going?”
Chloe’s face brightens. “Good. Much better than the old one. They don’t steal my tips, and they actually pay me on time. No flagrant human rights or health and safety violations, and no one has sexually harassed me so far. Massive upgrade.”
“That’s great,” I say. “When are you done? Any chance you can join us after?”
A few feet away, one of the side entrances opens. Reid appears in the doorway wearing a dark wool dress coat and a black scarf. He spots me and he offers me a friendly grin as he weaves past the tables to join the guys. Chloe falls unusually silent. Her green eyes track him until he disappears, then her attention returns to me.
“That’s Reid,” I tell her. “One of the guys on my brother’s team. He’s cute, hey?”
“Huh?” A dismissive wave shuts me down, and she makes a face. “No, no. I was just looking at him because he’s very…” Her gaze darts to our table again, where Reid is now sitting beside Tyler. “Tall.”
Chloe’s right: he is tall. He also happens to be panty-meltingly hot, and I suspect that’s the real draw.
“It’s okay to look, even if you don’t want to touch.”
She huffs. “I definitely don’t.”
Methinks she’s protesting too much, but I don’t want to push. I’m sure she has her reasons for being averse to dating, and I understand that. Plus, I don’t want to be nosy and overbearing like Abby. It’s better if you let people open up in their own time.
One of the other servers waves to Chloe as if to tell her to get back to work.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to keep you. If you want to join us on your break or after you’re finished for the night, come find me, okay?”
Chloe grabs her tray and tucks it under her arm, flashing me a smile. “I should get one in about an hour. I’ll try to come find you then.”
Starting for our table, I change my mind mid-step and take a detour to grab a drink first. The bar is crowded with people who have the same idea, forcing me to sidle down to the far end. I lean over the wooden counter, trying to get the bartender’s attention, but I’m invisible in a sea of forty other people waving fistfuls of cash.
“Sera.” A familiar male voice cuts in. “Thought I saw you there.”
Ambivalence grips me, and I glance over to see Rob giving me a friendly grin. When I look a little closer, he’s drunk. His eyes are glassy, his posture a little looser than normal. You wouldn’t know it at first glance; his designer dress shirt has a few buttons at the top undone and his clothes are still neatly pressed.
“Hey…” Abby and I still haven’t cleared the air since our falling out. Since I mostly see and speak to him in association to her, it’s more than a little awkward. Is she here too? I hope not.
He shoves his hands into his pants pockets, stepping closer. “Can we talk for a second?”
My phone vibrates in my purse, a reminder I need to get back to our table. But I don’t want to be rude, so I can make it quick. It’s probably about Abby, anyway. He’s played peacemaker with us before in the past when we’ve had fights. This isn’t an ordinary fight, though. No amount of mediating is going to make me less upset about how she’s been treating me. I’m fairly certain we’re on the cusp of a friendship breakup, or that it’s already happened.