Maven shook her head, writing something in her phone before she tucked it away on a sigh. “Alright, well, you guys have fun.”
“You guys?” Carter asked, frowning.
“Ohhh, no. You’re coming, too,” Jaxson said, pointing at her.
“Me?” She laughed a little, like it was a joke, before her eyes scanned each of us. She swallowed when she looked at me, fidgeting with her hair as she shook her head again. “No, no, this is your night. I’d cramp your style.”
My chest tightened at that because I knew she wanted it to land lightly, but I also knew she actually thought that.
She didn’t think she belonged.
My jaw was a little tighter then, thinking about her douchebag ex-boyfriend and his family. He’d hurt her so bad she had a permanent belief about the people she perceived as “rich” and how they were as human beings.
Which meant she was looking around this locker room thinking there was no chance in hell she’d feel comfortable going out with us for a night.
“Come on,” I said, calling her attention back to me. I waited until her eyes met mine. “Twenty-four-seven access, right?”
I threw out the work line because it was an easy one to get away with, one I knew would make her reconsider simply because she cared about doing the job right.
It was also an easy way to cover the truth, which was that I wanted her to come.
And I didn’t want her going home without me.
“Yeah!” Carter agreed. “You’ve gotta come.”
“I’ll buy your drinks all night,” Jaxson chimed in.
“Don’t listen to these guys,” Will said, standing. “If you want to go home, go home. This motley crew will have you out until dawn if you let them.”
“Leave us alone, Grandpa,” Jaxson said, waving him off. He stood between Daddy P and Maven then to hammer his point home. “Don’t make us beg, Maven.”
“But we will,” I said. “If you want.”
The guys and I shared a look before I dropped to my knees, clasping my hands together with big puppy dog eyes.
“Oh, please, Maven! Please come celebrate with us!”
Jaxson and Carter dropped, too, and we chimed it over and over, like kids begging their mom for an ice cream cone.
Maven laughed, shaking her head before she held up her hands and said, “Alright, alright, alright.” We quieted at that last one. “I’ll come.”
Her eyes found mine when she said those last two words.
And I couldn’t help but lick my bottom lip, hoping for the chance to make that statement true.
I Am the Mayhem
Maven
The crowd was so thick outside of Boomer’s, I had a panic attack when the black car dropped us off.
I’d ridden with Vince, Jaxson, and Carter, and while all their eyes lit up with excitement at the multitude of people clamoring to party with them after their win, I’d shriveled into the corner of the car. I was cursing Livia under my breath for not agreeing to come out with us. She had clients early in the morning, so I understood, but I hated that I didn’t have her here.
It wasn’t that I had an issue with crowds. Hell, I’d been in one of thousands of people at the stadium without issue. But a sea of people clamoring to get a glimpse of who’s in this car, a sea of people who would be staring at me when I exited this thing?
My brow was sweating just thinking of it.
I was used to being behind the camera, and Vince must have picked up on that fact, because he frowned when he looked at me over his shoulder and saw what was no doubt my very hesitant expression.
“Hey,” he said. “Look at me.”
Screams ripped out when our car came to a stop, and security fought to keep people back, like the guys were rockstars instead of athletes. I supposed it was one and the same in this city.
A warm palm sliding over my knee called my attention away from the chaos, and I found Vince, his eyes set on mine as his hand squeezed.
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.