Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (25 page)

And he had a reputation as a jokester, which
would be fun. Plus, he was engaged to Rachel, who was in turn
adored by the McSpurlings and Sean. All in all, he sounded like
perfect new-acquaintance material.

She expected Johnny to answer the door but it
was Sean, prompting a surge of lust when he stepped up to her and
took her hand, his green eyes blazing as he said, “Hey, babe.
Thanks for coming.”

“Hi,” she stammered, confused that she
already saw him in a new light. As her boyfriend. Which meant she
could kiss him hello, couldn’t she? Except
he
didn’t know he
was her boyfriend. So she ended up gulping for air, then saying,
“You look good.”

“Me?” Something flickered in his expression.
“You look good too.”

She had chosen tight, faded jeans and a
scoop-neck Lancers tee of blue, black and white as her casual
buffer-girl outfit along with white tennies and a ponytail.
Probably a ten on Erica’s cuteness scale, and given how happy she
felt, maybe even an eleven.

“Bannerman’s in rare form, so brace yourself.
I told him we’re just friends, but God knows what he’ll say.”

“I won’t hold it against you,” she promised,
trying for a light laugh that ended up sounding like a giggle.

Sean seemed mystified. “Are we okay?”

“We’re great.”

A loud voice boomed from the living area. “Is
she here or not?”

Sean scowled. “He’s such an animal.
Ready?”

When she nodded, he took her by the elbow and
escorted her into the living room, where Johnny stood up from his
leather chair and Erica waved from her own perch on the chair’s
arm. But none of that really mattered, because the guest of honor
loomed so large, so magnificently raw and sexy, Tess only had eyes
for him.

“Get over here,” Vince Bannerman said
cheerfully.

Tess shot Erica a look of pretend panic. “Why
didn’t you warn me? Because
yowza
.
”

Erica laughed. “I guess I’m used to it.”

“What the hell does
that
mean?” Johnny
asked, his tone joking but his eyes narrowed.

“Don’t worry,” Tess told him. “You’ll always
be my favorite. But still . . .” She walked closer to Bam and
said admiringly, “Holy crap.”

The halfback grinned as if knowing what a
wild impression he made with his long, sun-streaked hair, ice-blue
eyes, and rugged face. And the body! He could stunt double for
Thor, no doubt about it. Even in baggy cargo shorts and a
sleeveless shirt boasting a Harley logo, he was a freaking
warrior.

“Let’s have a look at you,” he told her,
motioning for her to turn around.

“You first,” she quipped.

“Hey, I’ll
strip
if you want,” he
assured her. “Erica? Cover your eyes.”

“Enough,” Erica said with a laugh. “Tess,
don’t encourage him. Go sit next to Sean.”

“I’m not done with her,” Bam complained, his
eyes twinkling. “So you’re Tess, huh? Do you have a nickname?”

“No. Just Tess.”

“We’ll fix that. Are you really a
barmaid?”

“Yep. Can I get you something?”

He chuckled, then told Sean, “Bad news, dude.
She’s out of your league.” Then he told Tess, “You’re too hot for
him. You know that, don’t you?”

“It’s moot because my heart belongs to Big
John.”

“Oh, my God,” Erica complained, lunging over
to them. “You’re
both
so obnoxious. Bam, sit down. Tess, sit
with Sean.”

“Can I interest you in a dirty martini?” Tess
asked her playfully. “I’m getting Mr. Bannerman a beer. Right,
sir?”

Bam’s expression warmed. “Sounds good. But
you don’t need to wait on me.”

“I want to. Please?” Turning to Johnny, she
asked, “Beer for you, too?”

“Sounds good.”

Erica waved a hand at her. “It’s too early
for a martini. But there’s white wine if you don’t mind.”

“Coming right up. Sean?”

“I’ll help you,” he said, his eyes filled
with questions as he took her arm and led her to the bar.

“I’m fine,” she told him under her
breath.

“Yeah, I should have known you could handle
him.”

“Well, I had
you
here for backup,
didn’t I? Plus, he’s funny.”

“Yeah, he’s a riot,” Sean drawled. “Are you
having a drink too? Or just root beer?”

“You know me pretty well,” she murmured, then
she laughed at the husky tone in her voice. “Go sit down before
they get suspicious.”

“Yeah, I’m getting suspicious myself.”

“Me too.”

He exhaled sharply, then said, “There’s food
on the way. Barbecue and potato salad. And green salad too even
though Bam claims he’s allergic to it.”

“So am I.”

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling. “I never noticed
the resemblance until today. But John caught it from the
start.”

She beamed, then shooed him away, poured the
drinks, and brought them to the group, serving Erica first, then
Johnny, then Bam, who said, “Sit with me, babe. I’ve got some
questions for you.”

“I don’t trust myself so close to you,” Tess
told him with a teasing smile. “Sean? Do you mind if I join
you?”

“I saved you a seat,” he agreed, patting the
empty spot next to him on the sofa.

When they were all seated, Erica tried to
restore sanity by saying, “We’re so sorry Rachel couldn’t be here.
It’s been weeks since we’ve seen her.”

“Yeah,” Bam said wistfully. “She’s tied up
with summer school for another month, then she’s all mine.” To
Tess, he added, “Rachel’s my fiancée.”

“She must be made of stone. If I were engaged
to you I’d be in that lap twenty-four seven.”

Bam roared, and even Johnny and Sean laughed.
But Erica wasn’t amused. “Johnny, make Tess stop it.”

“Why? She’s out-bamming Bam. Tell him the
Gator Guy story, Tess.”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard that one either,” Sean
reminded her.

“Sorry, I never tell the same story
twice.”

Erica laughed. “That’s because you make them
all up and you lose track of the details.”

“I’ll do it,” Johnny interrupted her. Then he
proceeded to tell a hilarious version of the date turned wrestling
match. He ended with an apologetic grin toward Sean. “Sorry,
bro.”

Sean chuckled. “He’s better than the French
dude.”

“Yeah,” Bam asked Tess. “Did you really give
it up to a guy in a beret?”

“I’m all about international relations. Ask
anyone.”

His ice-blue eyes sparkled. “I want to hear
how you got roped into bartending. In Hawaii, right? Do you
surf?”

“I’m afraid of sharks so I never go in the
ocean. But I build a mean sandcastle.”

He eyed her skeptically. “Are there sharks in
Hawaii?”

“She’s just joking,” Erica said fondly. Then
she told Tess, “I want to know about the bartending too. So does
Johnny.”

“Well, whatever Big John wants,” she said
with a wink. Then she gave them a quick rundown on her career
trajectory. How she started off as a waitress in a fancy resort
where the tips were amazing. But over time, she noticed the
cocktail waitresses raking in a lot more, and the high-class
bartenders
really
cleaning up. Not that she could handle
that particular bar’s clientele, because unlike the restaurant,
which catered to couples and families, the bar attracted wealthy
guys who were either on the prowl or looking for somewhere to check
their business email in relative quiet. And so they hired
good-looking men in their late twenties who wore black pants,
pleated dress shirts and black bow ties and knew how to be discreet
and professional. And even though there was always a game on one of
the big screens, the stock market on a second screen drew just as
much attention.

“I knew I couldn’t cut it, but I wanted those
tips, so I asked around my dorm. There was a group of guys who
watched games in the rec room day and night, and they turned me on
to their favorite sports bar in Waikiki. It was
perfect
.
Mostly college kids and rabid sports fans. The owner resisted since
I was young and inexperienced and he was sure I couldn’t handle it,
but he finally let me try out some dead shifts when no games were
scheduled. I had already been studying up on how to mix great
cocktails, so he had nothing to lose really.”

“How old were you?” Johnny demanded. “How
could they let you serve drinks? Even during a dead shift?”

“A nineteen-year-old can tend bar in Hawaii,
although ironically you have to be twenty-one to actually
drink
at the bar. Anyway,” she added proudly, “it worked out
amazingly well. We’d watch old Super Bowl re-runs and I’d let the
customers do the play-by-play with the sound off. Plus, they loved
arm wrestling under my supervision. Eventually the owner moved me
to weekends and
Monday Night Football.”

Realizing how nostalgic she sounded, she
cleared her throat. “By the time I graduated I had paid off
all
my student debt thanks to that job.”

“You make that much money?” Erica asked in
surprise.

Tess nodded. “If I didn’t spend it on trips
to Hawaii every couple of months, I’d have a down payment on a
house by now. But it’s money well spent.”

“Even though you won’t go in the ocean?” Bam
asked in pretend disgust. “Do you wear bikinis at least? Otherwise
it’s a waste of a hot bod.”

“That’s so sweet,” she teased him.

“There’s plenty more where that came
from.”

“I’m counting on it.” She sighed. “Tell
me
some stories now. About the new coach. Everyone says he’s
mean.”

“Yeah, I thought my
mom
was a
hard-ass,” Bam joked, “but this guy’s worse.”

Sean explained to Tess, “Riga won’t laugh at
Bam’s jokes.”

The halfback nodded. “I’m using my best
material on the guy but so far, nothing.”

“I’ll bet he’s secret laughing,” Tess said
solemnly. “How could he not?”

Johnny had been quiet, but now told Bam, “All
joking aside, you need to settle down once training camp starts or
you might actually piss him off.”

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t have a
sense of humor,” Tess objected. “And you guys are the Super Bowl
champs. Riga needs to get with the program.”

“He
is
the program,” Johnny corrected
her. “And because of him, we’re gonna crush it again this year.
Tell her, Deck.”

“It’s true,” Sean said, inching closer. “Two
in a row is harder than it sounds.”

“I agree,” Bam said unexpectedly. “We did it
once
without
a good coach because we had the big dog drawing
up dynamite plays. Imagine what we can do in a functional
organization.”

“The big dog?” Tess beamed at Johnny. “That’s
almost as good as Big John.”

“Not even close,” he assured her.

At that moment the doorbell rang, announcing
the arrival of food, and for the next hour they ate and joked
around. Bannerman told hilarious stories about Daniel Riga’s
frustrated attempts to make him “wise up,” while Erica shared her
also-hilarious woes about her little brother’s sex life.

Thoroughly entertained, Tess still yearned
for the moment when Sean would walk her to the RAV4 and kiss her.
She would suggest they go for ice cream, then hit him with the
buffer proposition. And from the way he was responding to her
now—his arm casually but protectively stretched across the back of
the sofa, his warm laugh filling her ears whenever she made a
stupid joke—she knew he would love the idea.

Lots more kissing but still zero
pressure.

He had discovered the key to their
relationship. And thank God he had shared it with Darcie so
she
could share it with Tess.

“This is so much fun,” Erica said suddenly.
“We need to do it again when Rachel moves here.”

Bam’s blue eyes flashed. “We talked about
catching the Giants one more time, right? How about we all meet in
the city for their next Saturday game? Me and the teach will fly up
Friday night, Deck can treat us all to dinner, then we’ll hunker
down in some fancy hotel until the game. Murf can score a suite at
the ballpark, right?”

“That sounds like so much fun!” Erica
exclaimed, adding happily to Tess, “You’ll
love
Rachel. And
vice versa, of course.”

Blindsided, Tess searched for the right words
to remind them she wasn’t ready to “hunker down” with Sean, fancy
hotel or not.

So much for zero pressure.

Luckily, Sean stepped up, reminding Bam,
“Tess and I are just friends, remember? So that’s not gonna work
for us. But the four of you should go, no problem.”

“The whole point is for Tess to meet Rachel,”
Erica reminded him.

“Yeah, and who said she needs to sleep in
your
room?” Bam drawled. “Like I said, she’s too hot for you
anyway. So we’ll book her a separate room. Problem solved.”

Tess tried not to react, much less overreact.
Surely Sean would field this one too. Because an overnight was
still
too much pressure, too soon, on a relationship that
barely existed.

It didn’t surprise her when Erica said, “It’s
the perfect solution. Right, Tess?”

But it broke her heart, just a little, when
Johnny agreed, saying, “It’s just like our dinner at the Firelight,
right? Good friends hanging out. Only this time, six of us instead
of four.”

Except it’s overnight. And hundreds of miles
from home. And the other two couples are sleeping together.

Johnny had been so adamant that Sean wasn’t
ready. And so protective of Tess because of it. But like Erica and
Bam, he couldn’t resist getting “Deck” laid, especially when the
object of the laying wasn’t a head case.

Even before Sean spoke, she knew he would
cave too. Who could blame him? He wanted to spend the night
together. Worse,
she
wanted to spend the night together.
Wasn’t that the issue?

And so when he said, “What do you think,
Tess?” she was ready.