Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (29 page)

When Johnny hesitated, Tess jumped in. “Can’t
you see they’re terrified of you? So
I’ll
say it. It’s the
best idea ever, and you’re a great friend to think of it. But I
need to think it through, like I told you.”

“Fine.” Her gray eyes twinkled. “How about
Bambi for a nickname? Or Bammette? That’s even cuter and it still
sounds like Bam.”

“Wow,” Tess murmured to Sean, “no wonder you
guys are afraid to cross her.”

“Yeah, she’s brutal,” he said with a chuckle.
“So let’s dance instead.”

• • •

Erica sighed as they watched Sean lead Tess
away, pull her close, and then move gently to the music. He seemed
completely wowed, while Tess had traded her bravado for a shy
smile.

“Look at them,” she murmured.

“Yeah,” Bam agreed. “Are we
sure
he’s
not banging her?”

“Geezus, Bam,” Johnny complained, but Erica
knew he was struggling not to laugh.

Bam grinned. “So get this. Remember how Deck
used to cuss me out whenever I harassed him? Always telling me to
fuck off? He hasn’t done that for weeks. No matter how hard I
try.”

“I can top that,” Erica told them, arching an
eyebrow for emphasis. “He hasn’t kissed me on the mouth in
weeks.”

Johnny’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

“Didn’t you notice?”

“I try not to look when they molest you,” he
drawled. Then his mood softened. “So what are you guys saying? It’s
because of Tess? Or because he dodged a bullet with Kerrie?”

“Does it matter?” Bam asked. “But I’m giving
Bammie credit ’cause she rocks.”

“It matters,” Johnny began, then he chuckled.
“Bammie? I like that one. But she said no nicknames, so give her a
break.”

Erica leaned toward them. “Do you want to
know what I think?”

“We already know,” her husband assured her.
“You think they’re soul mates.”

“Yeah, beautiful. You’re an open book,” Bam
agreed. Then his attention zoomed back to the dance floor. “Here’s
my shot with her. Wish me luck.”

• • •

“Are you sure you want to stick around?” Sean
asked as the music ended. “We could sneak out through the bar, you
know.”

“Don’t tempt me.” She smiled up at him.
“Thanks for running interference with Erica. I’m so conflicted
about that job offer. About everything,” she admitted. “Except
this
. I love dancing with you, Romeo.”

He seemed ready to say something romantic,
then just scowled. “Oh, fine.”

Turning, she saw Bannerman descending on them
like a Norse warrior. “Yum.”

Sean chuckled. “So much for running
interference. Just signal me if he gets on your nerves.”

She smiled as he gave his teammate a warning
look. Then the two hunks traded places.

“Hey, Bammie,” her new partner said
seductively. “You and Deck look awesome together. Nice work.”

“Pardon?”

He maneuvered her expertly through a modified
rumba beat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Did you just call me Bammie?”

“We’ll get to that,” he promised. “But first,
Deck says you guys still won’t come to the Giants game. Even though
you’re buffing now. What’s that about?”

“Is this part of the apology?”

He grinned. “Be a sport, Bammie. You’ll be
giving it up by then anyway. You dig him, don’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I like him. And he
likes me. Unfortunately, he likes
every
girl. And he just
came off a bad breakup. So I’m taking it slow. Protecting myself.
End of story.”

To her surprise, he nodded. “Yeah, a girl’s
gotta protect herself. No argument there. So just fly in on game
day. No beds involved.”

“Except I want him to go to the dinner on
Friday. That’s the beauty of all this, isn’t it?” she reminded him.
“He couldn’t hang out with you guys for so long. You missed him.
He
missed
you.
Now the group’s back together. It’s
huge.”

“True.”

“But if I’m not flying down until Saturday,
he’ll wait for me. Then
I’ll
be the girl keeping him from
his friends. Kerrie 2.0.”

She hadn’t noticed Sean approaching until his
arm slipped protectively around her waist and he eyed Bannerman in
annoyance. “If you’re bugging her about the Giants game —”

“He’s not,” Tess said quickly. “We’re
brainstorming nicknames for Erica.”

“Can’t we do that at the table?”

“In front of Big John?” she asked with
widened eyes. “Bam’s afraid of him, poor baby.”

Sean grinned at the halfback. “Get lost.”

Bam flashed a warm smile. “Take care of that
heart, Bammie.”

“I will,” she agreed, touched by the concern.
“Thanks.”

When he walked away, Sean studied Tess’s
expression. “What was that about?”

“Nothing, I promise.” Her fingertip grazed
his cheek. “Go back to the table. I need a quick trip to the
ladies’.”

“Sure.” Catching her hand, he murmured, “Your
heart’s safe with me, you know.”

She nodded as she tousled his hair with her
fingertips. “I’ve never felt safer, and that’s a fact.”

“Okay, then.” He flashed a cocky grin. “Hurry
back.”

• • •

When Tess exited the restroom her head was
still spinning.

Sean’s friends meant well but they were
relentless. And for some reason, she kept encouraging them. It was
just like Zone D, where she juggled the various egos, teased them
to go just a bit further, and kept all the orders straight, loving
every minute of it.

The difference? At Zone D her shift ended at
some point. Here? It just kept coming. Because these were actual
friendships, and her emotional investment grew stronger by the
second, especially with Erica and Sean.

Meanwhile, Johnny meant the world to her with
his heroic attitude. And Bam? Such a sweetheart.

She needed a few more minutes so she detoured
to the glitzy bar and was shocked anew by the lack of patrons. Not
just calm but dead calm.

And so cold despite the dazzling artistry and
amazing technological goodies, including three state-of-the-art big
screens. Unfortunately, all three carried the same feed, in this
case, analysts jawing on ESPN.

Such a mistake. There was
always
a
game on. Or at least competing news stories. Anything but monotony
in a sports bar. Assuming this
was
a sports bar.

It seemed more like a ritzy resort where
billionaire recluses checked their email and smoothly propositioned
the cocktail waitresses. Except this was supposedly a family place,
and Gusty’s claim to fame was football, so what the heck?

“You’re Tess, right?” came a cheerful voice.
“What do you think of it?”

She turned to her blustery host. “It’s
gorgeous.”

“Thanks.” His chest swelled with pride. “I
always wanted my own place. With a bar just like this. So I spared
no expense, and yeah. It’s a beauty.”

“I love it,” she agreed. “It must really rock
when there’s a game on.”

“Wait until football season starts,” he
agreed.

She eyed the two male bartenders in their
starched shirts and off-putting bow ties. Not a hint of jock to
them, although they were attractive in an uptight way. “Have you
thought about hiring some female bartenders? Just to shake things
up?”

“I’m going for a classy vibe,” he assured
her.

She winced. “I just thought it might add some
pizzazz.”

“I’m selling drinks, not sex. It’s a family
place. And I have a reputation to protect.”

“Wow.”

Before she could register her displeasure,
Sean ambled up to them. “Hey, Gusty. Is she giving you professional
advice?”

“Huh?”

“Tess is a bartender. Didn’t she tell
you?”

Gusty blanched. “Oh, man. I’m sorry, Tess. No
insult intended.”

“Not at all,” she assured him.

But Sean had caught their drift and demanded,
“What insult?”

Before Gusty could incriminate himself, Tess
said with a smile, “Every time I walk into a bar I get ID’d. So
don’t blame Gusty.”

“You carded my girlfriend?” Sean asked,
incredulous.

“It’s his job,” Tess said lightly. “I do it
all the time myself. Nothing personal, right, Gusty?”

The poor man grimaced. “Me and my big mouth.
And just when I’m trying to make a good impression. Sorry,
Decker.”

Sean shrugged, then nudged Tess back toward
the dining room. “Come on, babe.”

She sighed, surprised that something like
this bothered him so much. She could just imagine how pissed he’d
be if he knew what Gusty
really
said.

When they rejoined their friends, Sean
surprised her again, this time by sharing the grudge, telling his
friends, “Gusterson just checked Tess’s ID.”

Johnny’s blue eyes flashed. “What the
hell?”

“It’s the law,” Tess told them nervously. “So
don’t blame Gusty. Blame my dewy complexion.”

Bam’s expression darkened. “He thinks we’d
bring an underage chick in here? Or touch one for that matter?”

“Oh, God, no. Not under eighteen. Just under
twenty-one.
Sheesh.”
She tried to laugh. “You guys are
overreacting.”

“We’re outta here,” Johnny muttered,
signaling for the waitress, who ran right over. “Check,
please.”

She beamed. “It’s on the house, sir. Courtesy
of Mr. Gusterson.”

The QB handed her his credit card. “Put it on
this. Every penny. And thanks for the great service.”

The poor woman caught the murderous vibe so
she took the card, thanked him, and rushed away.

“Can’t you guys let it go?” Tess pleaded.

Bam touched her hand. “It’s not about you,
Bammie. It’s about Deck. So just let us handle it.”

“Oh, Lord.” She thought about telling them
the truth, just to change the narrative, but they’d probably get
even angrier. And she herself was still upset by the “drinks, not
sex” comment, although Gusty was in good company with that one.
Hadn’t her own father disparaged her career? And Coach Pop had said
it wasn’t a fit environment for a female, although hopefully not
the way Gusty meant it.

“Bam’s right, Tess,” Sean told her. “It’s a
guy thing.”

The waitress returned with Johnny’s card and
receipt, so he signed with a flourish then slapped a hefty pile of
twenties into the case, saying, “No reflection on you, miss. Thanks
again.”

• • •

For once, the parking lot didn’t bring out
the Romeo in Sean, who opened her door, handed her gently inside,
then stormed to his own side. When he was in his seat he murmured,
“Sorry, Tess. The guy’s just a jerk.”

“Opening a new business is stressful, Sean.
I’ve been there with Ed. People make mistakes.”

He shrugged.

“I can’t believe you guys went all Triple
Threat on his ass.”

“Yeah, that part was fun.”

She smiled in relief. It didn’t help poor
Gusty but it definitely lightened the mood for the upcoming kiss.
Leaning back in her seat, she remembered his hand under her tube
top and sighed blissfully.

He must have been having the same thought
because he pulled into the ten-minute parking lot at the hotel,
came around to open her door, and handed her out and straight into
a smoking-hot kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed
him just as wildly, expecting him to take it further, but he
stopped abruptly and asked, “Would you rather do something else
tomorrow night? Skip
Star Trek
and hang out at the taco
place? Or have some time to yourself?”

Calming herself, she asked softly, “Where’s
that
coming from?”

“You’re getting pressure from every side.
Murf, your bosses, me. And now Erica, even though she means well.
And Bannerman’s obviously a terrorist. So just let me know,
okay?”

“I will.” She touched his face. “The movie
sounds like fun for tomorrow. But we haven’t made plans for
Saturday, and hanging out sounds good. Something simple.”

“I thought we could hunt for arrowheads.”

“I
love
that. And I’ll cook for us if
you don’t mind me despoiling your beautiful kitchen.”

“It’s about time it was despoiled.”

She eyed him teasingly. “Do you still want me
to wear this top tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it might come in handy.”

She giggled. “Smooth. So? I’d better get
upstairs.”

“Come on. I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

• • •

Sean had expressed a yen for spaghetti, so
she brought enough ingredients for a good-sized meal and leftovers
on Saturday at noon. As she browned the meatballs in oil and
garlic, he sat in the next room and read the Noah pages, since he
had offered to give an honest opinion. Once the sauce ingredients
had been added to the pot and all was simmering, they started out
for their adventure, but not before he handed her a shoe box with a
bow on top.

“What’s this?” She opened it to find a pair
of women’s X-Caliber walking shoes. Just her size in Lancer blue.
“Wow.”

“Your own X-Cals,” he confirmed cheerfully.
“We can bring your old shoes too in case these don’t fit.”

“I’ll
make
them fit.” Setting aside
the box, she perched on the arm of the sofa and donned the new
shoes, which were surprisingly cushy. Then she stood and gave Sean
a peck on the cheek. “Best gift ever.”

Heading out hand in hand, they crossed the
green field and found the trail into the woods that Sean predicted
would lead them to treasure. She wondered if he was stalling about
the Noah article, but as soon as they descended the steepest part
of the bank and were traipsing along, he began his critique.

“I know you wanted to clear the guy’s name,
but you did the next best thing. Because he sounds like just what
he is—a decent guy who made a mistake, paid for it, and moved on.
Maybe not Porsche material, but he’s a good football player, and
that’s what he’s paid to be. And if he’s underpaid, this will help
Murf get him a better deal.”