Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) (15 page)

“
You looking for somebody special?”
Marco set a fresh drink on the counter.

“
Nope. No one special, just a warm
body.”

Marco shook his head before turning to the
register.

“
Problem, Marco?” He snipped,
irritated at the bartender’s expression.

“
Not at all, boss. I just thought…
Never mind.”

“
If you’ve got something to say,
just say it.”
Why do I even care what Marco has to say?
Maybe because the guy always made sense. Even the drunkest idiots
came away wiser from a conversation with him.

Marco leaned his elbows on the bar. “I just thought
that maybe you’d got some sense at last.”

“
What the hell?”

“
That girl that was here with you
the other night. I thought she might be something new for you. She
wasn’t like these other chicks you end up walking out of here
with.”

No, she sure wasn’t.

All this thinking about Paige made Tyler’s head hurt
and his pants tight. He needed to stop this now before she worked
her way any deeper into his mind and his heart. No, not his heart.
Never his heart.

Ignoring Marco’s comment, he continued to scan the
room.
There has to be someone here worth taking home
.
Normally he’d jump at the chance for a busty blonde, but tonight
nothing was piquing his interest.

At a corner table there was a redhead making eyes at
him. The fabric of the dress barely held in her breasts, or maybe
they were just too large to be restrained.
Meh.

What was wrong with him? Normally he’d already be
over there giving her every reason why she should go home with him,
although he rarely ever had to go further than saying ‘because I’m
Tyler Kidd’. But his feet never moved from where he stood.

The music amplified and the lights dimmed as people
started to fill the bar.

“
A shot of tequila, please.” A
feminine voice broke his concentration, and he looked to see a
woman slide onto the seat next to him.

“
Coming up,” Marco mumbled, as he
poured the drink.

No one else in the room was measuring up to Paige,
but this girl had potential, maybe. She had blond hair to her
shoulders, and the stretchy skirt she wore barely covered her ass.
She downed the drink, slammed the shot glass back onto the bar and
turned to Tyler.

Uncrossing her legs she stood up, pressing her
breasts against his arm. “Tyler Kidd, are you here alone?” Her
finger poked into his chest, then slid down towards his belt
buckle.

He gulped down another shot. Maybe this wasn’t such a
good idea. It didn’t seem right, but if he wanted Paige out of his
mind, he knew it was the only choice. “I am.”

She slid her finger into his belt loop and pulled him
to the women’s bathroom. Once inside she locked the door behind
them. Kneeling on the ground she started to unbutton his pants. His
fingers dipped into her hair, hair he absently noted that was a few
shades lighter than Paige’s, and nowhere near as soft and
silky.

The girl’s nails scratched against his hips as she
pulled at his jeans. He didn’t even know her name and he didn’t
care.
All that matters is getting Paige out of my mind.
Then
why was he imagining the blond head at his crotch was Paige’s?

His mind spun and he grabbed the girl’s hands and
stilled them. She gazed up at him, one eyebrow raised in question.
He closed his eyes, hoping the images of Paige would disappear.
When he opened them, the girl was there, licking her lips
seductively. She was overdoing the whole routine in a way he knew
was calculated to turn him on. But instead, her look repulsed him.
Not because she wasn’t attractive. Because she wasn’t Paige.
Dammit.

Clearing his throat, he pulled on her hands to help
her stand. “Get up. This isn’t going to happen right now.”

The girl stood, and then rested her hands on his
chest. She tipped her face up, and whispered in his ear. “Let’s
take it out of here then.”

He took her hands off his chest. “We’re not doing
this. Sorry.”

“
What?” Wide-eyed, she took a step
back.

Damn. He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings. It wasn’t
her fault he couldn’t get into it.
What are you supposed to say
in a situation like this?
He shrugged. “It’s not you, it’s
me.”

“
What is this bullshit?” The girl
was sneering at him now.

He bent his head to button his pants back up. His
cock was only semi-hard now. He’d been hard and ready to go when he
was imagining Paige. But Paige wouldn’t kneel on the dirty floor of
a restroom to give a random guy a blow job. His jaw clenched at the
thought. And maybe he shouldn’t be the type of guy who got blown by
some random girl there. Before Gia, he wouldn’t have even
considered doing something like this. Why had he let himself turn
into such a sleaze? Paige deserved better than that.
Where did
that thought come from?
What the fuck was he thinking?

“
It’s all me.” He gave her a wry
smile and motioned to his crotch. “Too many shots.
Sorry.”

The girl’s eyes dropped to where his hard-on was now
non-existent. “Oh.” Her expression changed from indignation to
sympathetic understanding. “Maybe once you sober up a bit…?”

“
I don’t think so. Not tonight.”
Unlocking the door, he exited with her following close behind, and
found himself staring straight into the face of
her
.

Paige.

That’s when the cold beer hit him in the face.

CHAPTER 16

Paige couldn’t believe what she was staring at. Tyler
walking out of the women’s bathroom with that slut.
The women’s
bathroom?
I can’t believe him! What a pig!

Her brain screamed at her to look around to make sure
no one was snapping cell phone photos or videos, but her heart had
other ideas. Her face burned and her body went numb. Before common
sense could take over, she flung her beer in his face.

“
What the hell?” Tyler’s eyes went
wide and he stopped dead in his tracks, wiping his face.
“Paige!”

The blonde behind him smirked, as she took in his
dripping face. She stepped around him and bent to whisper in
Paige’s ear. “I’m sorry to tell you this, sweetie, but he’s had too
much to drink.” Paige frowned at her.
What the hell was she
talking about?

The blonde waggled her finger in Paige’s face. “He
couldn’t get it up. So if you were hoping for a turn, you’re going
to be disappointed.” The woman swept by and disappeared into the
crowd.

“
I don’t know what she said to you,
but nothing happened in there.”

Paige turned her eyes back to him, and to her
annoyance, he was standing still, hands shoved into his pockets,
smiling at her with beer still dripping from his chin.

The pig!
Her face burned, and she spun around,
finally checking to make sure no one was taking pictures. To her
surprise not one person was. She wanted to curse Tyler out, tell
him he couldn’t be so careless in public.

She’d been right when she decided to act like they
never happened. Caring about him in any way was only asking for
heartache. Tyler was a pig and he’d just proved it. There was no
proof that he remembered their night together. But even if he did,
that meant she was just another notch in his bedpost.

Oh hell, this is too much. I’m out of here
.
Spinning on her heels she headed toward the exit.

She’d gone two steps when a strong hand grabbed her
arm, and she was turned back around, almost crashing right into
Ty’s chest. “Don’t touch me, you—” She pushed back, but tottered on
her high heels, and his arms came around her, steadying her.

“
That’s not what you said last
night.”

Her breath caught.
He remembered? Oh hell.
She
lifted her eyes to his, and found them burning with want. “You
remember that?”

“
You honestly thought I’d forget?”
His sexy smirk made her heart flutter. He pressed himself, hard and
hot against her, and flames of desire surged through her. “Did that
girl tell you I couldn’t get it up?”

Paige nodded, knowing she needed to get out of his
arms and away from him, but her body refused to move.

He leaned closer, his breath fanning against her ear.
“The truth is I didn’t want to get it up for
her
.”

The pounding through her veins increased. His thick
erection was straining against her hip.
Did that mean? Oh God,
what did that mean?

She pulled away and looked up at him. He gave her a
sexy smile, and her breath caught in her throat. And then she
turned and raced towards the exit.

“
Paige, wait!” Rylee called from
behind her. “I can’t run in these heels. Slow down.”

At the exit, Rylee stumbled in her heels, grabbing on
to the doorway. “Damn heels.”

“
Sorry, Rylee. Are you okay?” Paige
couldn’t get the room to stop spinning. The noise clouded her
thinking and made her ears ring.

“
I’m fine, as long as my heel
didn’t break.” Rylee turned up her foot to check. “Nope. All
good.”

“
Great, let’s go.” Paige grabbed
her arm and pulled her out into the parking lot.

“
The real question is, are
you
okay?”

“
Not really. I don’t know what I’m
doing. I threw a beer in his face! Oh my God…” The hard brick of
the wall scratched her skin as she fell backwards against it.
Sliding to the ground, her body crumbled.

“
Look, I know this seems bad now.
Let’s get out of here. He was pretty drunk. Maybe he won’t remember
this in the morning.”

“
What a pig. I can’t believe him.”
Rylee took her arm, but her feet dragged on the way to the car. She
didn’t know why she cared so much. Why did it hurt seeing him with
that girl?

“
Paige, are you okay?”

“
I don’t know what I am. Why does
he affect me the way he does? It was a one night stand, so why
should I care who else he bangs?”

“
Or where. I mean in the ladies’
bathroom? Ew.” Rylee mumbled until she realized Paige was staring
at her. “Sorry.”

“
That girl he was with said nothing
happened, but whether it did or not shouldn’t matter.” Paige buried
her face in her hands. “What is wrong with me?”

“
Nothing is wrong with you. Girls
are emotional. We stake claim to things that we think are ours, and
girl—”

“
Don’t even say it!” Paige
interrupted her. “I’m not doing anything of the sort!”

“
You’re jealous.”

“
Oh my God, shut up Ry!” Paige
stared out the window. She was
not
jealous. Why would she
be?

“
You’ve heard about when he had his
meltdown, haven’t you?”

“
I’ve seen some stories on it. All
I know is the girl he was dating is now married to Renegade player
Patrick Dubois. There were a bunch of rumors that went along with
it, but you can’t tell what is true and what’s not. I just know he
used to be a very highly respected player and he went off the deep
end. Now he is just that, a player, and never sees the same girl
twice.”

“
Yeah, that’s it in a nutshell.
I’ve heard he’s simply trying to forget being betrayed.”

That made Paige’s heart ache.

“
Paige, how are you going to
explain throwing your beer in his face?”

“
Good question, Ry. Good
question.”

CHAPTER 17

Tyler sat in front of his locker watching the guys
leave the locker room. He showered and was half dressed, but not
much else. Ever since last night he had been in a funk. The fact
that he’d rejected that girl. And then Paige, throwing beer on him.
Why had she reacted like that?

“
You look like you need to talk.”
Kris sat down beside him on the bench.

“
No, I’m okay. You have a wife and
son waiting for you at home. Don’t let me keep you from
them.”

Kris had the perfect life, and he envied that. He had
the total package—a great career, a kind and beautiful wife and an
awesome kid. It was everything a guy could ask for, and nothing
Tyler ever expected he would have.

“
I’m in no hurry today. They’re out
shopping. So what’s got you in a daze? You were extra quiet at
practice today, and that’s not like you. Not even one little battle
with Pat.”

It was Paige. She was stuck in his brain. She invaded
every thought he had. He lay awake at night thinking about her.

“
So?”

Looking around, he made sure the locker room was now
empty. “There’s this girl.”

“
There’s always a girl.” Kris shook
his head with a smile.

“
No, really. This time it is just
this one. You know me; you know I haven’t been right since Gia
left. That broke me. That kind hearted, trust-everyone guy is
gone.”

“
I don’t believe that he’s
gone
. I just think it’s going to take the right girl to find
him again. He’s in there somewhere.” Kris took a deep breath.
“Remember what happened to me with Anna? Her cheating, lying? I
thought she’d ruined me, too. I went through some crazy times after
her. But then Kat came into my life, and I knew she was nothing
like Anna. I had to trust that.”

Ty knew about Kris’ ex, and how she’d hurt him with
the shit she’d pulled. She’d done far worse than Gia. Anna had even
tried to pass off another man’s baby as Kris’. That couldn’t have
been easy for him to get over, but Kris had found his perfect woman
in Kat. “You never stopped being a nice guy though. And this girl
doesn’t think I’m very nice.”