Page 2 of Curve Ball (The San Jose Coyotes #2)
GAEL
FOUR MONTHS LATER
W ake up, train, go home, and rot. Rinse and fucking repeat.
This is my life. Currently, I’m sitting on my couch, with the TV on, just to drown out the silence.
It’s almost ten, and I should be out, enjoying myself, letting loose, and coming home with a pretty girl to blow off the steam with after a hard training week.
Fucking nope.
I’m just the dumbass that’s letting someone who never deserved me ruin my life.
My phone sits on my lap and Santiago’s Instagram is open and a picture of him holding Natalia in his arms fills the screen.
Since we split up, they’ve gone public, and it’s been fucking killing me.
The only thing keeping me from losing it is the fact that he hasn’t married her and she isn’t pregnant.
That would have ended me.
It would have solidified this idea in my head that it really was all my fault.
A notification for the group chat with the guys goes off and I look down.
Kai
So I’ve got to head into Oakland to get my stepsister. She’s at a bachelorette party at Continental. Anyone want to come with?
You know what? Fuck it. I need to get out of this house.
Gael
I’m down.
Andres
For sure.
Jackson
Well, if Dre is going, I guess I am too.
Kai
I’ll be downstairs in ten.
I haul my ass off the couch and head to my closet, grabbing a black pair of slacks, a black button-down shirt and my all-black Vans. Checking myself in the mirror, I give myself a little pep talk. “You’ve got this. You’re a badass motherfucker who can pull any woman he wants.”
Okay, lying to myself maybe isn’t the way to go, but fuck. Let’s see if I still have it.
Locking up the apartment, I head down the hall, and just as I pass Kai’s door, he comes out.
“Papi Gael is BACK!” He nudges me with his shoulder as I pass. “We’re so gonna get you laid tonight.”
“Is that so?” I raise my eyebrow and chuckle. “That’s a lot of confidence coming from a guy that’s on a dry spell himself.”
“I’m not on a dry spell. I’ve just decided that there is only one person I want to fuck and let me tell you, G. I think it’s gonna happen tonight.” We get to the elevator and I hit the garage button, and the doors close, the lift heading down .
“Oh?” I ask, looking at our reflection in the mirrored doors.
“She’s single, G. They broke up.”
Oh, fuck. He’s gonna go for it.
“I can’t let her slip away again. I—I love her, Gael.”
I nod. I know he does. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who is so much in love, so devoted to a single person.
I don’t even think my mom has that kind of love from my dad, and they have been together since they were kids.
The way Kai loves Isla is otherworldly, like he knows she is the only one for him.
I want a love like that.
“Do it. Tell her.” The lift stops at the second floor and the doors open. Jackson and Andres get in, looking like they’re ready for a wild night.
A wild night of flirting with women, then coming home to fuck each other.
They are the openly bi “couple but not a couple” on the team.
The rest of us have a bet going on about which one of them gets into a relationship with a woman first and how long it takes for the other to sabotage it so they can be together.
My money is on Andres getting the girl and Jackson destroying everything.
I give it a week tops.
“Dammmmmnn, look at you!” Andres whistles. “You look good when you decide to wear something other than sweatpants.”
“Que se jodan. Tu hermana me dice que todo me queda bien.”
“Don’t talk about my baby sister like that.” Andres snaps, letting out a breath and I silently chuckle as I watch him ball his hand into a fist, then release it.
His twenty-year-old sister comments on my IG pictures religiously, telling me how good I look and all the things she would do to me. Not that I’m interested in her, but man, it makes for a lot of fucking with him.
“Come on, Dre. You don’t want me as a brother-in-law?” Jackson preemptively moves in between Andres and me, thinking his body would stop the fight. “I’d be so good to her.”
“I’m going to pretend like you aren’t talking about subtly deflowering my sister in front of me. You’re going through a tough time and you’re lashing out.” He moves Jackson out of the way and holds open his arms. “Do you need a hug, G? You wanna hug it out?”
I hold up my middle finger and push him back playfully. “Fuck off. I’m fine.”
All three of them go, “Oooh.”
“What?” I ask, looking at them as the elevator dings and the doors open to the garage. “It’s true. It’s taking me a minute to get back on my feet, but I’m going out, aren’t I?”
“That’s right and we’re gonna find you someone to bring home, and what do they say? Get back in the saddle?” Jackson chuckles. Andres rolls his eyes and Kai just shakes his head, laughing. We pile into Kai’s SUV and head out of the parking garage and hit the freeway toward Oakland.
Continental is packed as fuck tonight. Not only is the whole bachelorette group that Kai’s stepsister is a part of here, but it’s just busy anyway.
I stick to the outside of the dance floor and near the main bar, just people-watching, mostly.
Kai is busy with Isla, and I swear to God the sexual tension between the two of them is as tight as a rubber band.
They need to just let go of whatever the hang-ups are and just fuck.
Jackson and Andres have some blond chick between them on the dance floor, but with the way they are eye-fucking each other, it’s like she’s just there to fill a void.
On my right, someone bumps into me, and the contents of my glass splash over the rim and onto my shirt.
“Hey! Watch it.” I shout over the bump of the bass, the ice-cold liquid trickling down my chest.
I reach for a few napkins and unbutton a few more buttons and start dabbing at my chest. That’s when I feel like I’m being watched.
Flicking my gaze up, I catch the prettiest pair of hazel eyes that I’ve ever seen.
Her lips part and her tongue wets her bottom lip as I dab at my chest. I sneak a peek at the rest of her while she’s busy watching me clean myself up.
At least five-eight, but then I see she’s in heels…
maybe three or four inches, so more like five-five.
Long black hair, with some wave to it, and she’s got curves for days.
I pause as my eyes trail down and see the curve of her hips, thick thighs, and what looks like a perfect ass.
Such a pretty face too. Fuck.
Gracias, Dios.
“Don’t stop on my account,” she smirks. “I’m really enjoying you cleaning yourself up.”
“The first show’s free, Mama. The second imma need something from you in return.”
“Whatever you want, Papi.”
“How about your number?” I notice she has a hashtag on her sash for the bachelorette party, so I make a note of it.
“Mmm, I dunno.” She leans into me a little and she smells like heaven. Citrusy and notes of something soft, like a flower. It's gonna drive me insane. “I don’t make a habit of giving my number out to random men at the club.”
“Come on, Mama. Would it make you feel better if I told you my name?” I run my finger from her elbow up to her shoulder, goosebumps appearing as I go. “Then I wouldn’t be some random guy. ”
“Adri—” She whips her head around and a redhead grabs hold of her arm. “Come with me to the bathroom.”
“Adri? That’s your name?” I ask, side-eyeing the cockblocking friend. “I’m Gael.”
“It’s Adri—” and her friend drags her by the arm before she can finish.
Fuck!
When she gets out of the bathroom, I’m getting her number. Something about her definitely has my interest piqued. Even if it’s just for a good fuck. Mama looks like she’d be a wild ride.
Just thinking about her riding me has me semi-hard.
I wait at the bar, hoping that she comes back over, but after ten minutes, I feel like I’ve lost my shot.
Pulling out my phone, I open Instagram and type in the hashtag and find a bunch of pictures already posted.
She’s in a bunch of pictures Isla posted and I put two and two together that they’re friends.
Well, maybe I haven’t lost my chance.
I click her profile and resist the urge to hit the follow button. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Scrolling through all the pictures of her with Isla and other friends, her in bikinis at the beach, and photos of her with her family in Mexico.
I need to know more about this woman.
Just as I’m about to set out and find her, a text comes through.
Kai
Got Isla, we need to leave. Meet out front.
?Hijo de puta!