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BODHI

Black or dark gray?

They’re similar but different.

Ah, fuck it. Black it is.

Full of dread, I get ready for Cal and Kodi’s housewarming party. I’m not dreading it because it’s their party, I’m actually looking forward to it.

What I am dreading is meeting the fabled Poppy.

I know nothing about the woman other than she decorated the inside of Cal and Kodi’s home, and Kodi seems to be fond of her.

That could mean anything coming from her—Kodi’s a magic eight ball—you never know what you’re gonna get.

I agreed to this date for Cal.

He’s been insistent that I meet her, and to me, this felt like a secure way of making sure the question marks around my behavior with Navy the other night have vanished from his thoughts.

At least I hope so.

He’d kill me if he knew why I truly reacted the way I did to her outfit.

My phone beeps, signaling a text.

Gus: Let’s roll out .

Bodhi: Give me a sec.

Gus: Hurry up. King is worried about the icing on his cake melting. I can’t handle his whining for much longer.

Bodhi: Omw down.

I take one last look in the mirror and decide this is as good as it’s gonna get. I look tired and stressed. I am, but I refuse to ruin this night for my boy.

I can make tonight a good one.

After brushing my teeth and spritzing on some cologne, I head downstairs to load up in Mack’s car quicker than I would usually move.

Wouldn’t want King’s cake to melt.

“Let’s party up,” Gus chants from the backseat.

Sure, sounds fun.

* * *

“So how long have you been playing for the Strikers?”

“Oh. About six years. Since I was drafted.”

“Wow, what an accomplishment.”

Is it, though?

I met Poppy. Cal was correct about one thing: she’s a knockout. But it’s gonna be a no for me, dawg. I’m not interested.

She seems very nice, but not my type.

What is my type? Oh, I know…tall, redheaded, legs for days, and a vibrant personality to match.

“Thanks,” I tell her. I can’t carry a conversation for shit and I won’t pretend to. However, she’s interesting enough to talk to, so I’ll entertain her for the night.

Isn’t that what every woman wants to hear? She’s interesting enough.

I need to take a little breather. “Can I get you another drink?” I ask Poppy.

“Sure. Thank you, Bodhi.” She smiles lightly and follows me toward the nearest bar.

She’s not shy, that’s for sure. I expected her to hang back while I topped off her drink,

I order her a margarita and keep the lukewarm beer I have for myself.

Margarita. Not a whiskey sour in sight.

It’s as if I’m unable to move on from Navy. I don’t know if I’m not allowing myself to or if my feelings for her are much deeper than I realized. All I know is I can’t get her out of my head. Her raspy chuckle is a sound I crave on days my body fights to get out of bed. Her voice is a motivator.

It’s also the sound I hear distinctly right now.

Like a fucking melody. She’s intoxicating.

That memorable laugh has nothing on the vision across the room, though.

Have mercy…God did her a solid.

If I wasn’t already down bad, I am now.

Lime green must be the color of the season because Navy seems to have a wardrobe full of the bright, summertime color.

The radiance in her smile and the magnetism of her appearance make me want to run to her with arms wide open. Like a heroin addict in need of a fix, I hand Poppy her margarita at the same time my eyes latch onto the woman my heart fucking yearns for across the room.

Fixating on her is both incredibly stupid and unavoidable. Poppy doesn’t seem to notice as she stands close to me but chats with one of our baseline coaches’ wives.

My actions are not my own. I’ll never train my eyes to stray.

But at least from the other side of the room, it’s not noticeable. At least that’s what I tell myself.

She asked me to let her move on and this is me doing that—in my own way.

Navy is disguised in a group of people, always being the woman in the room with enough gravitational pull to bring an army of the strongest men to a halt.

But I know she feels me near. She has to.

The sound of giggles and cheers echoes throughout the living room space, and while typically the closeness of crowds this size would cripple me, all I see and hear is her.

I tune out the chaos because with Navy as my sole focus, the turmoil ceases to exist.

She’s my compass—my guiding light.

“What up, St. James? Good to see you, man.”

I swiftly turn, my instincts immediately on guard to meet the masculine voice that greets me while my body pleads to lure me to her.

It’s Jethro and his date.

“Hey Jet. How’s it going?” I ask him, before introducing my date. “This is Poppy.”

Poppy sends Jethro a soft smile before introducing herself to his date, Sadie. I feel like I should put my arm around Poppy or something, I don’t know. Nothing feels right, but I know I should at least try to show her I’m somewhat interested.

Am I, though? Hell if I know.

I wrap my free arm around Poppy’s waist, and she immediately leans into my space. She smells like flowers—not eucalyptus, I make note.

I can hear the conversations around me escalating in volume, and I know Navy is in the mix. I can’t make noticing her obvious. We’re in Cal’s home and he would surely catch on if he spotted me—especially after my most recent transgression.

But her laugh is all I hear. I want to be on the receiving end of it.

“Dude, this place is sick. I can’t believe how different it looks,” Jethro says.

Cal had some of the guys over not long after he and Kodi moved in, and it looked nothing like it does now. I’m impressed, to say the least.

I pretend to look around the space but use it as my opportunity to glance at Navy once more. She was surrounded by some of my teammates and their dates when she entered, so I didn’t get a good chance to take her in.

I don’t love what I see, I’ll tell you that.

Crew Briggs.

With his hand wrapped in Navy’s.

Fury and rage storm through my body as I fight back the urge to tackle Crew fucking Briggs to the ground.

I hear Jethro ask Poppy what she does for work beside me, yet I couldn’t feel farther away.

His hands are on my woman. Whether it’s true in the real world or not, it might as well be branded in my fucking DNA that Navy is mine and only mine.

If only I could tell him that.

Breathe, Bodhi, breathe.

I need to get a handle on the anger pulsing through my veins. This is not the place to cause a scene—especially for something I have no control over, and ultimately something I put on myself.

Navy laughs a full and genuine laugh while Briggs has a cheesy fucking grin plastered across his face. Of course he’s giddy; he’s got the most beautiful woman in all of existence on his arm for the night.

I hope he realizes the treasure he’s holding.

“So, how long have you two been seeing each other?” Jethro asks Poppy and me, bringing my attention back to the group in front of me.

Poppy gets to it first. “Oh, we just met. Cal introduced us. I actually helped decorate their home. That’s how Kodi and I met.”

“Right on,” Jethro responds.

I nod. Jesus, I suck at this .

I guarantee I’ll never hear from Poppy again. It’s a shame, too, because she’s beautiful and kind. If I wasn’t emotionally harbored to someone else, I would probably be all over her.

Why, out of all the guys Navy could date, does it have to be Briggs?

My friend. Although, I’m not too satisfied with that category for him at the moment. Despite that, he’s a good guy and he’s been a good friend to me.

I just happen to loathe his choice in women.

I give Jethro a nod. “Speaking of Cal, you seen him anywhere?” I ask.

He shakes his head, looking around the room for the host.

“Nope.” Hmm.

“He’s probably railing Kodi in their secret library upstairs.”

That came from Poppy.

The four of us break out in uncontrollable laughter and I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve laughed like this so openly.

Poppy blushes and it’s sort of cute. “What? Kodi cornered me asking for a stripper pole when Cal wasn’t around.”

Kodi would ask for a stripper pole. That woman is a loose cannon, and my best friend loves it.

“Hey, guys. Is this where the party’s at?”

Navy.

Unintentionally, I feel my body freeze. She’s right behind me. And I’ll bet my last dollar Briggs is right beside her.

“Navy girl. Looking as gorgeous as ever,” Jethro compliments her. He’s such a kiss-ass.

“St. James. What’s up, man? I thought that was you.” That came from Briggs. His strong hand on my shoulder only confirms it.

I take this moment as my sign to turn around and greet her…and him.

“Ah, Crew Briggs. What a surprise. How’s it going?” I attempt to joke but it feels sour coming out.

He’s a great guy and I’m a bitter old man.

Briggs is the clear winner for Navy.

“Going great, man. Addie’s with her mom this weekend and I’m fortunate to be this beautiful lady’s date.” He looks at Navy with heart eyes, making me want to either barf in his face or throat punch him—maybe both.

Briggs laughs to himself after my lack of response, and I steal the silent opening to allow my eyes to drift to the beauty on his right.

“Navy. You look stunning.” I lean forward to hug and plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

It might just be me, but I’m confident I hear a sharp intake of breath come from her. I don’t stay close enough to linger, pulling away as quickly as I came in.

Her closeness gives me a moment to soak in her vibrant style.

Navy’s womanly figure is wrapped in a strapless lime green dress. It hugs every one of her modest curves and accentuates her small breasts to perfection. In true Navy fashion, multicolored, chunky necklaces lay at the center of her chest, enveloping her slight cleavage. She’s wearing hot pink sandals. They’re those Egyptian looking ones that wrap around her ankles.

No idea what they are, but they make her calf muscles look tantalizing, likely from all the yoga she does.

Her curls are wild and her lipstick is hot pink—just the way I like it.

I’m a big fan of this outfit.

Navy looks killer.

But isn’t she cold? It’s almost February in Atlanta and the high is as low as sixty. It’s much too chilly for a mini dress.

Never thought I’d complain about that.

“Thank you.” Navy hesitates for a moment. “Isn’t this place great?” Her eyes read the room in awestruck wonder.

It is. “It really is. Did you see it before the renovations?” I ask her.

A look of sadness washes over her. “Yeah, I did when Kodi’s parents were still alive. It’s weird without them here, but strangely enough, it feels like they take up the whole space at the same time.”

I nod. I never got to meet Kodi’s parents, having only met her at the beginning of last year when she joined our League as team photographer.

I understand what Navy means. It’s the same way I feel about my mother at times. I don’t miss her, but I feel her in every square inch of my life.

There’s an awkward silence that settles over us. The people mingling around us are forgotten. I know Briggs doesn’t know about Navy and me, but it feels uncomfortable anyway.

Thankfully, Poppy seems to know how to break the ice on some awkward silence because she inserts herself into the conversation naturally. “It feels so warm and inviting,” she says.

I should introduce her.

“Shit, sorry. Navy. Briggs. This is Poppy, my date.” I wrap my arm around Poppy’s waist, and it feels wrong.

I don’t miss the moment Navy’s eyes follow the motion.

Is that jealousy I see lining her face?

She has no reason to be jealous.

She’s the one with a date attached to her hip like he’s afraid he’ll get lost without her. Besides, Poppy and I met only two hours ago; Navy’s been out with Briggs already.

“Poppy?” Navy asks solemnly.

“Oh, god. What have you heard? Did Kodi tell you about my pig farm growing up? I swear it’s not as weird as it seems,” Poppy asks Navy, laughing to herself.

Although Poppy isn’t who I would choose to be here with tonight, she’s cool as shit. It’s evident she knows how to go with the flow and seems to be able to chat with anyone. It’s refreshing.

Everyone laughs, except for Navy. Even Briggs is laughing.

“No mention of any pig farm. You’re the interior designer, right?” Navy asks Poppy.

“Yeah, she is. Isn’t she hot as fuck?” Gus announces out of nowhere, loud enough for everyone to hear, and throws his heavy arm around Poppy’s shoulder.

Poppy doesn’t know Gus, but thankfully she laughs off his playfulness.

“Sorry, dude. I’m taken for the night,” Poppy tells him as she lightly nudges my side.

“Perfect. I’ll reserve you for tomorrow then.” Gus sends her a wink.

He’s such an idiot.

I see the moment Navy detaches herself from the conversation.

It’s as if she had an epiphany and needs a second to regain composure. I watch her lean shoulders draw back before she steadily grips tighter onto Briggs’ hand and responds with poise, “You seem lovely, Poppy. And you two look great together.” Navy turns to Briggs. “Come on, let me show you the pool area.”

She leads him away without another word.

She seems lovely? Navy doesn’t use the word lovely . The Navy I know says “she’s hot as fuck” and makes no apologies for her edge in the matter.

“So, we gettin’ turnt up or what?” Gus asks, causing every head near us to look at him in question.

“Hey, Gus?” I tell him.

“Yeah?”

“Go find Tenley.”

“She’s here?” I nod. “Hell yes. Oh, princess. Come out, come out wherever you are.”

He’s gone, on a mission to find the woman he can never have.

We’ve got that in common tonight.

Either way, I’ve got a date to entertain, and she deserves my full attention. Time to be the guy I know I am.

I shift to Poppy with a smile. “So, tell me all about the infamous Poppy Montgomery, who Callaway and Kodi seem to love so much.”