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CHAPTER EIGHT

CHEETAH

T onight is the big Sports Illustrated reveal party. I’m so excited to see Kamryn that I can hardly contain myself. I’m doing my best to play it cool on the party bus though. Layton and Trey are practically salivating to get to their women. I’m sure they’re not noticing me equally as worked up.

We arrive at Kamryn’s apartment building, and the five girls walk out. Arizona, Ripley, Gemma, and Bailey all look stunning, but it’s Kamryn Hart who steals my breath. She’s in a tight, gold strapless dress that leaves little to the imagination. She looks like a golden goddess. I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s so fucking beautiful.

Trey and Layton jump off the bus before it even stops moving to ogle and fondle their women. Knowing Kamryn wouldn’t appreciate the same treatment, I stay seated and watch her step onto the bus with all the confidence in the world. It’s like she’s moving in slow motion with her hips swaying and her hair flowing in the gentle breeze. Her full lips are painted red. Her eyes, which always tell a million stories, are particularly vibrant tonight. My mouth is wide open as I take her in.

She doesn’t make eye contact with me as she walks through the bus. I can’t help but reach out and attempt to pull her onto my lap. I whisper in her ear, “You’re stunning. I’ve missed you.”

She coldly shoves me away, crossing her arms in defiance. “Nope. You had your shot, kitten. You blew it. Literally.”

Trey lets out a laugh. “Did things end, prematurely ? Shame on you, Cheetah.”

Fuck this. I turn to him. “It ended because her bed exploded. Literally . Her waterbed burst. I had to surf out of her bedroom. Naked.”

They all start laughing. It’s not funny. Why is she pushing me away? What am I missing? Was she not feeling what I was the other night? There’s something real and special between us. She must realize that.

She pays me no attention as the crew temporarily moves on to other topics. Temporarily .

As I suspected it would, the topic eventually returns to the bursting waterbed and Kam gives them a detailed account of what happened. Everyone is in a fit of laughter.

Layton slaps my back with a huge grin on his face. “You finally got a girl wet. It only took you thirty years.” He laughs hysterically at his own joke.

Quincy shakes his head. “Cheetah, you give a whole new meaning to the term diving in .”

Gemma gives me more of a compassionate smile. “Look at the bright side. At least you made a woman squirt. Very few men accomplish that.”

I can’t help but let a small smile creep out at that one. I suppose the whole situation is funny.

Fortunately, they move on to other topics. The ninety-minute ride to New York City is full of drinks and laughs. Everyone is having a great time. I really do like our growing circle of friends.

At some point, Kamryn turns to me and playfully narrows her eyes. “Stop staring at my tits.”

I feign shock. “I’m staring at your heart. It’s my favorite thing about you. I can’t help that it’s covered by your glorious snuggle pups.”

She smiles. Hopefully the tension will be broken between us.

As we exit the bus when we arrive at the event, she even straightens my tie. “Your tuxedo suits you.”

I smile. “You should see what it looks like rolled up in a ball on the floor.”

She rolls her eyes but lets me take her hand as we walk as a group through the paparazzi line. Everyone except Arizona and Layton. They hold back a few minutes so they can make their grand entrance.

We’re reboarding the bus at the end of the night. Arizona and Layton were revealed to be the cover couple for the Sports Illustrated issue. It’s not just any cover though. It’s the most erotic cover in the magazine’s long history. They’re half-naked, looking seconds away from having sex. I think there were three hundred chins on the floor when they unveiled the cover. I’m happy for my best friend. He’s gotten a career resurgence, and I think he found his soulmate. I’ve never seen him happier.

I end up being the last to board the bus. Everyone immediately heckles me for a fun fact.

I plop down on the seat next to Kamryn, and say, “Statistically speaking, male homosexual marriages have the lowest rate of divorce of any pairings. Lower than female homosexual marriages and much lower than heterosexual marriages. Do you know what this tells us?”

Layton responds, “What?”

“That blow jobs are the key to happiness.”

Everyone laughs but Trey has a huge shit-eating grin on his face. Way more than is normal.

I turn to him. “Why are you so fucking happy?”

He smirks at Gemma, and she simply shakes her head. “I woke him up this morning by swallowing his baloney pony, and he’s been grinning like a fool ever since.”

I chuckle. Is there any woman better than Gemma DePaul?

I shrug my shoulders and joke, “I don’t know, Gem, was he conscious enough to give consent? I think we have a legal issue here. You’re the attorney. You tell us.”

Trey lifts an eyebrow. “It’s part of the any clause in our marriage contract.”

“Any clause?” I question.

“She can swallow my baloney pony any time, any place, any where.”

Layton nods in agreement. “Morning blowies? Hell yes. We’re like 7-11. Always open for business.”

“Hmm.” I turn to the girls. “How do you ladies feel about it? Receiving some lickin’ lovin’ while unconscious.”

Kam blinks her eyes a few times. “Being awakened by someone we’re already in bed with by him or her calling for Connie Lingus?”

I nod. “Yep.”

“In the wise words of Dr. Suess, I like it here, I like it there, I like it even if I’m unaware. ”

I stifle my smile. “My mom didn’t read me that one as a kid. Which Dr. Suess book is it from?”

She deadpans, “ The Grinch’s Nine Inches . It’s a classic.”

I chuckle. She’s got a line for everything.

Everyone falls into their own conversations. Though some are more physical. Trey and Gemma are practically having sex in a dark corner while Layton and Arizona are grinding at the other end of the bus. Ezra and Bailey are being touchy-feely. I didn’t think she was into him. Even more surprising, she gets off the bus with him at his house. Kamryn doesn’t look happy about it, but it still happens.

It's now just me, Kam, Ripley, and Quincy left on the bus. I turn to Kam. “I’m not tired. Want to hit a club with me?”

Her eyes light up. “Hell yes. I can never get those girls to go with me. I have to go with younger players if I want to have some extra fun.”

She asks Ripley and Quincy to join us but they both decline. I’m sensing some tension between the two of them. I wonder if they’re secretly bumping uglies.

We instruct the bus driver to drop us at Club Liberty. It’s a Philly staple and always has a line around the block.

Kam grabs my hand and pulls me toward the front door, not the end of the line. I’m a famous baseball player; it’s easy for me to butt in line, but I don’t love doing it.

I ask, “Are you using my fame to skip the line?”

She lifts an eyebrow and points up and down her own body. “I’ve never in my life waited in a line. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a lot going on.” She winks at me.

I can only nod as I take in her flawless figure. “Believe me, I’ve noticed. All fucking night.”

As soon as we approach the front door, the bouncer rakes his eyes up and down her body, immediately opens the rope, and lets us in, much to the audibly groaning malcontent of those in the long line.

As we enter the club, the music is pumping and there are bodies everywhere. I immediately spot Daylen on the dance floor. He’s kind of hard to miss, always towering over everyone. The man is a flat-out giant .

Daylen and Vance had a late practice tonight, or they would have joined us at the event.

He grins widely as he sees us approach. “If it isn’t the big pussy cat.” He nods toward the VIP area. “Vance has a booth and is holding court up there. Warning, he’s in a pissy mood.”

I let out a laugh. “He’s always in a pissy mood.”

“It’s a little extra today. I had to force him to come out.” He kisses Kam’s cheek and says to her, “Looks like you’re slumming it tonight.”

She smiles at him. “I’m open for business. You looking for some fun, hot stuff?”

I tighten my hold on her, but Daylen simply lets out one of his booming laughs. I know he would never go there. To his core, he’s a great guy.

He simply shakes his head. “No, but it looks like you are.”

“I’m always looking for trouble, you know that.”

I tug on her hand. “Let’s go find Vance.”

She shakes her head. “I’ll meet you up there. I want to dance for a bit.”

“I’ll dance with you.”

She pulls her hand away. “Don’t suffocate me. Go up to the booth. I’ll be there in a bit when I feel like it.”

Thirty minutes later I’m sitting in the booth with Daylen and Vance. Daylen is swallowing some poor girl’s mouth whole, but Vance is looking at what I’ve been staring at since I sat down.

Kamryn is grinding between a man and a woman on the dance floor. The man is rubbing himself all over her ass, and she’s kissing the woman. Open-mouth, full tongue kissing. Kamryn’s hands are squeezing the woman’s ass.

Vance lets out a moan. “Is it wrong that I’m completely turned on by this?”

I shake my head. “I might jerk off to this image every night for the rest of my life. Though I could do without the guy.”

He nods. “Yep, though I’m jealous of him.”

Kamryn breaks the kiss and looks up at me. After briefly making eye contact, she moves her body around so she’s now kissing the guy while the woman fondles her body. I turn my head. I can’t watch her kiss another guy. For whatever reason, watching her with a woman doesn’t bother me but a man does.

After fifteen more minutes of torture, she makes her way up to the booth with a big smile on her face. “Hey, boys. What are we drinking?”

I nod toward the beer bottle. “I ordered you your favorite beer.”

“Thanks, kitten. Find any hotties to your liking?”

I shake my head.

She shrugs. “You need to get laid. You’re bizarrely uptight tonight. You should find someone to take home. I might go home with that guy I was dancing with. He has a new puppy. I’m obsessed with puppies. I’m getting dozens of them the day I retire.”

Daylen breaks his game of tonsil hockey in time to say, “Vance and I were walking down the street the other day and saw the cutest puppy licking his own balls. Vance said that he wished he could do that. I told him he should probably just pet the puppy.”

Kamryn starts laughing along with Daylen while Vance flips him the bird. Daylen’s laugh can probably be heard from ten miles over. It’s a good thing because it’s masking the sound of my heart breaking.