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Chapter Twenty-Nine

JACKSON

G etting caught by Caroline wasn’t ideal, but I don’t regret coming after Izzie. Being with her was exactly what I needed, and I want more. I hope we’re not on opposite sides.

“I’m sorry about that.” I pull out of her before we have a leakage accident.

“Yeah, me too.” She fixes her dress without meeting my eyes.

Hell. That’s not good.

“I’ll talk to her. She won’t say anything.” Izzie flinches, and I fear I said the wrong thing. “Not that I want to keep it a secret… unless you want to.” I quickly add.

She looks at me. “This was fun, but tonight isn’t an ordinary night. We’re both riding on high emotions. Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone.”

I can’t help the disappointment that rushes through me. “Right.”

I remove the condom and tie the end, then put it in my pocket to dispose of later. Can’t leave the evidence behind.

“We should probably pick up the broken glass.” She points at a picture frame that fell from the bookshelf.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay… I suppose I’ll get back to the party first, then.” She looks at everything but me. Is she regretting what we did?

“Okay.”

This feels all wrong, and I should say something, but I don’t know what to say.

She moves toward the door but stops and looks over her shoulder. “No regrets?”

I grin. “No regrets.”

She gives me a small smile. “Good.”

I stay rooted to the spot and watch her leave. My grin vanishes as a strange weight settles on my chest. On the surface, it sounded like everything was fine between us, but I can’t shake the feeling that I fucked up. I rub my face, frustrated with myself. Izzie is right. Tonight isn’t an ordinary night, and there’s a lot going on. But I know that I want to be with her again, and I won’t change my mind tomorrow. Maybe she doesn’t want a repeat.

Hell. I need another beer… or ten. I purposely didn’t go crazy in the dressing room after our win because I wanted to remain functional for Izzie. Now, I can indulge.

I pick up the pieces of broken glass from the floor and toss them in the trash can. Then I hide the picture frame in a drawer. Hopefully, Chad won’t notice it’s missing until I can replace it. I know he won’t see the broken glass sitting at the bottom of his trash can.

Izzie’s been gone a couple minutes, so I deem it safe to walk out. I make a pit stop in the bathroom first to get rid of the condom and wash my hands. I can’t rejoin the party smelling like sex.

When I exit the bathroom, I find Caroline waiting for me in the hallway. Shit.

“Carol, I?—”

“I can’t believe you hooked up with her ,” she grits out as if I committed the biggest betrayal.

“What happened between Izzie and me is no one’s business,” I reply through clenched teeth.

She wipes the corners of her eyes. Ah hell. The last thing I want is to deal with an emotional Caroline. I know very well the type of theatrics she can pull, and I want no part of it.

“I thought you hated her.”

“I never said I did. But seriously, Carol. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, so please, don’t mention what you saw to anyone.”

Her eyes widen, and I see a gleam of hope in them. “Does that mean it was only a one-night stand?”

“It means I don’t want to discuss it with anyone. So please, drop it.”

I turn to leave, but she steps next to me and hooks her arm with mine. “I won’t say a word. I promise. Now let’s celebrate. People were asking about you.”

I’m not happy that she’s glued to my side, especially when we walk out of the house and Izzie sees it. But I also don’t want to be rude to Caroline and risk her telling everyone I hooked up with Izzie tonight. Thankfully, I don’t need to stick with her for a long time. The guys decide I need a swim in the pool with my clothes on. I’ve never been more grateful for my teammates’ antics.

They join me in the pool and, since everyone is already fucking wet, we just stay in the water. I get rid of my pants and shirt, and now there are a bunch of us swimming in our underwear. I purposely don’t search for Izzie, and soon the beer is flowing, and the celebration gets into full swing.

I lose track of time, and when I finally get out of the pool, sunrise is not far away. The wives and girlfriends are all gone, and despite being drunk as hell, I regret getting distracted and not saying goodbye to Izzie.

“Where did everyone go?” I ask.

“Home,” Alex replies.

“Jane and Carol went to bed an hour ago,” Chad adds. “I think Izzie is staying here too, but I’m not sure.”

My pulse accelerates. Maybe she’d be up for round two.

“Dude. We should take the Cup for a swim in the ocean,” Logan pipes up.

“Yes!” Alex shouts. “That’d be epic.”

Chad glances at me. “What do you say, Jacks?”

Everyone is looking at me, expecting an answer. If I say no, they’ll forget the idea. I smile broadly. “What the hell. Let’s do it!”

Shouts erupt all around me. I can see already that this celebration will last all day long. It’s a pity I can’t go see Izzie now, but it’s better if I talk to her when I’m sober.

“Wait, we can’t go to the beach in our underwear,” Grayson says. He and Frederico were in the locker room celebrating with us and came to Chad’s house.

“Speak for yourself. I can rock it.” Frederico flexes his muscles as if he were in a bodybuilder competition.

“For fuck’s sake. I don’t want to see that,” Alex complains.

“If we’re gonna do it, it has to be now.” I grab a towel.

Logan steps onto a chair and bellows, “Yes, O captain! My captain!”

“Stop being a dumbass.” Alex pulls his brother off the chair, and they both almost fall.

I shake my head. This won’t be an uneventful trip to the beach.