Page 3 of The New York Nighthawks, Vol. 2

CLAY

“Icalled Marleigh and told her you’ll be coming to stay,” Wrenley told me. Her smile was a little off, though, which made me suspicious.

My eyes narrowed. “Are you really sure about this?”

“Yup,” Jordan interrupted. Then he dragged Wrenley into his side and swiftly led her away before she could answer me.

I frowned, staring out across the backyard but not really seeing any of the people. I was gripping the neck of my half-full bottle of beer and drained it in one gulp.

The Nighthawks kicker strolled up to my side.

Roan was one of the players who had become a close friend since I moved to New York.

I wondered where he’d come from and if he’d heard the conversation between Jordan, Wrenley, and me.

He didn’t mention it, though, just handed me a freshly opened beer.

“You looked like you needed this.” He took my empty and threw it into one of the bins set out for collecting recyclables.

I lifted the bottle in a small salute, then took a swig, downing half of it in one gulp. “Thanks,” I muttered.

“This crowd isn’t what has you in a mood, is it? Because you’ve impressed the fuck out of us all, Clay. You’re an asset, and we’re glad to have you on the team.”

His words soothed a little of the anxiety I’d been carrying around, but it didn’t snuff out the frustration at Jordan for forcing me into an uncomfortable situation.

What did I know about living with a female?

What if she got the wrong idea and became clingy and started planning our wedding?

She was Wrenley’s best friend, so I couldn’t exactly just brush her off and disappear.

I brought the drink to my lips and emptied the rest of the bottle in one swallow.

“No,” I croaked out before the silence became awkward. “I appreciate you sharing that, though. It’s nice to know that the feelings of loyalty and respect are mutual.”

Roan shrugged, still watching me closely. “Didn’t want doubts mucking up our rhythm on the field when the season starts. You want to talk about whatever else is bothering you?”

I shook my head and tossed the empty bottle in the same bin. “Just personal shit. I’ll tell you another time.”

Roan didn’t push, which was one of the things I liked about him. But he also seemed to sense when someone needed to be alone or wanted company, even if it was simply being there in the silence.

After several minutes of quiet, Roan spoke up. “You could stay with me if you want.”

Ahh, he did hear our conversation. I shot him a grateful smile, then winced. “I appreciate that, man, I do. But no way in hell am I staying at your place. Too much estrogen.”

Roan’s cousin had recently passed away, and though they hadn’t been particularly close, he’d agreed to be the godfather of her two girls.

Apparently, she hadn’t trusted her ex-husband or anyone in his family.

On her side, Roan, his parents, and his sister were pretty much the only family she had left.

Three months ago, she’d lost a battle with cancer—that no one had known she was fighting—and he ended up with custody of her six month and three-year-old little girls.

Jordan mentioned that Roan had been worried he’d have to retire because being a pro football player and a single dad would be incredibly difficult.

He refused to let his girls—he only ever referred to them as his—be raised by nannies.

But Roan’s nineteen-year-old twin sisters came to the rescue and moved in with him.

He’d brought all four girls with him to the barbecue.

After seeing him with his “daughters,” I had to admit, you’d never know he wasn’t their birth father.

Roan chuckled. “Fair,” he conceded. “Do you need help moving?”

I shook my head and smirked. “Nah. I’m gonna make Jordan do all the heavy lifting.”

“Just don’t let him get injured,” Roan ordered, though his tone was filled with amusement. “Take it up with him on the field.”

“You better fucking believe that shit is coming,” I growled. Glancing at my watch, I sighed at the time. “I should probably go pack. Don’t want to show up at this chick’s apartment too late. She might be the type who goes to bed early. The last thing I need in my life is a pissed-off female.”

I winced when I thought about Jordan mentioning how neat and clean Wrenley was. If my new roommate was half as picky, we would have problems. I wasn’t a slob, but I also wasn’t a fan of putting away my laundry or making my bed. Normally, I had a housekeeper for that kind of stuff.

My situation just kept getting worse by the minute. I told myself that Wrenley would never be best friends with someone who was crazy, annoying, or had a habit of attaching herself to a guy like a succubus and trying to convince him, and the rest of the world, they were soul mates.

But Wrenley was one of those people who still had faith in the human race and wanted to help everyone.

The way she’d freaked about me staying in a hotel had been evidence of that.

Not that it was a bad quality, but I had a feeling it blinded her from seeing people’s flaws and that she tried to find the good in everyone.

Otherwise, why would she have settled for my bastard of a best friend?

I made my way over to Prentice and his wife, Naomi, who was cuddling their infant son in her arms. “Thanks for having me,” I said as I shook the quarterback’s hand. I leaned in to give Naomi a hug, and Prentice growled, pulling her into his side.

Naomi rolled her eyes, but I just snickered and nodded at her before turning around.

I lifted my chin in farewell at several other teammates as I headed to the front door.

Then I got into my Mercedes G-class and drove back to Manhattan.

Spring was coming to an end, and it was a beautiful Saturday, so the traffic in the city was a pain in the ass.

Thankfully, Jordan’s building had an attached underground parking garage.

By the time I had a couple of duffel bags and two small boxes packed, Jordan and Wrenley had arrived home.

“Can we help you with anything?” she asked.

“I’m good,” I told her with a genuine smile. I didn’t want to make her feel bad when she’d been trying to help. And I didn’t need Jordan trying to kick my ass for upsetting her. “I just need to borrow Jordan to help me transport everything.”

“Okay, well, again, I’m really sorry to be displacing you like this. But Marleigh is awesome, and I’m sure you’ll get along great.” She smiled brightly, but mine was strained as all the possible disasters began piling up in my mind again.

“Let’s get this the fuck over with,” Jordan growled as he stalked into the entryway. His disgruntled expression softened when Wrenley went over and raised her face for a kiss.

I had no desire to witness what would most likely become R-rated real fast, so I lugged one-third of my stuff out the door and called for the elevator.

Jordan stomped out of his house with the rest of my things just as the lift arrived.

He grumbled all the way on and all the way down.

Finally, as we exited at the bottom, I scowled at him.

“What do you have to grumble about, jackass? You weren’t kicked out onto the street at a moment’s notice and then forced to live with a stranger for two weeks.

An unnecessary situation since I could have just stayed in a fucking hotel. ”

His expression began to turn sheepish.

But I kept going. “You have to help me for an hour, then you get to go home to your bed, where the woman of your dreams is waiting for you.”

Jordan looked somewhat contrite, so I dropped the argument and walked to my car. After I opened the rear door, we threw everything we could fit in there, then filled the back seats with the rest.

Once we were both seated and buckled, I drove out of the garage and down to Hell’s Kitchen. I looked up at the building he indicated, then whistled. “Nice digs for an up-and-coming model and a student.”

“Marleigh’s parents pay the rent while she goes to school. They were happy about Wrenley being there so neither of them was living alone in the city.”

Her parents paid for everything? Fucking hell. I wondered what they would think about a strange guy sleeping in the room next to their young daughter. Nothing good, I imagined.

This building also had a garage, so I pulled in and took the space Wrenley had told me to.

Apparently, it was assigned to their apartment, but Marleigh didn’t have a car.

After parking, we grabbed all of my shit from the car and carried it to the elevator, which we rode up to the thirty-first floor.

When we walked out of the elevator, dread filled me with every step that took us closer to the mystery roommate. “You know I’m only doing this because I’m your best friend, right?” I grunted.

“Yeah, I know. I owe you.”

“You don’t just owe me, dude. I fucking own you.”

Jordan mumbled something, but we were at apartment 3110, so I didn’t ask for clarification. I told myself to stop being such a pussy before rapping my knuckles on the door.

Less than a minute later, the door opened and—holy shit.

I was looking at the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen in my life.

She had to be less than five and half feet, small, but with curves that made my mouth water.

Considering I was six-foot-two and two-hundred and five pounds, I dwarfed her in size, but I found that it was just another thing that made attraction sizzle across my skin.

She had long, straight black hair with bright streaks of pink and blue, a rose bud mouth, a pert nose, and ice-blue eyes.

My cock had gone hard the instant I saw her, but as I looked over every delicious inch of her, it strained against my jeans, testing the limits of my zipper.

Her mouth had fallen slightly open, and her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. I held back a ragged groan and shifted uncomfortably.

Suddenly, I was eager as fuck to get inside and be alone with this—my woman. It took me all of five seconds to recognize and accept that she was mine. So I’d crash at her place for the next two weeks, but when my house was ready and I moved out, she’d be coming with me.

Right now, I was wrestling with the insistent desire to drop my shit and kiss the hell out of her. But the rational part of my brain that was still slightly functioning—barely—reminded me that it would probably scare the fuck out of her, and she’d never let me near her again.

That would make things a little awkward since her best friend and mine were together…and that was when I remembered that Jordan was still standing beside me.

I dragged my gaze to his face and gave him a meaningful look. “Consider the debt paid in full. Now leave.”