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I saw her when she walked Harper out after tutoring, but I refused to actually look at her. Instead I sat in the car and peeled out of the parking lot as soon as Harper was buckled in the back.

“How was tutoring?” I ask.

“Fine.”

“And hair club?”

“We didn’t do braiding today. She said you didn’t like it so we couldn’t, so thanks a lot,” she sasses.

I remain quiet after that. Are my feelings toward Hartley affecting my kid now? Because that’s not okay. Do I need to find a way to smooth things over?

What I really want is to get her to finally give in so I can hate fuck the hell out of her and we can move forward into whatever direction that takes us, but that seems unlikely.

“It’s fine to do your hair stuff for brain breaks,” I finally mutter.

Another day passes, and thankfully I don’t have to see Hartley on Thursday. I get a text from my old Thursday night group chat making arrangements for the Gridiron for dinner and possibly a club afterward, and I could really use the night out but I still have no idea who to have watch my kid.

I voice text Evan while Harper is at school.

Me: I know it’s unconventional, but any chance Harper can spend the night tonight so I can meet up with some of the guys on offense?

I realize it sounds like a work-related meeting, which it isn’t, but I let it fly anyway. I’m starting to get a little desperate for a slice of my old normalcy back, and the night out with the old crew might be just what I need to get Hartley out of my mind.

He replies about a half hour later.

Evan: Works for us, and Trudy said she’ll be sure to get her off to school in the morning.

Relief filters through me, and she’s thrilled when I pick her up and tell her she’s spending the night at Bella’s.

“On a school night?” she squeals.

“On a school night,” I confirm.

We pack her overnight bag and make sure both dinocorns make it in, and I drop her just before dinnertime with two extra hugs—initiated by her, by the way.

Maybe I actually am getting somewhere with her.

Hartley’s words from the other night come back to me, though, as I navigate my car toward the Gridiron.

I feel sorry for your little girl that she’s going to grow up thinking what you do is okay when it’s not.

Do I have a different example to set tonight? Or can I just have a night off where I’m back to the old Trav?

It’s what I want. I want a night where things feel normal again, but I’m not even sure what normal feels like anymore.

It should feel normal when I’m shooting the shit and eating the best chicken wings in Vegas with Jaxon, Cory, and Austin—the only three members of the Thursday night crew in town during the off-season this year—but it doesn’t. It also doesn’t feel normal when I bet Cory I can chug a beer faster than him—which I do, by the way.

And it certainly doesn’t feel normal when Cory suggests Coax for our post-Gridiron evening activity as we finish our fourth round of drinks, but I guess I’m going for the ride anyway.

“You coming?” I ask Jaxon.

His eyes twinkle a little as he glances up from his phone. “I’m meeting Miller tonight.”

“Again? What is this thing between the two of you?” I ask.

“Oh, she’s nasty,” he says with a stupid, goofy grin on his face as he studies his phone.

“Jesus, man. That’s my kid’s teacher you’re talking about.” I make a face at him.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s also the hottest fuck I’ve had in a long time.”

My brows knit together. “You had sex with her?”

He nods, and he looks up slowly from his phone. When his eyes meet mine, I can tell this is actually something with her. It’s not just a one-time deal. “Oh, we had the sex.”

“Spare me the details, but be careful with her. She’s not a Coax girl, you know what I mean?”

He nods. “Yeah, I know. And I have a feeling she’s the one who needs to be careful here. The fact that she’s not a Coax girl is one of the things I like about her.”

I get what he means. Coax has sort of become an in-person Tinder for people who make a certain amount of money each year, which means when you go to Coax, you sort of know you’re going into it for sex, and while many times this leads to feelings and emotions and wanting more, it’s always been one-sided for me and this crew here, at least. I’m sure love connections have happened there, but if I’m going there as a single dude and not bringing my girl with me, then I’m going to hook up. That’s just the way it is.

“Are you gonna take her there?” Cory asks.

He shrugs. “Maybe.”

An image of Jaxon on top of Mandy Miller in one of the viewing rooms on the third floor appears right there in my brain, and I chug the rest of my beer to try to get it out. Please don’t take my kid’s teacher to a club where there’s an entire floor where people can have public sex if they want .

Old Trav would never have said those words aloud. New Trav barely holds himself back, but it’s not my place to tell Jaxon what he can or can’t do.

Austin drives since he’s only had one, and I guess I’m at the mercy of whenever he wants to leave, though the owners recently started employing drivers to bring people out here or back home since it’s a half hour drive toward the middle of the desert from the Strip. I’ve used the service once or twice, and as I recall, it was a great place to pregame.

I don’t need to drink to have a good time at Coax, but it’s always nice to take the edge off before I find someone to take up to the suites. There’s four viewing rooms up there and six private rooms, and as long as there’s availability, we’re welcome to use them. I’ve only hooked up here a handful of times. I actually find it more enjoyable to hang out on the second floor, which is a high-rent strip club, or the first floor, which is one part traditional nightclub and one part gentlemen’s parlor with a bar and pool tables.

When we arrive, I beeline for the bar and grab another beer. I play a round of pool with Austin after Cory tells us he’s heading to the second floor to find a dancer to hook up with.

It doesn’t feel right being here.

How would I feel if somehow word got out that I’m not just visiting this exclusive club, but I’m a member ? How would that look?

Why do I care?

Oh, right, because I have a kid now…but it’s not just that if I’m being honest.

I spot two women lounging on one of the leather couches as they watch our intense game on the pool table.

I see the blonde giving me the eyes, and a few weeks ago, I probably would’ve found a quiet space at this club to bang her.

But tonight…something’s off. I’m not interested. I don’t even know why I’m here, to be honest.

Those words come back to me again. I feel sorry for your little girl that she’s going to grow up thinking what you do is okay when it’s not.

Is she right?

What kind of role model am I for a little girl to look up to when I treat women the way I do? It’s been almost a month since I’ve been to this club because I was ghosting some chick I didn’t want more than one night with.

How would I feel if my daughter was of age and someone treated her that way?

I’d fucking rage on the asshole, that’s how I’d feel.

And now when I look around this place, all I can think about is how every woman in this room was once a ten-year-old girl, and this is what they grew into, and they all have dads—they may not be good dads, or dads who care, or whatever…but maybe they are. Maybe some old dude is sitting at home wondering what his daughter is up to tonight, thinking she’s out dancing with her friends at a club when in reality she’s going to hook up tonight and the guy isn’t going to call her tomorrow and she’s going to feel very hurt because of that.

It's not the case for everyone here, certainly.

I have two balls left on the table and Austin has one, and I miss an easy shot as these thoughts plague my mind. He sails his final ball in for the win, and I grab my phone to Venmo him the hundred bucks we bet on the first game.

“Double or nothing?” he asks.

I glance at the women watching us, and I see they’re both gathering their drinks and they’re standing up and looking in our direction, which means they’re coming over to shoot their shot.

Austin doesn’t see them, but I do. I should probably let him have his shot with the brunette starting her approach, but I need an excuse to reject the blonde because I’m just not feeling it tonight.

“Yeah, double or nothing,” I say before they get to us, and he starts gathering the balls to rack them up again.

“You’re Travis Woods,” the blonde says to me as the brunette makes her move on Austin.

I press my lips together and nod. “I am.”

“I’ve heard about you,” she says, leaning in so her mouth is close to my ear. “Good things. Really good things.”

Is this supposed to be turning me on? It’s not.

It screams of desperation as much as her jasmine-scented perfume.

“I’m sorry, baby, but I’m just here playing pool with my buddy tonight,” I say as I try to let her down gently.

She doesn’t take the hint, though, and instead, she presses herself further into my side.

And that’s when I spot them across the room.

Jaxon Bryant with none other than fifth grade teacher Mandy Miller on his arm.

Her eyes zero in on me, and she looks a little surprised that I’ve got a girl pressed up on me.

Great. This is just exactly what I needed…Miller going back home and reporting to her roommate what a scum dog I am when Hartley already thinks it anyway.

Fuck it. If the reputation is already there, I may as well play into it.

I turn toward the girl next to me. “Let’s talk after this next game, okay? I’ve got two hundred bucks riding on it.”

“I’ll be cheering you on from right here,” she says, and she runs a long fingernail along my jawline.

I know Miller is watching the entire exchange, and as she passes by me with wide eyes, she winks and wiggles her eyebrows then brings a finger up to her lips as if to say shh .

Maybe she won’t report back to her roommate after all.

Jaxon takes her up the stairs, and maybe I didn’t need to know that my daughter’s teacher might just be a nasty freak.