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CHAPTER SIX

COLLINS

T he only reason I’m here, in Lloyd’s Bar, right now is for my girls. Kendra and Jenna just got named in the national squad, and I know how much this means to Kendra. She’d been trying to break into Team USA for a while, and injuries held her back. Understandably, they want to celebrate, and I’m not about to bail on them after the game because I’m avoiding Sawyer Bryce.

He denied even knowing me.

I don’t know who snapped the photo or why they waited a week to post it—maybe because they knew it was a dickhead thing to do, but couldn’t resist in the end. Regardless of how the images got out, I’m pissed.

The look on Sawyer’s face when he casually brushed me aside a few days ago was beyond cold.

I get it; we agreed to keep it just between us—it’s what I wanted.

That’s what he needs to do, not just for him, but for Ezra too.

Not acknowledging that night was what I’d told him I wanted.

Right?

Ugh, why is life so fucking confusing? And why am I even bothered at all? I figured I’d meant more to him than a complete denial of my existence—or at least, I thought his face would portray some kind of emotion when he thought about me.

Maybe that night was forgettable. Maybe I was a six out of ten too?

Maybe I need to get a goddamn grip on myself and stop being emotional over something that isn’t all that important.

When Jack slides into the booth next to Kendra and holds her face between his hands, the knot that was forming in my stomach tightens just a little more.

I drop my gaze right as Archer sits down, wrapping his big arm around my shoulders.

“Has anyone seen this pink-haired girl before? Evidently, she doesn’t exist.”

“Has anyone seen Archer’s sense of humor?” I pick up my cocktail and take a sip. “He seems to have misplaced it.”

Opposite me, Jenna snorts softly. “I don’t think I can imagine my life without you in it, Collins. You have to stay in New York forever.”

I’m ready to tell her I’ll be here for as long as I have a job when Sawyer joins us at the end of the booth. I promised myself I wouldn’t look at him tonight, but my eyes betray me for the briefest second as we lock on each other.

He’s wearing the same dark blue suit he wore the last time we were here—the one I tossed on his bedroom floor.

I shift my attention back to Jenna and Kendra. “I’ll be the first to congratulate you both on making the squad. It’s absolutely deserved.” My attention lands on everyone but the broody captain I can feel watching me. “Great win tonight against the league leaders too.”

I feel awkward—the whole atmosphere does tonight—and I know it has everything to do with my mood. I should be grateful Sawyer denied knowing me and had his agent pull the images.

“Actually, while I have you all together”—Jack’s British accent cuts through the tension—“Darcy is visiting next week, and we wanted to invite you guys over to our place for dinner. She has some kind of announcement she won’t tell me over the phone.”

Ten seconds ago, I’d have said I was easily the most uncomfortable person sitting at this table, but from the way Archer’s arm tenses at the mention of Jack’s baby sister, I’d hazard that award might go to him.

“What day next week? I’ll need to check if Dom and Alyssa can have Ezra,” Sawyer asks.

It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak since he stormed out of the interview in Colorado, and I can’t help but glance at him again.

He keeps his focus on Jack.

“On Saturday night. She’s staying at our place for five nights and then heading back to Oxford,” Jack confirms.

“And it’s a British-themed night with shepherd’s pie and trifle for dessert.” Kendra sits back in the booth, gazing off into a food-induced fantasy.

“I can’t make it,” I blurt out, all eyes darting to me. I guess that did come out kind of weird. “I have a thing on that night.”

Even weirder.

“What thing?” On a frown, Kendra sits forward, looking kind of hurt that I don’t share the same enthusiasm for what is essentially minced meat, potatoes, and a few scattered peas.

But it’s not what’s on the menu that’s driving my reluctance. I like spending time with the kind of friends I’ve never had before. I just don’t want to be around him for a moment longer than necessary. What doesn’t make me feel good, I cut out immediately. And Sawyer Bryce does not make me feel great about myself right now. Since the interview, the tingles he induced have gone, leaving irritation and borderline resentment in their wake.

I clear my throat, scrambling for a plausible excuse. “I’m heading to a Harley Rendezvous event that day; it’s been a while since I could make one, and I prebooked the tickets.”

Kendra slowly nods, like she’s not buying it. “That’s a shame. I know Darcy was looking forward to seeing you.”

“Did she … happen to hint at what the announcement is about?” I hear Archer ask, but my attention is no longer in the booth as Sawyer gets up and walks over to the bar, scrolling on his cell before putting it to his ear.

In a separate conversation and a quiet voice, Jenna leans toward me, her soft face shining in the glow of the dim bar lighting. “Does your absence have to do with the images posted online of you and Sawyer? I know how you like to keep your privacy and everything.” She quickly checks over her shoulder. “Or is it awkward since you two …” She trails off. “You know …”

Bracing my elbows on the table, I drop my face into a hand, not even bothering to deny that we hooked-up. I know she isn’t about to tell anyone. “It’s neither of those things. I genuinely can’t go on Saturday, and to be honest, I’m kind of tired from working long hours at the shop.”

Before Jenna can respond, my jacket’s in my hand as I stand from the booth. “I don’t want to come off as rude, but I think I’m going to head out.”

On my final words, Jack, Archer and Kendra pause on their conversation.

“Want me to give you a ride home?” Jack asks.

I shake my head. “No, I’m going to get the bus. There’s one in, like, two minutes.”

With Sawyer’s back still to the group, I seize the opportunity and squeeze past Archer and his teammate, making for the door and not stopping to look back.

The second I’m hit with the freezing fall breeze, I draw a gulp of air into my lungs, letting it rest there before I swallow it down.

Come on, Collins. Get it to-fucking-gether.

“There aren’t any Harley Rendezvous events in late October.”

I spin around on the frozen sidewalk and come face-to-face with Sawyer. He’s standing with his phone still pressed to his ear and a rogue grin on his face.

“The recorded message I’m listening to just confirmed it. Well, unless you’re heading to Red Rock in Vegas.”

I turn back toward the bus stop, not saying a word, but I can feel his eyes as they bore into my head.

He releases a long sigh that shifts a few strands of my hair, and I reach behind myself, pulling my collar up so I can’t feel it.

“I thought you said nothing would change?” he asks quickly.

“Changed my mind,” I clip back.

He moves to stand beside me, and I continue facing forward. I know I’m being bratty, but I don’t have it in me to care.

“What’s going on, Collins?” he presses, his voice a touch agitated.

My bus sails past the stop, and I close my eyes, irritation growing.

“It’s probably best if you head back inside. You never know who could be around to take more photos. You don’t know me, remember?”

When I look up at him, he’s already staring down at me, his green gaze showing he’s confused by my behavior.

“You would’ve preferred I told the world your name and that the images were taken right before we got naked together?”

My eyes flare wide, and I quickly check that no one heard that.

I remain quiet since I don’t have a decent response to his logic. No, I don’t want the world to know who I am, and I definitely don’t want them to find out about our hookup.

“You’re really starting to piss me off—you know that?” I push out, pulling out my phone to check on bus times.

He rocks back on his heels, and I swear he chuckles low. “Tell me a time when I’m not antagonizing you. All I need to do is breathe, and you’re aggravated by me.”

“You made out like I was nothing to you.”

He looks at me then, and I do him.

“It wasn’t so much what you said, but how you said it. That night really must’ve been forgettable.” My warm breath forms clouds in the freezing space between us.

Sawyer’s full lips twist. “Let’s not forget you were the one who graded me as average. But for what it’s worth, ‘forgettable’ is the opposite of how I’d describe what we shared.”

I pocket my phone, another bus due at any second. “Anyway, whatever. It was a mistake we won’t be repeating.”

Despite our noisy surroundings, I don’t miss the rumble from his chest.

“Is this where you back off from the group and then leave town?”

I reach into my bag for my bus pass. “I have a couple of things keeping me here, but, yeah, maybe. Work kind of sucks right now, and my place is on a rolling lease.”

He doesn’t respond to that, and silence stretches between us.

“I guess if I offered you a ride home, you’d tell me to shove it up my ass, right?”

A playful smile tugs at his lips, and I tear my eyes away from it.

“I really think it’s best if we reduce our contact to the absolute minimum. I’ll see Kendra and Jenna outside of game days. That way, you won’t be called out when the press inevitably catches on that I do, in fact, exist.”

He runs a hand through his hair, and I step toward a second bus as it pulls up alongside the sidewalk.

“Enjoy the event on Saturday,” he calls after me.

I pause and turn over my shoulder, eyes narrowing as contrasting emotions swirl in my stomach—amusement, annoyance, and downright frustration at the way this guy creeps under my skin with such ease.

“Yeah.” I grin at him. “Fingers crossed I’ll rate it more than a six.”