Page 20

Chapter twenty

Landon

Bay Area News 5 – Landon Beaumont seen entering Off the Grid, out for the first time since game four. Latest lady under wraps as Beaumont arrives alone, but the night is young.

Sav

You okay?

I’ve been keeping up with you by seeing what you were up to in the news, but there’s barely been anything on you. Have you fallen off the face of the earth?

Trick question because I know you’ve been playing.

Landon

I just haven’t wanted to go out much. Promise I’m alive and alright.

Hope the tour is going well.

Landon had not expected to see a clown with their tongue down Albert Einstein’s throat when he exited Off the Grid’s VIP bathrooms. He stepped around them to get back to the couches where the rest of his teammates were, taking his seat beside Ikaika and JJ, a Sentinels wide receiver. He was thankful they weren’t downstairs on the dance floor, packed together in pockets of people in various Halloween costumes.

A woman dressed in scraps of gauze sidled up to him with a smile. If she was up here, she was either an athlete, had been brought in by an athlete, or had paid an insane amount of money.

“Landon!” she yelled, like they knew each other well.

“Hey…”

“I told my friend you’d be here! She didn’t believe me. She’s—” The woman cut herself off, looking around the many tables and chairs on this level. “I don’t know where she went.”

Landon took a sip of his beer, the neck portion of the apron he’d chosen for his chef “costume” tonight chafing against his bare skin. Kayvon, one of their younger tight ends, had insisted they all wear some form of costume, so Landon had nothing but his apron and dress pants on. Ikaika, who was half asleep beside him despite having had nothing to drink, was wearing a cropped football jersey.

Landon didn’t want to be here, but even Ikaika had been game, so they’d come to Off the Grid—the only bar in the area that made everyone who came in leave their phone with phone check downstairs. They’d been here for over two hours, and he’d turned away at least fifteen women in favor of his beers.

Basically, he was having a miserable time.

There was something to be said about the haven he, Keala, and Ikaika had created in their apartment over the last two months. For possibly the first time ever, Landon had looked forward to going home after practices instead of going out, getting wasted, and finding someone to hook up with for the evening.

“Well, it was good to meet you.” He had no interest in going down this avenue tonight. Probably not for a while. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at another woman with the intention of hooking up with them, but it had been before he’d met Keala. He knew that for sure.

“Wait! I’m looking for her because we were wondering if you might want to go home with us tonight.”

He sighed, emptying his drink. A part of him hated that he’d ever started things with Keala, because she’d ruined this experience for him. Completely. But that was dumb because he would have given all this up again to keep what they had going. To have the possibility of kissing her again.

“Appreciate the offer, but not looking tonight.” He inclined his head to JJ, who’d been eyeing the woman since she’d come up to Landon. “JJ’s available though.”

She pouted her bright-red lips but turned to JJ anyway. “How would you like a threesome?” His tongue practically lolled like the dog he was dressed as.

Landon stood and headed to the bar, asking for another beer. To his right, the balcony overlooked the downstairs portion of Off the Grid. He noticed a woman in silver boots, knee-high bright-green socks, and a silver bodysuit over a matching green see-through turtleneck. Her straightened hair looked familiar, pushed back with a headband that held up two balls attached to springs.

She was the hottest alien he’d ever seen. And the star of every one of his fantasies—sans alien outfit. Usually in his fantasies, she was wearing her red-and-black plaid pajama shorts, no top, and she was looking up at him as she—

Fuck , he had to stop.

Keala was surrounded by a group of women, who were all laughing. Already, heads turned in their direction despite them having just arrived. Landon watched raptly, even after the bartender brought him another beer.

The music pounded, and if it hadn’t been clear before, Landon knew now they were Keala’s teammates, all moving perfectly on beat to the song.

She looked so happy and free. He was glad she was going out, proud of her for not allowing work to rule her life entirely. She deserved to let loose like this.

A guy approached the group. Landon didn’t think much of it, but the man pointed in Keala’s direction, and her friends pushed her toward him. She smiled, nodding and responding to whatever he said. After a few minutes, he pulled out what looked like a pen and handed it to her, holding his arm out, and that’s when Landon felt a hand gripping tight to something inside of him.

Had she agreed to give him her number? It wasn’t like she and Landon had done anything since the end of August, but he’d thought she’d felt a fraction of what he did.

Landon thanked the bartender. One of the guys had put down their cards for the tab, so he grabbed the beer and headed downstairs. Ikaika was still asleep. He’d be fine for a few minutes.

It took what felt like a year to get to the bar downstairs, where Keala stood waiting for drinks, sweaty bodies writhing against him as he moved. Either the people down here were so drunk they didn’t recognize him, or they were just very interested in dancing.

Finally, when he reached her, he leaned his side against the bar and smirked down at her. She was trying to get the bartender’s attention, with little luck. He tapped one of the balls on her headband. “I won’t lie, this costume is doing things for me.”

Her eyebrows raised, then raised higher when she realized it was him. “I don’t know why I’m surprised you’re here. Makes sense for athletes.”

Landon nodded. Not having to worry about people taking his picture was a definite perk. Her eyes dropped down his body until they landed on the words on his apron. “I cook as good as I look,” she read. A small giggle told him she’d had a couple of drinks.

He inclined his beer in her direction. “It’s true. Are you having a good night?”

“Yes. But if you want to talk to me, you have to face the bar and look straight forward.”

“I’ll admit, your rules are unorthodox, but if it means I get to keep talking to you…” He turned, setting his beer down and leaning his arms on the bar.

“I know nobody has their phones, but even being seen next to you is a bad idea.”

“I got it, Keeks. My ego doesn’t need to take any more hits.”

Keala snorted. “We agreed I’m here to humble you. And you’re lucky I’m letting you stand next to me.”

“Fair enough.”

“Are you having a good night?” she asked.

“It’s okay, I guess.”

She turned, frowning, but he shook his head. “Ah, ah, ah. Face the bar. Your rules.”

Keala sighed, listening. “Why is your night just okay?”

“Because it’s been three days since the game and you haven’t congratulated me on any of my touchdowns. And I saw you yesterday .”

She giggled again, and the sound wrapped around him, crushing any semblance of control he’d had over his feelings for her. It made him want to pull her into his chest and hold her tight.

“Hm, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. As you know, when I’m at home games, I, too, am working.”

“So when I turned to smile at you, you weren’t watching me after one of my biggest plays this season?”

He saw her shake her head out of the corner of his eye. They were being jostled, and the side of her body pressed against him. He brushed his pinky against hers and heard her small inhale.

“Right. And if I told you that I scored for you? That if you’d looked at me long enough, I would have dedicated it to you?”

“I would tell you not to be an idiot because if Angelica caught us making eye contact for a moment, she would have been onto me. That woman can sense things before they happen, I swear.” The bartender was still down the bar, moving fast as hell as he made drink after drink. Keala glanced around before turning to Landon, her voice dropping. “I’m proud of how you played. You finally look like you’re trying out there.” She elbowed him lightly.

Something burst in his chest. He didn’t know if he had ever heard that before, and even if she was needling him at the same time, the knowledge that him putting in effort could finally be rewarded was…revolutionary. Ever since the night of the accident, he’d been focusing more at practice, working harder than he ever had. It felt like it was starting to pay off.

Landon looked away, wanting to make a joke but knowing that she had created a safe space for him. He didn’t have to use humor to cover his feelings, and more than that, she wouldn’t have wanted him to.

“Thank you,” he responded genuinely. “That means a lot.” And then, because he couldn’t help himself, he said, “I guess I’m not the slacker you thought I was.”

“Landon…”

“I know. I hadn’t shown you any differently then.”

Keala tapped a couple of fingers on the bar. “They’re so busy. I don’t know why we’re here. We’re never going to get served. I’m tired. I want to go home and change into comfy clothes, but the girls are trying to get me drunk even though I have work tomorrow.”

Landon thought about her pajamas and his dick twitched. What was wrong with him? When had he become this guy who was more turned on by a woman in her pajamas than the sexy Halloween costume she was wearing now? And not any woman, this woman specifically. The shift from never wanting to see someone he’d fucked outside of the bedroom to wanting to spend all his free time with her had snuck up on him so quietly, happened so gradually, he hadn’t noticed until now.

Scarily enough, he was pretty sure he liked her.

He liked that she challenged him when few others did. That she didn’t take his shit. That she pushed him to be vulnerable and then listened and validated him. That she felt like a kindred spirit because of their shared experiences with their siblings. He liked how hardworking and driven she was, and that that made him want to work harder too.

“Want me to smuggle you out of here? If you do, though, you have to confirm what a little birdie told me about winning the pumpkin carving contest.”

“Ikaika told you?”

“A little birdie.”

Keala sighed. “Fine. Fine. Yes. You won. My mom loved your pumpkin and, to Ikaika’s dismay, said you won by a mile. Akoni sent a photo of his last night, and she texted this morning about it.”

“That’s interesting because I seem to remember that I win a favor from you.”

“And what do you want?” she whispered. When he turned, she was looking up at him, eyes searching his face.

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her so badly, it was taking effort not to lean forward the last few inches. But then she was leaning forward, her eyes fluttering shut, and he didn’t know if it was the alcohol in her system, or because they were standing so close, or if she was finally giving in to the tension that had been building between them.

As their lips brushed, Keala was jostled into him. He wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her, glaring at the person who’d pushed her. They weren’t even paying attention.

Keala, dazed, extracted herself from his grasp. “I should go.”

“Kee—”

“Kaykay! What are you—” Her friend’s dark eyes widened underneath her pirate hat, her eye patch flipped up. “Oh.”

“Hey, Zoe. This is Ikaika’s friend. He was trying to help me wave the bartender down, but I think it’s a bust. Too busy.” Her words came out fast, one pressing into the next so they were almost a jumble.

Zoe nodded slowly, eyes still wide and focused on Landon. “Uh-huh. Well, as you’ve noticed, the team is here, so we need to leave. I know you wanted to go home, so now’s our chance while Kennedy figures out where we should hit next.”

“Sounds good. I’m ready.” Keala grabbed Zoe’s hand, pulling her through the throng of bodies, Zoe glancing back every few steps.

Keala did not look back.

Landon sipped his beer by the bar until he saw Keala get her phone and walk out with the rest of the Sirens.

With less of a desire to stay now that he knew Keala was gone, he went upstairs, grabbed a tired Ikaika, said their goodbyes to the few teammates who weren’t participating in various activities, and headed to the VIP section’s phone check.

He would have no fun here knowing she was at home.