All the Way (Hot Jocks #2)(51)

As Teddy caps the tequila bottle, a worried look crosses his features. I take my second shot of the evening. The warm buzz of the alcohol hitting my system spreads over my skin.

I’d better slow down a bit, maybe dance for a few songs until those two shots catch up with me. The remix bumping through the speakers transitions to a song I know, and I hear Sara squeal in delight from where she’s shaking her booty beneath the rainbow-colored flashing lights.

“Excuse me.” I push past Owen and head straight to the dance floor.

Bailey and Aubree shimmy in my direction while Sara spins Elise around like a top. This is exactly what I needed. Some much-needed girl time to cut loose and forget about the shit-storm state of my love-life.

When Justin cuts in to dance with his girlfriend, Sara grabs my hand, pulling me deeper into the crowd until we’re swallowed by the sea of people, all dancing and shimmying and grinding up on one another.

Once the song ends and a new one I don’t recognize starts, I realize how much of a sweat I’ve worked up. I need to ditch my leather jacket stat. Excusing myself from the crowd, I find my way back to the table, where I eye both the tequila bottle and the pitcher of water, weighing my beverage options.

Before I can make up my mind, a very sweaty Elise joins me from the dance floor.

“Hey, Becs. Can I ask you something?”

I push down the knot forming in my stomach. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Elise pours herself a glass of water from the pitcher, then pours me one too. I guess that decides what I’m drinking next. After we’ve each had a swig, Elise leans in, her lips just inches from my ear so she doesn’t have to shout over the music.

“Is there something going on with you and my brother?”

I freeze, instantly sobered by the question. I knew Owen and I couldn’t hide this from Elise forever, but this is the worst possible time for her to be asking what’s happening between us. Because right now, I don’t actually know.

Yes, there’s something between Owen and me. But what, exactly?

A few days ago, I thought that our little deal had turned into something more, something real. But seeing him tonight with a girl hanging all over him, I’m not so sure. Maybe I really am just another notch in his belt.

Apparently, my silence speaks for me, because Elise squeals and swats my arm. “Oh my God. I knew it! I’ll kill him if he hurts you. You know that, right?”

I chomp down on my lower lip. If he hurts me? I think he already has. My heart feels so heavy, and if I’m not careful, I’m sure I could burst into tears at any moment.

As if on cue, Owen emerges from the crowd. “Becca, can we please talk?”

It’s his second time asking tonight. He must know he has some explaining to do. My gaze shifts nervously between Elise and Owen, my thumb nervously fiddling with the zipper on my jacket.

“Do you want to talk to him?” Elise asks, tugging me aside so we’re out of Owen’s earshot. “I can drag you to the bathroom with me or sneak you out of here, if you want.”

I crack a smile at her offer. Elise really is a good friend.

Suddenly, I feel awful that I kept everything from her. She knows him better than anyone. She could have listened, offered insight, something. Now I’m in this huge mess, and it’s up to me, and me alone, to sort through it.

“Thanks, but I’ve got this under control,” I tell her. “I’ll talk to him.”

Now I just have to figure out what the hell I’m going to say.





19




* * *





Last Time-Out





Owen



Becca is pissed at me, that much is obvious. She looks like temptation and sin all wrapped up in the sweetest package I’ve ever laid eyes on. But based on the bitter expression on her face, it’s a package I may never get to unwrap again.

When the guys dragged me here after the game tonight, I’ll be honest, I didn’t put up much of a fight. I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, and losing to a team we should have beat definitely didn’t help clear things up.

“We need to talk,” I say to Becca, my tone firm. When my sister flashes me a worried look, I wave off her concern. “This is between Becca and me.”

Elise raises her eyebrows and takes a step back. “Okay, but if you do anything to upset Becca, you’re a dead man.”

“Understood.” I swallow, feeling a little lost. I hate the idea that I’ve hurt Becca—it’s the one thing I vowed not to do, yet here we are.

Elise walks away, rejoining Justin and the others at the edge of the dance floor, about thirty feet away from our table. Not far, but at least we’re out of earshot.

Turning toward her, I say, “Becca—”

“It looks like you were having fun tonight.” Her shoulders are pulled back and her eyes are scanning the dance floor as she speaks.

She won’t even look at me. Won’t meet my eyes. That hurts way more than I thought it would.

“Not really,” I say, raising my voice over the music.

Becca’s hurt eyes meet mine once, just briefly, and something inside me crumples. I can see in her expression that something is wrong. Majorly wrong.

The pulsing music is too loud for us to have this conversation here. We need to be someplace quiet if I have any chance of apologizing properly.