Page 10 of Turn Me On

I do not.

I’m damn well-behaved as I give an earnest nod to my new trio of agents. “Thanks for dinner. I’m stoked to work with all of you.”

Vance smiles from across the table. “I’m so glad to hear that. It’s going to be great.”

“It is.” Their faith helps shake the nerves that have been dogging me lately. The kind of sponsorships that Maddox is suggesting felt out of reach my first few years in the majors. I don’t want to risk this golden opportunity for the sake of one hot night with the guy who’s going to land the deal.

Nope. I’ve taken a vow to behave.

The four of us make our way out of the restaurant, and I don’t even check out Maddox on the way to the hotel elevators. Instead, I catch Vance’s eye and slow my pace, letting Adriana and Maddox walk ahead.

“Hey,” I whisper.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Thanks again. For looking out for me,” I say, patting his shoulder. He plucked me from the lower rounds of the draft, putting his faith in me when others didn’t. I don’t take that lightly. “Since the beginning.”

“Always, kid.” He slugs me on the arm. “I’ve got your back. You feel good about these two? If you don’t, I’ll keep you all to my lonesome.”

I smile, letting him know I’m good with it. Clearly, he thinks they can strike gold, and if I’m anything, I’m a damn fine team player. “Like I said earlier, if this works for you, it works for me.”

“It’ll work for all of us,” he says. We catch up to the others as Adriana yawns, then Vance does too.

“I’m gonna crash in three, two, one. I’m so glad I’m staying here,” Vance says, eyes bleary, voice slurry.

“Me too,” Adriana seconds, sounding ready to collapse. “But I’ll be up at six, working the phones.”

“Of course you will,” Maddox says.

“You too,” she tells him with a knowing smile.

“You guys are too fun,” I say, teasing them as we reach the bank of elevators.

“We’re a barrel of sleep-deprived monkeys,” Vance says.

To keep the mood light, I turn to Maddox. “Is it past your bedtime too?”

Shaking his head, he stabs the down button. “I’ve got a little more stamina,” he says, pressing the pedal lightly on the innuendo. But then he surprises me when he adds, “So, I’m going to see a friend over in Hayes Valley.”

I straighten to attention.

Wait.

Friend? He’s seeing a fuckingfriend? And was he going to see this friend if he’d accepted my come-home-with-me offer?

Then, I slam on the brakes.

Dude, did you really just mentally argue with yourself over whether your new agent was hypothetically going to ditch his friend to hypothetically fuck?

I need to get it together.

I’m going home, anyway. I have a game tomorrow evening. A workout in the morning.

There. I breathe past the stupid burst of jealousy.

The elevator doors grind open. Soft blue lights illuminate a sleek car. We step inside, the four of us. Maddox takes the back left corner. I move to the right. Vance and Adriana take the center.

This distance is necessary.