Playing to Win (The Players)

We enter Logan’s Bar downtown and the crowd parts for us as soon as we walk into the building. Guys greet us by holding their hands up for a high five, lots of, looking good so far type comments coming at us from all angles.

Plenty of women greet us too. All of them with hopeful expressions on their faces, their soft voices sounding almost frantic as they try to speak over each other, all of them vying for our attention.

It’s like this every time we come to Logan’s as a team, and tonight is no exception. It’s a Wednesday night. Our first game is Saturday and it’s an away game, though not too far and we plan on leaving first thing Saturday morning.

Practice today was rough. I know they’re going to put us through it again tomorrow. And the next day after that. Tonight, I just want to relax. Shoot the shit with my teammates. Flirt with some pretty women. Maybe even take one home—or wherever—and have a quick hookup. Nothing too complicated. A hand job in the bathroom? A blow job in the back seat of my car?

I’m definitely looking to release some tension.

The odds are in our favor this evening. I notice quick that the ratio of women to men is three to one and I nudge Derek in the ribs, who sends me an irritated look.

“What’s up with all the chicks?” I ask.

“Pretty sure they’re all members of your fan club, bro.” He laughs when I scowl. “It’s ladies’ night. They’re trying something new at Logan’s. Women get drinks for a cheaper price every Wednesday.”

“Fucking unfair,” I mutter as we head for the back of the bar, where we usually like to sit. Last year all I wanted to do was drink with my fake ID, and the bartenders and servers let me get away with it. Some of them had to know I was underage, but they always looked the other way. Plus, I had a really stellar fake driver’s license that cost me a pretty penny. I wanted to make sure and use that bitch every chance I got.

Now I’m legal, thanks to turning twenty-one back in June, and I can drink whenever I want, but this season, I’m trying to remain mostly sober. It’s not like I lose control when I drink or anything like that, but I’m trying to keep up a semi-healthy regimen here. There’s no need for me to get shit-faced all the time and besides, I don’t need the extra calories.

God, the team nutritionist would so be giving me a high five right now.

“Ladies’ night brings more women into the bar,” Derek points out as we settle into a booth. “Don’t think you’ll complain about that.”

Logan’s is already full of women any night of the week, but the estrogen is damn near overpowering tonight. “You drinking?” I ask Derek.

“Hell yeah.” He smiles. “You?”

“One beer.” Maybe I shouldn’t even have one. Might be smart to just sip on some water and call it good.

“Boring.” Derek shakes his head. “But I get it. You’ll probably make the nutritionist jizz his pants when he finds out what a good little boy you are.”

“Fucking gross.” Grimacing, I shove at Derek’s shoulder but he barely budges. The guy is so damn solid. He needs all the extra calories he can get to mow down anyone on the field. A few beers won’t make a difference with his weight.

“What, it’s true. We’ve got a whole new regimen going on here.” Derek shakes his head, and I wonder what he thinks about all of the changes.

Our support staff has grown thanks to Mattson making his requests and the athletic department finally granting them. We have personal trainers, nutritionists and even therapists now on staff to assist us with any of our needs, both mental and physical. It’s kind of nice, knowing we have access to so much help.

“Hey, Ace.” I glance up to find a group of girls standing in front of our table with hopeful expressions on their faces. It’s weird how they all look the same with their matching dark, wavy hair and extremely short denim skirts. It’s like they planned their look on purpose.

“Hey.” I offer them a quick wave, unsure of which one greeted me first.

One of them steps forward, her dark eyes latched onto my face. “Ready for this weekend’s game?”

I nod, leaning back against the booth seat. “Sure am, sweetheart. What about you? You going?”

She slowly shakes her head, her other look-alike friends stepping forward, giving me eerie vibes. “I’m so sad it’s an away game.”

“There’s a bus that takes students to the games,” I remind her.

Her expression turns sheepish. “I can’t take it.”

I’m frowning. “Why not?”

“She got into a fight on the bus last season,” one of her friends pipes up. “Got kicked off.”

“I was drunk,” the girl adds with a brilliant smile.

Derek and I share a look before I return my attention to her. “You’re feisty.”

She leans over the table, pressing her palm on the scarred wood, giving us a perfect view down her shirt. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

I squirm. Derek covers up a laugh with a fake cough, bringing his fist to his mouth and muttering some sort of insult under his breath.

“Can I buy you a drink?” she asks me.

Her friends start to wander off and I’m grateful there’s less of them but still.

I’d rather just chat with my friends. This chick’s intensity is kind of freaking me out.

“I’ve already got a beer coming,” I tell her.

“I’ll order you another one.”

“I’m on a one-drink limit tonight, sweetheart.”

“I can get a deal since it’s ladies’ night.” Damn, she’s not going to give up.

Derek is laughing and I send him a panicked look, wishing he’d come to my rescue.

“It’s all good,” I tell her with an easy smile.

“Oh, come on. My treat.”

“Hey, Townsend.” Derek nudges me extra hard in the side, making me grunt. “Isn’t that your girlfriend over there?”

I whip my head around, ready to claim whoever the next female I set eyes on as my girlfriend. “Where do you see her?” I ask, playing along.

“Right there, idiot,” Derek mumbles, and when my gaze lands on the familiar face, I nearly pass out with relief.

It’s Ruby.

“Hey, sexy girlfriend!” I shout at Ruby, startling the girl who is currently trying to flirt with me.

Of course, Ruby looks in my direction, and of course she rolls her eyes the moment she sees it’s me. She’s got Natalie trailing after her and the only reason I even know who Natalie is, is because she lived with Joanna last year.

Natalie is kind of intimidating. Not like the girl who’s currently staring me down like I’m a piece of meat she wants to gnaw on, but still. Natalie can be intense. She’s never afraid to ask for what she wants.

“Come here,” I mouth at Ruby, whose body is literally leaning backward, like she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. Natalie is the one who takes Ruby’s hand and starts dragging her over to our table.

“You have a girlfriend?” the girl asks me.

“Definitely,” I say with a firm nod. “And she’s hot as fuck and super jealous so I’d suggest you steer clear of her, if you know what I’m saying.”

“God, why do you even have a fan club if you’re already taken?” The girl rolls her eyes and huffs out a breath, stalking away without another word.

“Nice one,” Derek tells me once she’s gone. “She was scary.”

“They’ve all been coming on a little stronger than normal this season,” I admit. I don’t mind a bold, know-what-she-wants kind of woman, but the girls who’ve been swarming around me lately have been a different kind of confident. A lot more demanding than usual.

I blame it on the position I’m playing. Being the backup gets you just enough attention to make you feel like you can snag any pussy you want. But being the starting quarterback?

That’s a whole new kind of intensity that’s going to take some getting used to.

“Hey, guys,” Natalie greets us brightly when she stops in front of our table, Ruby beside her. “Derek.”

“Nat. Looking smokin’ hot as usual.” Derek’s voice dips low, his gaze for Natalie and no one else. The way they’re staring at each other reminds me that they had a thing before. About a year ago.

Before Derek moved on, which he does pretty quickly.

I’m the same way.

But then there’s Ruby Maguire. For whatever reason, she’s always lingering in the back of my mind. Seeing her now standing in front of me in a pair of long black flowy pants and a cropped black top that shows off her tanned stomach, I’m stunned silent.

Pretty sure she’s not wearing a bra either. As in I can see the outline of her nipples.

Jesus.

“Hey, Red,” I tell her, my voice rusty. I clear my throat, feeling like an idiot.

Ruby frowns. “Red?”

“Well, yeah.”

“My hair is blonde.” She picks up a chunk of it, showing me like I’ve never noticed before.

“I know.”

“Why are you calling me Red?”

“Your name is Ruby. And a ruby is red, you know?” I smile, glancing at the empty spot beside me in the booth. “You should join us.”

She hesitates, glancing toward the front of the bar, and I can tell she wants to bolt. Man, I really fucked everything up on New Year’s for her to act this way.

“Swear you won’t try any funny stuff.” She points a finger at me.

I hold up my hands, wanting to laugh at her saying ‘funny stuff’. “I swear.”

We watch each other, the silence between us stretching, and I swear to God, I’m starting to sweat.

“Okay,” she finally says, shocking me. My gaze tracks her as she makes her way to my side of the rounded booth.

“Are we staying?” Natalie asks her.

“I am,” Ruby says.

“Sit by me, Nat.” Derek pats the empty spot next to him.

This is how we end up with two girls we already know sitting at our table on Wednesday night. And while this isn’t normally how Derek and I operate, I can’t help but feel a little relieved at having Ruby sitting with me, giving me serious side-eye while she watches Derek and Natalie launch into an immediate flirtatious conversation. Natalie even twirls a lock of dark auburn hair around her finger as she bats her eyelashes at Derek, and he’s eating this shit up.

Ruby watches them, her eyes wide with shock and her lush lips formed into the slightest frown.

Damn, she’s pretty.

The waitress finally shows up with our beers and I’m taking a giant gulp the moment the server hands it over. She glances over at Ruby.

“You want anything, honey?”

“I’ll take a watermelon margarita.”

“Ooh me too,” Natalie adds.

“Coming right up.” The waitress watches me as I steadily gulp from my beer. “You want me to bring you another one of those?”

I’m about to say no when Derek speaks for me.

“You better. I think he needs it.”

I glare at him, ready to tell the server to cancel that request, but she’s already gone.

“You watching what you drink tonight?” Natalie asks me.

“I’d planned on only one beer,” I tell her, hoisting my beer mug into the air like I’m raising a glass and eager to say cheers. “But I guess Derek ruined that.”

“He ruins a lot of things,” Natalie says, her expression pointed when she studies Derek.

He doesn’t seem affected by it at all. Either he’s oblivious or he flat out doesn’t give a damn.

“Red, huh?” Ruby asks once the waitress is long gone and Natalie and Derek have resumed their flirtatious conversation.

Glancing over at her, I find she’s already watching me, her full lips curved into a faint smile. I probably amuse her, but not in the way I want. “It makes sense.”

She neither confirms nor denies my statement. “No one has ever called me Red before.”

“Kinda funny, considering your name is Ruby and a ruby is red.”

“I’ve never really had a nickname,” she admits. “I’m just always…Ruby.”

“Nothing wrong with that. I don’t have a nickname either. I’m just Ace.”

“Ace sounds like a nickname,” she admits. “Though I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”

“I have.” I bring my beer to my lips and tip my head back, taking a long pull. The alcohol courses through my veins, warming me up. Relaxing my tense muscles.

“How did you get the name Ace anyway?”

I smile at her, pleased she wants to know. “It was my dad’s favorite name growing up. He played some video game where the main character was Ace and he always loved it. So when my mom finally got pregnant and they found out they were having a boy, he immediately wanted to name me Ace. My mom could see how much it meant to him and that’s how I became baby Ace.”

I don’t bother telling her how my parents struggled for years with infertility. My mom had a lot of miscarriages and went through IVF treatments until finally I was born. They considered me their lucky baby, their only child and completely overindulged me when I was growing up.

But my dad also taught me how to work hard and I channeled all of my energy into football. If I can pay the two of them back in any sort of way for the love and devotion they’ve shown me my entire life, it’ll be by taking care of them financially, if I ever get the chance to play professionally.

It’s the least I could do.

“Baby Ace,” she says, her voice soft. “Were you cute?”

I make a scoffing noise. “Fucking adorable.”

“So modest.”

“That’s me,” I say. “Always playing down my best qualities.”

Ruby laughs and fuck, it’s a pretty sound. “Most of you guys are downright insufferable.”

“When you refer to ‘you guys’, are you meaning us football players?” She nods. “Yet here you are, always hanging out with us.”

“Guess I’m drawn to what I know?” She shrugs. “And I wouldn’t say I’m always hanging out with you.”

“You’re right, and you should. Always hang out with us.” I keep the smile on my face while hers fades a little, her expression turning unsure. I hate seeing that look.

“Yo, Maguire.” We both turn in Derek’s direction. “Your boy here called you his girlfriend.”