Chapter 23 Desiree Dixon

Game On, I Guess

I toss my head back and laugh at something Chase just said.

Was it really all that funny? No.

Am I playing a game after I saw Asher walk in? Yes, absolutely, I am.

He’s going to pin me against the wall and give me a steamy kiss and then act like he’s some goddamn hero for walking away? Well, that’s a game, too, so…game on, I guess.

Ellie slides into the booth beside me. “So, Desi, have we talked you into moving to Vegas yet?”

I laugh. “Nobody has tried in the last five minutes.”

“Enter Ellie. So I talked to Erin last week, and she is super excited to talk with you. She really wants to offload the charity ball for next year to someone with experience, and since you know football and attended this year’s event, you’re like the magical perfect fit.”

I don’t mention that I was so focused on Asher that I don’t have a clear recollection of the rest of the ball.

I sigh. “Would it require me to be here in Vegas?”

She shrugs. “You can work that out with Erin. If you’re only taking on the ball and you do it as a consultant, then I wouldn’t think so.”

“But my contract at my current job doesn’t allow me to plan outside events,” I say sullenly.

“So if you want in, you have two choices. Either A, run the ball through your current firm, or B, quit and move here. There are plenty of other events you could plan. Or better yet, start your own firm, and the Vegas Aces can be your first client.” She raises her brows as if it’s a great idea.

And maybe it is. Maybe I do want to move here.

I miss being close to my parents. I’ve formed some friendships here already, even though I’ve only visited a couple of times, and then there’s the whole, you know, number eighty-five thing.

But maybe I don’t want to move here. My eyes fall onto Asher, who’s in the booth behind the one I’m in. His eyes are on me, and they flick away when we make eye contact.

He’s going to fight this, and he’s probably right to. I don’t know if I have it in me to pull out the victory, anyway.

But as his eyes flick back to me, I see it there. He’s close to giving up the fight.

I told him once, and I meant it—we can do this in secret. Nobody has to know.

It isn’t ideal, but at least it would give us the space to explore, and if it turns into something more than lust and sex and the intense carnal connection we share, we’ll deal with it then.

But why not have a little fun in the meantime?

I turn to Ellie. “I’ll think about it. Promise.”

She nods and holds up both hands. “No pressure, seriously. But I think we’d have a lot of fun taking this town together. And Victoria told me you read spicy books, and she’s always passing books to me, too. We could start up a book club or something here.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Did Victoria tell you to say that to me?”

She shakes her head as her eyes widen innocently. “I swear, we haven’t talked about it. Why?”

“Because I’m in a book club with my best friends back home. It’s not just the book club, but the whole idea of leaving my friends behind, you know?”

“Is that the only thing keeping you there?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No. There’s the beach and my job, too, and everything I’ve ever known since the day I was born.”

“I get it. I grew up in Illinois, and moving seventeen hundred miles across the country was, well, terrifying. I was leaving my parents behind and trying something new, and you know what? I met my husband my first night in town, and it was like fate stepped in to push us together.”

Fate . There’s that damn word again, the same one Asher used when I showed up in the seat reserved for his date.

“Fate,” I murmur. It’s a nice idea and a cute word, even, but I’m not sure how much I believe in it. It’s not as if my dad took this job so I’d get the chance to meet a player my father had no intention of introducing me to.

“I met Prince Charming and got the fairy tale. Maybe it’ll happen for you, too.”

I smirk. “Or not. I’m not really into fairy tales unless they’re dirty ones.”

She laughs. “Oh, that reminds me. Victoria told me about these dirty fairy tale retellings…” She grabs her phone and starts scrolling through her book app to show me.

Before she gets the chance, though, I back her up a step. “You said we’d take this town together. What did you mean by that?”

“I’m always helping out with various Aces events. Erin tends to be very player-focused, and I am, too, with my PR company, so we work fairly closely together on community outreach.” She shrugs and sets her phone down. “So if you’re here doing stuff for the team, I’m sure we’ll end up on various projects together. And we’d have so much fun .”

I absolutely agree with her that we’d have a great time. I suppose now it’s a matter of deciding if this is something I truly want or if I’m only considering it because it would greatly increase my chances of getting naked with Asher Nash again.

“Oh, shoot. My babysitter’s calling. I need to take this, excuse me,” she says, and she rushes out the front door.

Chase raises his eyebrows at me from across the table. “You’re thinking of moving here?”

I shrug as I nod toward Ellie’s retreating figure. “She’s trying to convince me to, but I’m not really sure.”

“You should.”

“Why?” I pick up my now-empty drink and swirl the ice around the glass, and my eyes move up and to the side of Chase, focusing instead on Asher at the next table.

If it’s not okay for me to be with Asher, it’s not like it’s okay for me to be with Chase for all the same reasons. This is nothing more than harmless flirting, and he’s going to stay away like Asher claims he will. All the players will. It’s a coach-player-respect thing, much to my dismay.

But the thing I know about Asher is that he’s the wild card. Nobody ever knows what to expect out of him.

And that’s why it’s such a pleasant surprise when I’m waiting around the side of the building an hour later for my Lyft to take me home, and he saunters outside and moves in beside me.

It’s dark out here, and we’re alone—part of the reason why I moved to the side of the building when I knew his eyes were on me as I walked out.

Call it part of the game.

“You’re flirting with Morgan now?” he asks. “Just so you know, he’s a dog.”

“Jealousy looks hot on you, Nash.” I keep my gaze focused forward rather than glancing over at him, though it takes everything in my power to do it.

He moves so he’s standing in front of me, filling my line of vision. His eyes are hot on mine before they flick down to my lips. “Goddammit,” he mutters, and he boxes me in against the brick wall out here like he did inside the building the last time I was here. His hand moves to my hip. “You’re making this so hard.”

I run my hand along the front of his pants. “Mm, you’re right. Very hard.”

He shoves his hips against my hand, and he lowers his mouth to my neck. “I can’t, Des. I can’t do this, but I can’t stop thinking about you.” He thrusts his hips into my hand again as if to prove some point, and a thrill zips up my spine as a hot, aching need pulses between my thighs.

“One more night, Asher,” I murmur. I duck my head so my lips catch his, and he kisses me for a beat before we’re interrupted by headlights.

He jumps back, caught, and I let out a strained chuckle. “That’ll be my ride. Unless…”

He quirks a brow. “Unless what?”

I lift a shoulder. “Unless you want to leave together.”

He sighs, and it’s a strangled, throaty sound of frustration. “You know I can’t, but fuck, you’re tempting me.”

That’s sort of the idea. “Your loss,” I say with a shrug, and I walk over to the car waiting for me.

“You better not fucking wear another man’s number again.”

I laugh as I open the door and slide in. “Or what?” It’s a clear challenge, and I slam the door shut before he gets the chance to answer.

And then I wait for him to use the number I slipped into his palm earlier tonight.