Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) (3 page)

“
Tyler, this is my friend Beth.
Beth, this is—”

“
Tyler Kidd.” Beth finished her
friend’s sentence. Her warm lips ran against his jaw and slid
towards his ear. “I always wanted to touch
the
Tyler Kidd’s
stick. Is it as big as everyone says?”

He might be drunk, but his dick was at full
attention.
Damn, I’d love for her to touch my stick.

“
Marco, keep the beer
flowing.”

Marco shook his head but kept serving the group.

Veronica’s hand slid up Tyler’s thigh, stopping at
his crotch. He choked on his beer, as Veronica massaged his dick
through his slacks. She certainly wasn’t shy.

“
Keep it PG, kids.” Marco handed
them more beers before clearing the empty bottles.

Beth pouted. “Well, PG is no fun, Mr. Bartender.”

Tyler adjusted himself on the stool, but slid off and
almost fell over. He caught himself against her large chest. “Whoa!
Good thing these were there to catch me.” Mmm, his mouth watered as
he grabbed at her boobs.

“
Okay guys. Like I said, PG or take
it home.” Marco reminded them. “Ty, you know I can’t have this in
here.”

“
I know, Marco, I’m sorry.” He
looked at the girls. He just needed to get off, and there two
seemed willing. “My place?”

“
Definitely.”

Standing up, he stumbled backwards and laughed.
“Whew. No way I can drive. Who wants them?” He dangled his keys in
the air.

****

Pounding on the door woke Tyler from a sound sleep.
“What? Where am I?” He looked around his living room; he must have
passed out on the couch. He was pretty sure he came home with two
girls, but he seemed to be alone. He vaguely remembered giving his
keys to one of them and then squeezing in with the other.

More pounding on his door.

“
What?” he yelled, then cradled his
throbbing head in his hands.
God dammit, my fucking
head.

“
Tyler? It’s Trina. Open up,” his
sister called.

“
Trina?” Tyler stumbled to the
door. Damn, his head hurt. Looking down, he checked to see if he
was dressed. He had no recollection of what had gone on last night.
Nope. Naked as a jaybird. Grabbing a pair of shorts off the
bathroom door, he quickly dressed. He barely had the door unlocked
before Trina pushed her way inside.

“
Tyler, you look like hell.” Trina
looked around his living room. “Ugh, what a mess. Oh and what’s
that smell? You could at least spring for a maid.”

“
Ty, w’sup bro?” Sam butted his
fist up against Tyler’s as he moved into the living
room.

“
I forgot you were coming to town
today.” Tyler sighed, his head still fuzzy. “Where’re the
dogs?”

“
Actually we got in yesterday.”
Trina walked around his living room, then poked her head in the
bathroom. “Ew.”

“
You look lucky that you even know
your own name, bro.” Sam laughed. “The dogs are at our
house.”

Tyler had been so wrapped up in the drama of
yesterday that he forgot they were flying in from California.
They’d bought a house right down the street from him. “You’re all
moved in already?”

“
Sure are. So what exactly happened
here? Is this mess from last night’s party or does it always look
like this?” Trina gagged.

“
Tri, can you keep it down a
little? My head is pounding. Oh shit—” He ran to the bathroom and
slammed the door shut. Hugging the toilet didn’t make him feel any
better. As soon as he emptied all the alcohol out of his system he
went to the sink and splashed cool water on his face.
What the
hell is that?
There was writing on the mirror in red lipstick.
Veronica and Beth’s phone numbers. Like he had any intention of
calling them again. He swung open the door and hung on the door
frame for a minute.

“
Dumbass never could hold his
liquor.” Trina teased. “Sam, would you please go make my loser
brother some coffee? Thanks, babe.”

“
Fuck you, Tri.” Tyler
hissed.

“
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m not the hung
over drunk still pining over my lost love, sleeping with everything
that moves to forget her.”

“
Oh my God… I’m not pining… Go
away…” Tyler flopped down on the couch. Her hounding wasn’t helping
his pounding head.

“
No chance, little bro!” Trina
laughed.

“
Is that what this is all about?”
Sam asked, sitting down beside Tyler.

“
Of course it is. The
saga of
Gia
. Will it ever end?” Trina pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Now it’s giving me a fucking headache too.”

“
Trina, don’t say her name again.
Sis, I love you but I’m in no mood to put up with your shit right
now. My Goddamn head is pounding like a motherfucker.”

“
You eat yet?” Sam
asked.

“
No, why? Wait, what time is it?”
Tyler fumbled for his phone.

“
Ty, it’s three in the afternoon.
What time did you and”—she pointed toward the bathroom—“your two
friends get in last night?”

“
I don’t even know.” He looked
around at the mess of empty beer bottles. This place was a damn pig
sty.

“
You all had quite the party.” Sam
laughed.

“
Sam, you have no idea. You’re
missing out being tied down. Trust me.” He sounded convincing, but
he wanted what they had.

Trina glared at him. “Shut up Ty. You’re a mean
drunk. Just drink your coffee.”

After setting his coffee mug down on the table, Tyler
tried to sit up, and then the room went black.

****

Tyler yawned and rolled over. His eyes were crusty
and he had been drooling. The spicy aroma of pepperoni invaded his
nose. Opening his eyes and trying to sit up, he mumbled,
“Pizza?”

“
Well good morning, beautiful. Your
friend
Veronica stopped by. She forgot her shoe. I’m not
even going to ask how she managed that, but she also found her
undergarments.” Trina grimaced.

“
Oh God—I don’t even remember which
one she was.” He shook his head, trying to clear the
cobwebs.

“
Maybe it’s time to take it easy on
the beer?” Sam said, then took a bite of pizza.

Trina handed him a slice of pizza. “I think it’s a
good thing that Sam got traded here. Now I can watch out for you,
little bro.” She picked at the pepperoni on her slice.

“
I don’t need a babysitter,
Tri.”

“
I disagree, but I do think you
need me and Sam. I know she hurt you and I’m not real thrilled to
run into her, but I know I will eventually.”

A knock on the door interrupted them.

“
Ty? You okay in there?” Kris
called.

Tyler sighed as he got up.
I really must’ve fucked
up last night if even Kris is coming to check on me.
He opened
the door. “Kris, what are you doing here?”

“
Checking on you. You
okay?”

“
Come on in. Join the party.” Tyler
left the door open and walked back to the couch.

“
Party?” Kris looked around at Sam
and Trina.

“
He’s exaggerating. I’m Trina, Ty’s
sister.” She held out her hand to Kris.

“
Tyler’s sister? Well it’s nice to
meet you, Trina. And you must be Sam Morris.” Kris shook Sam’s hand
as well. “The team is looking forward to your arrival.”

“
Pizza?” Trina offered
Kris.

“
Oh, no thanks.” He turned back to
Tyler. “You weren’t answering your phone yesterday, and you missed
morning skate. Is everything okay? After practice yesterday I
wanted to make sure you were all right.” He frowned. “I guess you
went straight for the bar, huh?”

Tyler nodded.

“
What happened yesterday?” Trina
raised her eyebrow.

“
Nothing
, Tri.”

“
Obviously something sent you on
your drinking binge yesterday. Spill it, bro.”

Tyler sighed hard. Maybe it was a mistake trading for
Sam. He thought it would be fun having Trina here. Not so far. “I
had some problems at practice yesterday. Okay?” Then he quietly
added, “And Coach Walker sat me for tonight’s game.”

Trina groaned. “Well, that explains the heavy
drinking.”

“
Yes,
that explains the heavy
drinking
.” He mocked her high pitched voice. “I am an adult,
Tri. I can drink why and whenever I want.”

“
I’m playing tomorrow night,” Sam
said. “Is there more I need to know about the situation? I don’t
really want to go in there clueless. After all, I’m Tyler’s
brother- in-law. It’d look weird if I didn’t know what was going
on.”

“
What are you talking about, Sam?
Brother-in-law?”
Tyler shot him a pointed look. He looked at
his sister confused. “Tri?”

Trina held out her ring finger where a large sparkly
diamond sat. “Ty, we got married on the beach in Cali.”

“
Why didn’t I—”

“
You were moping over Gia at the
time. We wanted to do it at home with Sam’s sister Amy and her
daughter Morgan. I wanted you there too, but you weren’t answering
my calls. I tried, I really tried. Of course I wanted my little
brother there, but no one could get hold of you. What was I
supposed to do?”

“
Oh.” Tyler’s heart fell as his
eyes dropped to the floor. He let his heartbreak over Gia take over
his life, and he’d ended up missing his sister’s wedding because of
his pathetic pity party. “I’m sorry, Tri. I should’ve been there
for you.”

“
Tyler, it isn’t a big deal. But
don’t you think this has gone on a bit too long? All the drinking,
and the women, and your shitty attitude? It seems to me this isn’t
about you being heartbroken over a woman. Are you sure this whole
thing isn’t just about your bruised ego that she left you for
someone else?”

“
When did you turn into an armchair
psychologist, Tri?” Tyler said.

“
It’s obvious, Ty. You’re trying to
build up your ego by bringing home all these willing participants.
But I know you. You’re too nice a guy to treat women the way you
have been, so you’re using alcohol as a pathetic excuse to forget
what you’ve done the night before.”

Ty shook his aching head. “You don’t fucking know
what you’re talking about.”

Kris made a cutting motion by his throat trying to
avoid a fight.

But little did she know she was right.

CHAPTER 4

Paige looked herself over in the mirror one last time
before leaving the house. Her skirt felt too tight, but she looked
damn good in it. At least the jacket covered her ass, so she didn’t
think it would be an issue. Her new heels were stilettos, and maybe
inappropriate for work, but they made her legs look amazing. Of
course, all of her hard work at the gym helped too.

Rylee and Gram were still sleeping, so after making a
cup of coffee to take with her, she sneaked out quietly. Her new
Audi drove great on the highway; she’d always wanted car like this.
She had saved so long to get it, and landing this public relations
job with the Renegades made the monthly payments a lot easier.

Today she was meeting with the team for a charity
event, but first she had to attend to the team’s social media.
Waving at the security guard and making sure her credentials were
visible on her dash, she smiled as he let her in the parking
garage. The workers were all beginning to recognize her. It was a
nice change from her very first day when they’d stopped her and
didn’t believe she was with the team. They’d even called Melanie
down to verify her, which was embarrassing, but since then things
had been smooth sailing.

After parking her car, she headed to her office.

“
Good morning, Ms. Martin.” Ben,
the team owner stopped her. “I just wanted to let you know that
there’s a box of pastries in the lobby. Please help
yourself.”

Yum, pastries. “Thanks Mr. Nolan.”

“
Please, call me Ben. See you on
the ice in a bit.” He waved as he disappeared into the
arena.

Paige hurried to her office, hoping to get some of
the computer work out of the way before she was needed on the ice.
Passing the box of pastries in the lobby of the front office, she
paused to sniff the delicious sweet aroma, but chose better.

“
What? Don’t you like pastries?”
Melanie made her jump as she turned away from the box of delicious
goodness.

“
No, I mean, yes. I do like them.
My thighs on the other hand, not so much. Or maybe they like them
too much?” She laughed, as she gave her right hip a
smack.

“
Have you looked in a mirror lately
Paige? You have a rockin’ body. By the way, I love those heels.”
Melanie smiled as she grabbed a sweet treat from the box. Before
biting into the delectable looking doughnut she said, “I wish I had
your self-restraint.”

“
Trust me, it’s not self-control,
it’s simply laziness. I know if I eat one of those I’ll have to go
to the gym tonight.” She laughed. “And I’m too damn tired for
that.” It was the truth, since starting this job anyway.

“
Please,” Melanie said with a mouth
full of sweets. “I don’t think one doughnut is going to ruin that
body.”

“
Well…” Her mouth watered at the
sweet smell that was wafting through the air. Maybe just one… No!
“If I leave now then I won’t have to make that decision.” She
hurried to her office and shut her door. One doughnut wouldn’t hurt
her, but who eats just one doughnut? After half a dozen she’d be
sorry.