Big Time: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Read online

  After a final appraising look at my freshly cut chin-length bob, sleek cat eye makeup, and red lips, I slapped a hand on the wall beside the bathroom door and sashayed out to find Park. I found her in my adjoining bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror, back arched, booty pert and lifted, and her ever-present phone in her hand.

  I rolled my eyes at her as she bent a little lower and snapped a picture. “If you’re done cataloging your ass, we can leave.”

  Park Li, my best girlfriend grinned at me in the reflection of my full length mirror. “My Insta peeps need to see this dress!”

  “Bend over a little more and that’s not all they’re gonna be seeing,” I quipped.

  Park just laughed, snapped one more picture, and then straightened. She had a point about the dress. The neon orange bandage dress looked amazing on her. But then again, Park was a fitness model. She could wear a burlap sack and look fabulous. She spent two hours a day in the gym and had the toned physique to prove it.

  My full body reflection came into view as she moved aside and I grimaced. I was also donning a short dress, but my thighs didn’t have that coveted gap and my best pair of Spanx was the only thing keeping me from looking like a sausage stuffed into a tight casing.

  “Oh my gawd, Cassie you’re killing me.” Park spun around in her sky-high stiletto heels and glared at me. “You are so completely fuckable, so stop obsessing.”

  I scoffed. “Oh good, that’s just the look I was going for…”

  Park giggled. “You should have been. You know that rabbit vibrator only lasts so long. You need someone that doesn’t run on batteries.” She winked and went back to primping her hair in the mirror.

  “In my experience—albeit limited—the rabbit has a much better shot at getting me off.”

  Park threw her head back and cackled. “Oh baby girl, you need a real man. He’ll ruin you for Mr. Jackrabbit for good.”

  I shrugged. I wasn’t holding my breath.

  “Let’s just go have fun, have a few drinks, listen to some music. What’s the band again?”

  Park finished her last—I hoped—coat of lip gloss and then turned around again. “Jetset. They’re really good. I promise!”

  Park was something of an Instagram celebrity thanks to her rockin’ body and sexy pics. She started selling her own workout routines and then as her star power rocketed, she represented a handful of companies as their social media spokesperson. She shilled athletic clothes, workout drinks, supplements, and gym gear. Every minute of her life was documented for her half a million followers. As a result, she caught the attention of local reps and regularly scored tickets and VIP passes to local events.

  She constantly tried to drag me along, but the club scene wasn’t really my thing. Besides, I normally had to work and even when I wasn’t physically at work—I was on call and needed a level head in case something went down. However, after the last few weeks of practically living at work, I’d requested a night off and my boss—who’d been begging me to take time off for months—happily gave it to me.

  “All right, baby girl,” Park grabbed my arm on her way out of my bedroom. “Let’s go rock this bitch!”

  I laughed and let her drag me out of the house.

  ****

  Jetset turned out to be as good as Park had promised and after a couple of drinks, we were ready to hit the dance floor. As usual, Park scored all the attention. Everywhere we went, people recognized her, and would stop her and ask for selfies. I didn’t mind. I preferred to blend into the background and lay low. Having a semi-famous best friend worked in my favor most of the time. Especially when out at a bar or a club. Right around the time I needed a break from the craziness, she’d get swarmed with fans, and I could get a quick exit.

  Which was exactly what happened in between Jetset’s first and second set. Park got swallowed up in a crowd and I waved to let her know I was going back to the bar to wait it out.

  A light layer of sweat coated my skin and I wanted a minute to cool down before getting back on the floor. The club was crowded with warm bodies and it was nice to get away. I ordered a fruity house drink and smiled at the bartender as he served it up with a wink. Maybe thick thighs weren’t the end of the world after all. I paid for the drink and teetered between settling down at one of the stools—if I could figure out how to perch myself without showing off the goodies to the entire room—or going outside for some fresh air.

  The bartender rushed off to serve some other girls gathered at the end of the bar and didn’t give me a second glance. “Guess that decides that,” I muttered to myself before throwing back a chug of the too-sweet drink. I headed for the side doors that led to an outdoor space. Both sets of double doors were thrown open wide, allowing the subtle breeze to air out the crowded club.

  The patio was practically empty which surprised me since the band was on a break, but I took a deep breath, clearing the smell of sweat, cologne, and cheap perfume from my nose. I took another long drink from the glass in my hand and wandered the perimeter. I stopped walking at the corner and leaned against the stone wall surrounding the space. The club was in the heart of downtown Bitsberg and provided an expansive view of the waterfront that ran through the city. It was summer time, but as it neared midnight, it was much cooler than the high point of the sticky day. Thankfully.

  I finished my drink and swirled the half a mouthful at the bottom of the glass, wondering if I should go back inside and order a second one. We’d taken an Uber to the club so that neither of us would have to be the designated driver of the night. I could get plastered and it wouldn’t matter. And for whatever reason, it sounded like a damn good idea to me.

  Getting drunk wasn’t normally my MO, but after the last few weeks of working my ass off, I felt like I deserved a night to not be the responsible adult for once.

  I took a step back and bumped into someone. “Oh! I’m so sor—” the words died on my lips as I finished my turn and looked up at the god of a man I’d run into. A set of enchanting, smoldering eyes were looking down into mine and stole the breath right from my lungs. “I’m so sorry,” I repeated, shaking off the dazed feeling.

  The man smiled and my heart sputtered. Holy crap, who was this guy? He looked like a god—or a movie star. Adonis?

  I’d never met hot men in real life. All of my fantasy men came from the big screen or the hotties I could find on Pinterest. And this guy—whoever he was—looked like he would fit right in. He was taller than me by at least a foot—maybe more—and at least twice as wide, with a set of broad, filled out shoulders, a solid chest, and smelled like heaven. Yep, he had to be a god.

  “No worries, pretty girl,” he drawled, a slight twang in his voice that made my thighs quiver. “Here—” He held a drink in each hand and held one out to me. The contents the exact color as the drink I’d just finished.

  I glanced around, looking for the original recipient of the drink in his hand.

  He chuckled. “It’s for you. I was watching you inside and figured you’d need a refill right about now.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Um—really?”

  He laughed again and I resisted the urge to lose myself in the rumbling sound. “I didn’t put any shit in it, if that’s what you’re thinking. But if you’d feel safer, we can go get you another one and have the bartender chuck this one out. I don’t mind.”

  I shook my head and took the drink. “No, that’s fine. I just—um—do we know each other? You look familiar.”

  He leaned against the partition and took a long drink from his own tumbler, an amber liquid. Whiskey? “We don’t know each other, but by the end of the night you’ll never forget me.”

  A laugh slipped out before I could stop myself.

  The guy’s eyebrows rose, surprised by my outburst.

  I flapped a hand. “Sorry…I just…that’s quite the line.”

  He smiled. “It’s not a line, pretty girl. It’s a promise.”

  I quirked my lips. “All right. Well, let’s start wit
h your name.”

  “Langston,” he replied.

  I took a sip of the drink he’d given me. “Langston, huh? That’s an unusual name. I’m Cassandra, though most people call me Cassie.”

  “Very unusual, Cassie. And after tonight, you’ll never forget it.”

  I snorted. “Arrogant much?”

  “No, you’re just a very pretty lady, with a very pretty name.” He raised his glass in a mock toast and after we clinked, I set my glass down and sighed.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he took a lingering tour of my body and my skin lit up as though the temperature had raised ten degrees. Something about his gaze told me he hadn’t missed one inch of skin. The black and white dress was form fitting and strapless which, with my DD’s made for quite an eyeful. I had no idea how I’d managed to let Park talk me into digging it out from the back of my closet. I hadn’t worn it since last summer and I’d packed on seven pounds since then.

  From the look in Langston’s eyes, he didn’t mind the extra fluff.

  Somehow, I tore my eyes away and peeked around one of his massive shoulders—resisting the urge to linger on his sculpted tattooed arms visible under the tight sleeves of his t-shirt. Park wasn’t anywhere in sight. She was probably still giggling as the center of the bar turned into a photo shoot for her and her pack of rapid fans. I could excuse myself and go join the protein shake debate or I could stay and talk with Langston.

  Well, when you put it that way…

  “Am I keeping you from something? Someone?”

  My eyes snapped back to his and I noted a fleck of humor reflected back at me. The lights on the patio were low, but it looked like his eyes were light brown or green—hazel? Either way, they were dreamy and easy to get lost in. “I’m here with my friend. But she’s busy. You here alone?” I took a casual sip, hoping I looked more relaxed than I felt. Langston was the type of guy that would make me nervous just sitting beside on the bus. Standing before him, in a skin tight dress, trying to keep the girls where they belonged, drinking and trying to be cool had me on a whole ’nother level of anxiety.

  He flashed another grin that damn near had me shimmying out of my panties and telling him to just take me now. “I’m just chilling tonight. I got some heavy shit going on for the next few weeks and figured I needed a good time to keep my mind off of it.”

  I nodded as though I understood, when in reality, I didn’t. My entire life was an unending shitstorm. Not personally—well, at least according to me. Park would argue that my recent spell of dick deprivation was cause for alarm. “You like the band?”

  Langston shrugged. “I wasn’t really paying attention. I was too busy watching you.”

  My cheeks flushed and I threw back another chug.

  Langston laughed softly and reached for my arm. His fingertips brushed my skin and a flame extended from the soft touch until my entire body was engulfed. Holy wow I was in trouble…

  “You think your friend would get pissed if you ditched her?”

  I blinked rapidly at the sudden change in gears. “What?”

  This time, Langston didn’t smile or smirk. He was deadly serious. Even worse, I was too.

  No, no. Cassie McKay wasn’t a one-nighter. No way. Not even for a chance at finding out what tricks a guy like Langston was inevitably hiding behind that wicked smile.

  I smiled at him, as sweetly as I could, and held up the empty drink glass. “I don’t think I’m nearly drunk enough for that to be a possibility. So, unless you lied and this baby was spiked, I’m afraid you’re going to be going home solo tonight.”

  A few girls stumbled out onto the patio, giggling together, their camera phones out and pointed in Langston’s direction. Seemingly zeroed in on his—flawless—I was sure—ass.

  I scoffed. “Or not…looks like you’ll find company in no time.”

  Langston glanced over his shoulder to follow my gaze and while I couldn’t quite see his eyes, I had a feeling they rolled up to the murky night sky.

  Oh, the trials of being a pretty boy.

  Spare me.

  “Thanks for the drink.” I patted him on the arm as I sauntered past and made my way back inside.

  Sure, a night with Langston would probably have been the memory of a lifetime, but it wasn’t worth changing my opinion of the girl in the bathroom mirror every morning.

  Chapter Three

  Cassie

  “Where did you disappear to?” Park asked—shouted—over the sound of the band as they started their second set of the night. She’d managed to shake off her beloved fans and was re-hydrating, with vodka, at the bar.

  “I needed some air,” I replied, leaning in so she could hear me.

  “Meet anyone yet?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “You’re so one-track minded, Park!”

  She shrugged, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’m just asking. I’m going home with that guy right over there—” She tossed her pin-straight brown highlighted hair over her shoulders. She naturally had raven black hair but had lightened it to a chestnut brown-gold for the summer. I followed her finger to a tall, bodybuilder type guy in a security getup. “I do love a man in a uniform,” she growled, biting her lip.

  I laughed. “You’re ditching me already?”

  Park spun around, her hair flying out behind her. “Not just yet. He can’t leave till the band is done and I’m so over fucking in club bathrooms.”

  “No, that was so last summer,” I quipped.

  Park punched me on the arm. “Besides, I have one thing to do first…”

  I groaned, already knowing what she was going to say. “Park, I don’t—”

  “No arguments!” she snapped, sounding like her overbearing mother, who at 4’10 was still scary as hell. “Come on, just tell me who interests you.” She set her drink down and turned so we could both scan the busy club. Most people were back on the floor, dancing and grinding on each other. Some of the dedicated Jetset fans were singing along as the lead singer held the mic out over the crowd. It was like being at an outdoor concert instead of a club with a couple hundred people.

  “Some guy already tried to take me home.”

  Park’s eyes went wide. “Who? Show me! Show me!”

  It didn’t take me long, Langston was standing inside, leaning against the wall between the two sets of open doors. And he was staring right at me. Damn those eyes. Even from twenty feet away they were arresting.

  “That guy?” Park asked.

  I gave a tiny nod and tore my eyes from Langston’s. “Mmhmm.”

  “And you didn’t immediately say, yes, please take me home and fuck me till I can’t fucking breathe?”

  A loud laugh burst from my lips right as the music died down and a few people turned to stare at me. Park laughed but my cheeks warmed, likely beet red against my otherwise pale skin. “No,” I hissed under my breath. “Shockingly enough, I didn’t.”

  Park rolled her eyes and quickly ordered two more drinks from the passing bartender. “Cass, he looks like he just left the casting call for the next Magic Mike movie. How the fuck do you turn that down? You sure you haven’t become some kind of prude—or nun—in the last year?”

  “I’m not even justifying that with a response…”

  The bartender set two drinks down in front of us, some kind of vodka drink from the sound of what Park had ordered. I wasn’t a huge fan of vodka but took a tepid sip. It was actually amazing and the rest quickly disappeared.

  “That’s my girl!” Park encouraged, gesturing for another round.

  “No, no. I’m good. Happy buzz. Another one and things might get a little…out of control.”

  “And that would be bad?” Park asked, sounding genuinely confused on the matter.

  I bumped her with my hip. “Yes. Seriously, Park, I’m not a hit it and quit it kinda girl. Think of all the girls I work with. What kind of role model would I be if I started getting sloppy drunk and slutty on the weekends?”

  Park scoffed.
“Well, first of all, having a little fun doesn’t make you sloppy—or slutty. Secondly, none of the girls are here. So how would they ever know?”

  She had a point. This was my night off. I shouldn’t even be thinking about work.

  But still…

  The second—or maybe third—drink Park ordered up managed to erase that last little niggling “but still” and by the time the band announced it was their last song of the night, we were both on the floor, shaking what our mamas gave us with everyone else.

  Toward the high point of the song, someone moved behind me and took me by the waist. I backed my ass up into him and dipped it low. Alcohol greatly improved my dance floor prowess. Park cheered me on and I shimmied my hips like I was in a twerking contest until the song crashed to its grand finale.

  The crowd erupted in cheers and it took me a second to realize they were for Jetset and not my impressive ass-shakin’. I clapped and hollered with the rest of the crowd as the band said their good nights. Park kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “have fun, baby girl,” before scampering off to her security guard boy toy of the night—or weekend. However it ended up going.

  “Now, I gotta have you after all that,” a deep voice growled into my ear.

  I whipped around, tottering in my heels, to find that my dance partner and the recipient of my butt-grinding dance off was none other than Langston. He snaked his arms around my waist and tugged me close to keep me from falling over as the room settled down. “What are you doing?” I asked, carefully forming each word to keep myself from slurring. The dancing had helped burn off some of the buzz, but there was a foggy edge to my mind that hadn’t shaken off yet.

  “Dancing with you, pretty girl. Now, I’m gonna take you home and see what else these sinful hips can do.”

  Heat pooled between my thighs as he ran his hands down my curves. Damn it. I wanted him. More than I could remember wanting someone since…well…maybe ever. But it would be wrong. Wouldn’t it?

  I cocked my head. Langston was obviously the kind of guy who was used to getting his way. There was a silent sense that I could break away if I wanted to. He wasn’t gripping onto me. If I pulled away, his hands would fall away. But I didn’t want them to. Not at all.