CHAPTERONE
Jesse
“Great Game today, Jesse, man.”One of my teammates high-fives me, and then we all hold our beers up and clink them together.
I scored the winning goal, but I toast to the entire team because it was a team effort. I might have scored the last goal that tipped us over the edge, but no basketball game can be won without the effort of the entire team, and I'm not one to take all the credit.
I tip my beer back to drink to a job well done.
I nearly choke on the brew, pausing mid-guzzle when I spot the most beautiful angel I've ever seen in my entire life.
She's tall for a girl, but nowhere near as tall as me. Of course, there aren't many people who are as tall as me at six foot six. That's why I play basketball. I’m just built for the sport and happen to be good at it.
I’d put this beauty around five foot seven. She has long red hair that flows all the way down to an impossibly tiny waist. Her head is tossed back as she laughs at something a man to her left says, and I know it's irrational, but I'm instantly jealous of the guy who can elicit such a sound from her.
I lower my beer, my eyes still pinned on the beautiful goddess in front of me.
I hear the rest of the team still buzzing and clapping each other on the backs, but I'm over the game now. I plant my beer on the counter and start making my way through the bar over to the redheaded beauty.
I don't know who the guy with her is, but at this point, I don't even give a fuck if it's her boyfriend. This girl ismine. I know it deep down inside me. If I have to pry her away from another man, I will. I’m willing to fight for her.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say just as I come up behind her. I try not to be so obvious about it, but I can’t help inhaling the scent of her hair. Like fresh berries.
She turns and raises an eyebrow at me coolly while the guy with her grins as he looks between us. My brow furrows in confusion. Do they have some sort of open relationship? Just what the hell's going on here? This isn’t exactly the reaction I was expecting from the man who has this beauty.
“Do I know you?” she asks, knowing damn well she doesn't.
I smirk and take a step closer to her. “No, but you should. I definitely want to rectify that.”
The guy standing next to her chokes on his drink before he gives her a wink and says, “Well, I'll see you later, sis.”
I instantly relax when I find out he’s her brother.
“Nate!” she calls after him. “Where are you going?”
He just holds a hand up in a backward wave to her.
She huffs and then turns to me with crossed arms.
I grin down at her, taking in her beautiful golden eyes. Fuck, everything about her is perfect, from her flawless complexion to her puffy pink lips.
“What's your name, beautiful?”
“You first,” she quips back, and I smile fully. She's a sassy one, and I'm loving everything about it. My cock twitches as I can’t help imagining what a little hellcat she’d be in bed.
“Jesse Hamilton.”
Her eyes don't widen in recognition, so I assume she doesn't follow sports. For some reason, I like that she's not one of those women who's going to throw herself at me just because of my fame or fortune. It’s obvious this girl has no clue who I am, and there's a certain freedom in that.
“Now your turn I prompt her.”
“Cindy,” she grudgingly admits.
“Cindy what?” I prompt her for her last name.
She just gives me that cool glance, and I laugh. “Okay, you want to make me work for it. I lean in close to her until my lips are right by her ear, her berry scent wrapping around me like a drug, “You should know that hard work and perseverance are my strongest traits.”
Her lips twitch, and my smile widens. I decide then and there it's going to be my mission to make her laugh the way her brother did. “Let me buy you a drink, Cindy whoever.”