She rolls her eyes but that smile is still there, trying to get even bigger. "My statement still stands. He's too much of an asshole to be the best." Finally, the grin takes over her face. "But don't tell him that. He might be an asshole but he's also a baby, and it would hurt his feelings. Which means I wouldn't get any dick."
I wince and remove my arm from Remy's shoulders. "If we could not talk about you getting dicked down by my best friend, that would be great."
Her grin turns evil as she stands up and holds a hand out to me to pull me up. "That's payback for sleeping with my sister."
I grab her hand with a sigh and let her tug me to my feet. "Okay, that's fair. But can we please go back to never talking about our sex lives now?"
At that, it's Remy's turn to wince. "Yes, please. I need to hear about my little sister even less than you need to hear about Tristan's dick."
I only chuckle in agreement. We climb the stairs to go back out to the mat room, where—surprise, surprise—Tristan and Aiden are still trying to take each other's heads off.
At the sight of us, Tristan quickly capitalizes on his position on top and swings his legs around to trap Aiden's arm and force him into tapping from the armlock submission. Aiden pulls away with a grumble.
"You two make peace?" Tristan asks as he stands to his feet. When Remy nods, the tension visibly drops from Tristan's shoulders. He walks over to Remy and wraps his arm around her, pressing a kiss to her hair.
Aiden finally pops to his feet and glares at us all with his hands on his hips. "Alright, now that the family has made up, can we get back to training? I have a theory that all of you have gotten soft in your lovebird days."
Before Tristan can do more than growl in warning, Remy puts a hand on his chest and pushes him back so she can walk past him to Aiden.
"Come here, pretty boy, I'll show you how soft I've gotten…"
23
HAILEY
It’s Friday night when Remy and I walk into the bar, and the first thing we hear is Jax's raucous laugh. At the sound of it, I can’t help the ridiculous smile that appears on my face. It's as natural as the warmth that stirs in me whenever I’m near him.
I notice Remy studying me, but I can't bring myself to turn toward her. Things have been normal between us this week, but I haven't worked up the courage yet to actually have a conversation with her about things. Not because I'm worried that she's mad we hid it from her, but because I'm scared she'll have an issue with our relationship. I didn't exactly expect her to gush over my "new boyfriend," but I'm sensing more wariness than excitement from her about it.
And hearing her voice that out loud will hurt. So I'm not ready to hear it yet.
"Remy, Hailey, over here!"
I'm snapped out of my thoughts by the sound Lucy calling us over. I smile and follow Remy to the pool table in the back of the bar.
There is a core group of about six fighters that makes up their friendship group, almost all of which are here right now. The only one missing is Tristan, who Remy said is traveling tonight for an MMA seminar that he's teaching in the morning. But beside Lucy are Max, Aiden, and Jax.
My heart stalls at the sight of him.
He's always been the kind of man that catches your eye. His smile and laugh are absolutely infectious, and every time he turns his attention to someone, it's impossible not to feel like you're the most important thing in his world in that moment. It's his personality that makes him breathtaking.
But even that is eclipsed by how he looks right now. His dark jeans are tight on his muscular thighs, and his slate-blue Henley stretches across his broad chest. The shirt's color is stunning against his lightly tanned skin and blonde hair. Not to mention, it brings out the blue in his eyes.
He really does look like a Viking god.
And right now, he's staring at me likeI'mhis goddess.
His smile grows larger and his eyes sparkle the second they spot me. It doesn't seem like he even notices Remy beside me, because he beelines straight to me with brisk, determined steps. Before I can even mumble a greeting—I might not have even gotten one out—he sweeps me off the ground and kisses me.
It's a chaste kiss, but I'm so overwhelmed by his presence that I still end up panting by the end of it. He just smiles up at me, looking happier than I've ever seen him.
"Hi," I whisper with a small smile.
His smile grows even wider. He nuzzles into my neck, trailing his lips along my skin and pressing light kisses everywhere. "Hi back," he murmurs.
I let out a nervous laugh, and I'm sure I'm blushing by now. "I didn’t realize you were into PDA. Especially in front of your teammates."
He places me back on my feet. "Sorry. I should've asked you before how you feel about it. I... can't really help myself around you.” He glances away, and I swear I can see a flush on his cheeks. “I just wanted to let everyone know—”