The Brick Wall

Chapter 76

Collins POV

  "And then, I thought, we need to drag Wall out tonight!"

  Curtis' jaw is tight, the vein in his neck throbbing every time he grinds his teeth a little harder.  We've been listening to Thad drone on and on about his evening since the win. The team captain interrupted our steamy moment with his call, making an excuse about Blake being so drunk he was about to cheat on Alexa. 

  I wasn't about to let Curtis brush it off. Let's face it, we women need to stick together, especially if we hear of a possibility of stupid mistakes about to be made.  I'd told Curtis as such as we quickly rushed out to the elevator.

  "Look, you're going to distract the woman and I'm going to knee Blake in the balls," I told him with such seriousness that his hands moved to cover his crotch all while his brow raised with silent questions.

  "She'd do the same if you were to try and cheat on me. Only difference is, I'll kick him again while he's down." He blinks those terrified blue eyes at me rapidly in disbelief. 

  "I can't believe you didn't know I was in town," Alexa laughs as she leans into Blake, smacking his cheek with a kiss. "But, thanks for being willing to stunt his ability to procreate."

  "Solidarity, sister," I tease, one hand reaching across the table for a high five.

  "I'll take one of those as well," Blake chimes in, a fist coming out instead of his flat palm. He looks his friend dead in the eyes. "If I ever look in the direction of another woman, you've got permission to lay me out cold. Understand?" 

  Curtis nods, lifting his bottle and tipping it towards Blake. "Question."

  "Shoot."

  "Do we have parameters to follow before we drop his ass?" Curtis cocks his head to his left where Thaddeus Horne is coming back over with a bucket of beers.

  "Just one!" Blake yells as the music grows louder. Curtis leans in, apparently ready and willing to learn which one so he can decide if it's in his favor.  "Wait til the season is over. Nobody needs Coach in a tizzy."

  "Too late," I say with confidence.

  Where that confidence is coming from I'm still a bit unsure. Maybe it's hung around from the moment earlier in which I'm pretty sure I was about to either tell Curtis I was ready for the next step, or that I loved him, too. We probably will never really know which one was actually going to slip past my lips, but if I had to guess...

  "When did you get in my phone and change the ringtone?"

  Okay, good. My guessing game can remain a mystery to everyone, including myself.  If I don't acknowledge it then I won't have to admit my-

  The hand that was holding onto his bottle is now curled around the back of my neck, fingers digging into the skin with a tender massage. It might even be hotter than normal as his attention isn't actually focused on me.

  No, this is his silent way of making sure that I, along with everyone around, knows I am his.

  "So," Alexa scoots around the U-shape booth, inching closer to me, "is that continuous flush across your cheeks out of anger for a night disrupted or because you really want to get out of here and see what else that hand can get up to?"

  The heat on my skin heightens as my eyes grow wide from her implication.  She laughs at my expression. I drop my lips closer to her ear, hoping she'll be the only one to hear me.

  "I can't lie. I don't mind his touch right now." I glance around the club that Thad insisted we come and save Blake from. "I use to work here."

  "Really?" Her eyes narrow, disbelief evident. "This place doesn't exactly scream Collins."