Page 40 of Taking the Pitch
“Don’t be a little bitch,” Kessler says, not looking up from his cards. “When you squat for a living and have the knees of a 60-year-old, then come complain to me. Until then, fuck off and decide if you want to keep your cards or change ‘em out.”
Garrett snorts from Kessler’s other side. “I wouldn’t brag about making your living on your knees, bro.”
Kessler backhands Garrett in the chest but pulls his hand back and shakes it. “Fuck man, you got armour under there?”
Garrett flexes. “Nope, I’m just a man.”
Snorts of laughter erupt from around the table. “If that’s the case, why haven’t you asked Kara out?” Reese asks, raising his eyebrows at Garrett.
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” Garrett asks, setting his cards down on the table and narrowing his eyes at Reese. He may be Ex-Navy, but it seems even SEALs get embarrassed judging by the red creeping up his neck from under the collar of his signature black T-shirt.
Reese either isn’t scared or doesn’t give a shit about breathing air because instead of backing off, the dumbass keeps going. “Well, last time I checked, men have balls,” he says, “and if you had said balls, you would have asked Kara out by now.” Reese shrugs. “But, since as far as we all know, you haven’t, that must mean you, in fact, are not a man.”
Silence surrounds the table as we all look from Reese’s smug face to Garrett’s progressively red one until Reese breaks the silence by barking out a giant belly laugh.
“I’m just fucking with you,” Reese says, slapping a hand on Garrett’s shoulder and giving him a shake. “Man, you shoulda seen your face. I thought you were going to stroke out.” Wiping moisture from the corner of his eye, he adds, “Plus, we all know Kara’s out of your league.”
The tension around the table is broken as Garrett chuckles and slaps Reese’s back, a little harder than normal judging by the way Reese winces. “Ain’t that the truth,” Garrett says, picking his cards back up off the table.
With the beat-down averted, we get back into the game. Changing out cards and making our bets. “I fold,” Brent mutters, tossing his cards onto the table and picking up his phone. He’s been on it non-stop since he got here and he’s not his normal chatty self.
I tap him with my foot, tipping my chin at him when he looks up. “Everything good, dude? You’ve been quiet since you got here.”
He releases a heavy sigh and scrubs at his face. “Just sister drama.”
“Which one this time?” Kessler asks, flicking his eyes from Brent back down to his cards. Brent has four sisters. Two older and two younger. Leaving Brent smack dab in the middle to deal with them all.
“Cass,” he says with a sigh. I see Reese tense out of the corner of my eye as Brent continues on. “Her dickwad of a boyfriend dumped her,again.” He runs his hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. “I don’t know why she keeps going back to him. It’s like he gets off on fucking with her emotions. We’ve all told her he’s a piece of shit and that she deserves better, but she never listens to us. She just sticks up for him and tells us he’s justmisunderstood.” He snorts. “He’s just a fucking prick who gets off on belittling people and stringing my sister along.”
I’ve met Cass a few times. She’s the one who helped Lucy and Kessler plan their engagement party and is also planning their wedding. She seems sweet, if not a little shy.
“Want me to help you kick his ass?” Reese asks from across the table. His posture seems relaxed, but I can see the tendon popping in his jaw as he pretends to look at his cards. “He doesn’t even have to know it’s us.” His eyes bounce to Garrett, a bit of an unhinged gleam in them. “Seal boy can give us some pointers on how to do it quickly and quietly.”
“Call me Seal boy again and I’ll show you firsthand what I can do,” Garrett mutters, still looking at his cards.
Kessler shakes his head and rolls his eyes, tossing his cards down. “Fold. I don’t have shit.” He stretches and gets up from the table, heading to the mini fridge in the corner. “Anyone want anything while I’m up?”
Everyone shakes their heads, mumbling their responses. “I’ll take a water,” I tell him, before turning my attention back to Brent. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Nothing I really can do. She’s a big girl, and as much as it sucks to see her hurting, she’s old enough to make her decisions, whether we agree with them or not.” He releases another heavy sigh. “I just have to stand by and watch and be there for her when she needs it.” He turns in his seat and looks over at Kessler. “You know what? I changed my mind. I’ll have a beer.”
Kessler grabs two beers and my water out of the fridge and sets them down in front of us. Brent twists the top off and downs half of his before coming up for air.
“Okay Garrett, it’s just you and me. What are you packin’?”
“Three hearts, queen high,” Garrett says, revealing his hand.
“Fucker,” Reese says tossing his cards down, revealing three spades, with the highest card being an eight.
“Who’s the man now?” Garrett asks, collecting his winnings and stacking the chips.
“Whatever, the night’s still young,” Reese says, shuffling the cards to be re-dealt.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
amelia
Fuck,my head feels like it’s going to pop right off my neck. Shutting my car door and opening the back hatch for Bruno, I clip his leash on and wait for him to hop out of the back before stabbing the close button on my compact SUV.
