Page 27 of Draft Pick
It’s always about fucking timing.
Which is why I need to lose this round on purpose, because if I don’t, Juniper will likely lose and, in return, be the one stripping on stage.
It’s she and I right now, neck and neck, as King waits to declare the winner. Only problem is, I don’t have a single clue what task her last space entails. But I know for a fact I can’t have a naked Dr. Wilde prancing freely around Joe’s Bar.
No fucking sir, I can not.
The object of the game is to clear as many tasks as possible in order to get bingo on our own individual boards. Most of the time, we work in groups, but seeing as how half our group is on strict no-strip orders, the stakes were lower.
At least, for everyone else.
I need Juniper to win. I’ll take one for the team and get balls-ass naked if I have to. But as for the pretty doc…her clothes stay on.
“Alright, Briggs. Junie. What’s it gonna be? One of you is about to lose,” King tells us, roaring from center stage like our lives depend on this moment.
“Kick his ass, Juniper!” Navy yells from across the bar while I work to tune her out. I can hump a bar stool all day. It’s a matter of if I want to; that’s the question. And no. No, I do not.
I give it my best show and make sure everyone believes in my serious contemplation. “I can’t do it, guys. I’m gonna have to forfeit?—”
“I forfeit.” Juniper beats me to it. “You win, Crew. I’ll take my consequence.”
What the…?
That doesn’t sound anything like the woman who all but paraded around the winner’s circle after almost completing her diagonal bingo. She had one square left, and just like that—she forfeits.
I don’t buy it.
King doesn’t pry for questions, but I’m not so nice. “Well, looks like you win, Briggsby. Go sit in luxury while your competitor takes her place on the bar.”
Silence stretches between Juniper and me. We’re less than three feet apart and at separate tables, allowing me to see her panic. I’m transfixed by the way she flips her bingo card over, frantically making sure no one plans to peek.
But I do. What was on her card that made winning something she gave up in record time? You don’t go to med school for ten-plus years and walk away with no stamina or grit. She’s got competition in her blood, just like me.
“Doc,” I deadpan, attempting to get her attention.
“I’m fine,” she warns me. “Go get a drink. I have to dance.” And she turns on her feet, heading to the bar where Penelope, Bodhi’s younger sister, waits for her to join her.
She’s crazy if she thinks I won’t act on my curiosity. Before Juniper reaches Penelope, I grab her bingo card and slip it behind my back, anxious to discover the reason she quit.
“Pick a song, ladies!” King hollers over the background music. “You two beautiful losers get to strip dance for us.”
“I’m out,” Callaway declares, standing to his feet with Kodi beside him.
“Same.” Bodhi stands with Navy, unease written across his face just thinking about his sister stripping on the bar.
“August fucking Graves, you better see yourself out,” Tenley laughs, nodding toward the door. God, these women are almost as batshit protective as their men.
“What? No one wants to stay for the show?” Penelope giggles, holding her hands to the sides in question.
“And then there were six,” King bellows into the microphone. Six of us left, who are sadly single. King, Jethro, Mack, Penelope,Juniper, and me. “Probably should start calling this singles’ night, seeing as how we’re dwindling down quickly.”
“Now, I was sitting here thinking how much I liked this new change of events,” Jethro blurts, and I don’t miss the way his eyes follow Juniper climbing onto the bartop.
My seat halfway from the bar feels cold, or maybe that’s what I tell myself. It’ll distract me from the fire raging through my blood. The contemplation, I should say, of being physically attracted to someone but knowing you shouldn’t be.
At first, it was almost as if dread washed over Juniper’s face the moment she opted out. But now, from my point of view, she’s the star of the show. I know better than to look at Penelope St. James, and should feel the same fear with Juniper Wilde, but she’s new to me and a fixation I crave to satisfy.
If I were to let myself slip, tonight would be the night to do it.
