Chapter Four
Linc
The first week of school flew by. He was up to his ears in wannabe ball players. It was part of his job in autumn to try to figure out who would be good on the field in the spring. That meant he’d spent the last week surrounded by cocky young athletes, every one of them thinking they were the next Sammy Sosa. Some of them were dead wrong.
All the while, he’d stayed away from the nurse. It was part of his game plan; make her think he didn’t want her. That she hadn’t been constantly on his mind. Easiest way to get a woman in bed, so he’d read.
Until recently he’d never actually had to work for a chick’s attention. And it was fucking killing him. He thought about her tight little body at least fifty times a day. He dreamt about her full lips every single night. Linc had to have her. He knew it was the only way he would get any peace, the only way to get her out of his system.
He’d never had to want for a girl for longer than it took to find a door with a lock. So this lust-fueled Madden obsession had him entirely out of sorts. Luckily, it was Friday and the pack was headed to Moon Bar to let off a little steam after work. He was hoping, praying Madden would be there too, tagging along with Corey and Molly. He grabbed his phone, an idea forming in his testosterone-laden head, and shot Corey a text.
Linc: Hey Dom’s baby momma, is Madden coming to Moon Bar tonight?
He drummed his fingers impatiently as he waited for her reply. His phone dinged and his heart leapt. It must have been from the surprise; he’d forgotten he’d changed his text alert. It had nothing to do with Corey’s answer, nothing at all.
Pain in the Ass: Dom’s baby momma? You’re a douchebag. And yeah, Madden said she’d stop by.
He smiled. He hated that just the thought of seeing Madden again was making him grin like a freaking moron. He felt like a lame ass, like Keller. Or worse, Dom. He shuddered in disgust as his phone dinged again.
Pain in the Ass: Why? She blew you off in the trainer’s office, and then I heard she turned you down yet again the same day after school. Twice in ONE DAY.
He chuckled out loud, humorlessly. Leave it to Corey to kick a man when he was on the ground curled into the fetal position. He knew she was loving this, just like she’d enjoyed the hell out of watching Molly shoot Keller down again and again. But that was before they’d realized she was Keller’s soul mate, so really those rejections didn’t count.
Linc: Madden turned me down for dinner. Doesn’t mean she’ll turn me down for sex.
The text bubble appeared almost as soon as he’d sent his text. Ding.
Pain in the Ass: First of all, you aren’t even allowed to hook up with her. Also, you’re incorrigible.
Incorrigible? That was a good thing, right? Whatever, he’d Google it later.
Linc: Give me her number, I’m going to call her and ask if she wants a ride.
Ding.
Pain in the Ass: No, not a chance in hell.
Linc: What do you mean, no? I’m trying to be a gentleman here. You should reward this behavior, not hinder it. This was what you and Molly were asking for, a better example. How can I set it if you guys don’t give me the chance?
Ding.
Pain in the Ass: No. End of discussion. You run out of girls in Haxton to bag? Move on to the next town over.
Linc groaned in frustration, slamming his cell on his desk. Why was she so damn difficult all the fucking time? He didn’t know how Dom put up with her.
“Hey, Coach Sumner, how’s it hanging?”
When Riley walked into his office, Linc sighed with a small smile on his face, putting his hands behind his head. “Hard and frustrated. That’s how it’s hanging, Riley. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be down the hall kissing Corey’s ass?”
Riley grinned, big. And then started cracking up when Dom walked through the door and punched Linc in the arm so hard that his chair rolled to the side. He hit the wall with a grimace. “Fuck, Dom.”
“What did I tell you about mentioning another male and my mate’s ass in the same sentence?” Dom sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Linc’s desk.
Riley sat down in the chair next to Dom, a smile on his freckled baby face. He was the youngest in their pack—well, until Dom and Corey’s baby girl was born anyway. Linc and the rest of the coaches had been training Riley since his freshman year at St. Leasing, but over the past seven months or so, he’d become more like family than a student. “Why are you scowling at your phone like that? Wi-Fi too slow for porn today?”
He wrinkled his nose, making a face at their young protégé. “No. Corey won’t give me Madden’s number.”
Dom laughed. “Why do you want Madden’s number? Corey told me that her girl already shot you down. Twice. Glutton for punishment? I thought S and M was Baze’s thing?”
Asshole. He narrowed his eyes, more than irritated. “You two working on a slapstick comedy routine now? Let me save you the trouble. You aren’t funny.” He threw his hands in the air. “I was trying to be a nice guy and ask Madden if she needed a ride. That’s all.” Usually he was the one busting chops and making fun of his packmates’ ridiculous behavior when it came to females. Being on the other side wasn’t all that fun.
Fucking karma.
Riley gestured with his head toward Linc’s laptop. “If you want her number, why don’t you just look it up in the staff directory?”
He grinned at Riley, slapping the top of his desk. “Genius. I love you, you little ass kisser.” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “Now, you guys leave, I don’t need an audience.”
Dom stood but didn’t make a move to vacate. “You know the rules, Linc. You aren’t allowed to sleep with Madden. Baze will kill you. And after what happened with Agent Brooks last spring, so will Keller.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll be good.” He waved his hand in the air again, dismissing them. How many times was he going to have to hear it? So Brooks made their lives hell because someone slept with his fiancée. It was over and done with. Everyone needed to move on. Linc certainly had.
He waited until Riley left and Dom pulled the door closed behind them before opening the laptop and searching for her number. Yes! It was listed. He did a little happy dance in his seat. It consisted of a lot of shoulder shakes, and a few hip thrusts.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Madden, it’s Linc.”
“Who?”
Dead silence. Holy crap, did she really not remember him? They’d met less than a week ago. What was he supposed to say to that? “Uh, Linc? I’m one of the coaches. Corey’s friend?”
Madden giggled on the other end of the line. “I’m kidding, Linc. I know who you are.”
Classic. She was undermining his confidence. Like a dude would do to a chick, like he would do just for grins. “Funny.”
“What can I do for you, Coach Linc?”
What could she do for him? That was a loaded question. There were about a million things that came to mind. The front runner? Her down on her knees taking his dick out of his pants. He cleared his throat, borderline afraid she’d hear the lust in his voice. “We’re all headed to Moon Bar tonight and I wanted to see if you needed a ride, I mean if you were planning on coming.”
“Oh. Uh, yeah, sure. That’d be great.”
Holy shit. She said yes. Linc frowned at his reflection in his laptop screen. Why was he getting so happy about driving this girl to the bar? “Great, I’ll pick you up around eight. Just text me your address.”
“Will do. Bye.”
She hung up immediately. She didn’t even wait for him to say “bye” back. And the fact that he’d even noticed made him feel even more like a fucking tool. He’d never had to want for anything, or anybody, in his whole damn life. And he’d never gone out of his way to spend time with a girl. Ever. Let alone drive her around like he was her fucking chauffeur.
This was all extremely disconcerting. Ha! Good word choice. Too bad he always ended up saying the intelligent stuff in his head and the stupid stuff out loud. He needed to nail this chick so he could forget her.
Hit it and quit it.
One and done.
That was the best way to get her off his mind.
It had to be.