We left the court and walked over to the benches where our towels and waters were. Most of the guys headed straight to the locker room. Charlie took a seat and dumped the contents of his bottle on his head before he patted himself dry.
Carson dried off with a towel before she drank everything out of her bottle. Her legs were toned and chiseled, like aerobic exercise kept her body lithe and athletic. She had a flat stomach and large breasts, big enough that they almost look disproportionate.
But they were nice tits.
I’d like to tit-fuck her sometime.
I sat beside Carson and drank my water. “You were good out there.”
“I play to win.”
“Yeah?” I smiled, loving her bluntness. “What happens when you don’t win?”
“Learn from my mistakes and try again.”
And I liked her attitude. She didn’t take failure as a defeat, but a stepping-stone. She had thick skin, didn’t get offended easily, wasn’t sensitive at all, and she held her head high, like one of the guys. Her fierce sense of independence came from somewhere, but I wasn’t sure where. I hadn’t spent much time with her sister, but she seemed very different from Carson, and not just because she was blond.
“Guys, if we don’t eat, I’m going to die,” Matt said. “Like, literally.”
“Literally?” Charlie asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” Matt said. “That’s what I said.”
Charlie shook his head. “You know that’s impossible, right?”
“No, it’s not,” Matt argued. “If you don’t eat, you’ll die at some point.”
“If you don’t eat for like three weeks.” Charlie drank from his water bottle. “I think you’ll make it an hour.”
“You guys want pizza or sandwiches?” Matt asked. “Sandwiches are quicker, so I think I want sandwiches.”
“I’d eat a possum right now, so I don’t care.” Carson placed her towel over her shoulder.
“A possum?” I eyed her, amused.
“I’m starving.” She turned to me.
“No wonder you don’t like fancy places,” I teased.
She narrowed her eyes at me and gave me a playful hit on the arm before she stood up. “Let’s go. I think Charlie and I deserve a victory meal for kicking everyone’s ass.” She walked up to him and gave him a high five.
“Yep.” Charlie patted his face once more before he followed her.
I walked beside Charlie. “What’s new with you?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Just working a lot. I’ve had to pick up a colleague’s work because he’s on sick leave.”
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “He developed a hernia and needed immediate surgery. Shit happens, you know?”
“Yeah.”
We left the gym and went to the sandwich shop. I walked behind Carson and Matt while I continued to talk to Charlie, my eyes on her perky ass most of the time. Other men who walked by craned their necks to look at it before they continued forward.
We walked inside and, one by one, ordered our food.
I wanted to offer to pay for Carson’s dinner, but that would turn into an argument.
After she ordered, she stepped aside for me to order.
“I’ll get the turkey club with the combo.”
“And we’re together.” Carson pointed between us as she looked at the cashier. She pulled out some cash from a hidden section of her phone.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to do that.” I appreciated the gesture, but she worked hard for her salary, and I had a ton of zeros in my bank account. It didn’t seem right to accept anything from her. But at the same time, it was nice to be with a woman who didn’t expect anything from me, who wasn’t in love with my wallet instead of me.
She handed over the money then stuck her tongue out at me. “It’s happening. We aren’t doing that bullshit thing where the guy pays for everything. This is a two-way street, man.” She picked out a bag of chips then walked to the beverage station, filling her cup with ice and a soda before sitting next to Charlie in the booth near the window.
Matt ordered his food then scooted down the line. “She’s a pain in the ass, isn’t she?”
I grinned. “I don’t mind.” I grabbed chips and an empty soda cup.
“Really? She’s a pain in the ass to me.” He grabbed his chips and turned away.
“I know you don’t mean that.”
“Oh, I do.” He filled his soda then walked to the table.
I did the same then glanced at them together. Charlie had just said something to make Carson laugh, and she ripped open her bag of chips and spilled them all over her napkin and the table. But she ate them anyway.
I joined them, sitting beside Matt and across from Carson. We were all tired from the game, our hair still damp with sweat, and our muscles screamed in exhaustion. Carson devoured her bag of chips, picking them off the table and popping them into her mouth.
“Are you going to kiss her after seeing that?” Charlie asked, holding his bag of chips in one hand while his other hand dug inside and fished out a piece.
“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow before continuing.
“You’re literally eating off the table.” Matt eyed her.
“You say literally a lot,” she fired back.
“It’s a good word.” Matt grabbed a handful of chips and put them into his mouth. “So, are you?” He turned to me.
“It takes more than a few dirty chips to scare me off.” I left my bag on the table and stared at her, my arms resting on the surface. Even when she looked her worst, she looked her best to me. Her fire kept me warm, her intelligence was refreshing, and she was quick with the comebacks. It was the first time I’d been with a woman where she was more than just a lover, but also a close friend. I could tease her, pick on her, have a hobby with her like playing basketball.
She smiled before she grabbed the last chip off the table. “This guy is all man.”
Matt continued to stare at me, his eyes turning dreamy. “I know…”
Charlie kicked him under the table. “Don’t come on to him.”
“What?” Matt asked incredulously. “I’m just agreeing with Carson.”
“It’s fine,” Carson said. “I’m sure tons of women come on to Dax all the time, so he’s used to it.” She looked at my bag of chips. “Are you going to eat those?”
A smile came onto my lips, and I flicked them closer to her. “Go for it, sweetheart.”
“Do a lot of women come on to you?” Matt asked.
I kept looking at Carson, unsure how to answer the question. “No one compared to Carson.”
Charlie nodded as he ate his chips. “Ooh…good answer.”
Carson opened my bag of chips and started to eat. “He’s just being humble. I’m sure supermodels want his nuts all the time,” she said playfully without a hint of jealousy, and that was something else that made her cool. She wasn’t easily intimidated.
When I asked her to skip the condoms, I was disappointed by her answer, but I also understood she wasn’t ready, that she still had her guard up because we’d only known each other for about a month. She hit the brakes every time I hit the gas, but it was good that one of us was controlling the pace so we wouldn’t crash.