"Five to nothing, man! Five fucking goals! Unbelievable." Levi slaps me hard on the back as we exit the locker room, some of the other players following suit, but I hardly pay attention to the praise. My mind is only focused on finding one woman in particular so I can discover what, exactly, she has in store for me.

"We're celebrating," Matti adds when he catches up to us. He slings his duffel bag over his shoulder, jabbing a thumb to the exit. "I heard there's a bar downtown about five minutes from here. Meet you guys there?"

When we round the corner, I find the insatiable girl I'm searching for leaning against the wall. One foot of hers is propped up, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. There's a hint of mischief I've never seen before coming alive in Aria, and I love every second of it. The more I get to know her, the more I get insight into the true version of herself she's attempting to hide for whatever reason. Any opportunity I get to learn a little more, I'm taking.

"Can't," I say as we approach her, keeping my eyes locked on her honey-brown orbs.

"Can't what?" Aria asks.

Matti clears his throat, but I'm too wrapped up in her to tear my gaze away. She's wearing a generic team jersey that I want to strip off of her and replace with one that has my number on the back. If it were up to me, I'd sling her over my shoulder and find the nearest spot we could be alone so she could continue what she started before the game, but sadly, we have to keep this a secret between us.

"We won the game," I reply. "That means we have plans, no?"

"Bro, you can't grab just one drink with us?" Matti pleads.

"I'll buy you whatever you want," Levi adds, shaking his head in disbelief. "You scored all five goals for fucks sake. I've never seen you play like that."

"Hmm," Aria muses, pursing her lips together. "I wonder what sparked your motivation, Connor."

Christ.

My dick is seconds away from getting hard, and from the expression on her face, she knows it.

Yeah, fuck the bar. I'd rather be buried deep inside of her for the rest of the night.

"It'd be a shame not to celebrate," Aria says, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "One drink couldn't hurt, right?"

What a tease. I'm going to be fighting a hard-on for the next two hours thinking of those plans running through that mind of hers. With her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip and her eye-fucking me the way she is? I know they'll be worthwhile. As difficult as it'll be, I can wait.

"Fine," I say, sending Aria a wicked grin. If she wants to play a game, so be it. "One drink."

"Why do I feel as if I'm interrupting something?" Matti asks, his eyes darting between the two of us.

Levi whacks him upside the head. "Because we are interrupting, dumbass. That's the point. We can't let Connor get too full of himself. If we don't cockblock, who will?"

Before I can cuss his ass out, his phone starts to ring, and after checking the caller id, he says he'll meet us at the bar, darting outside and swiping to answer the call.

"Mila?" Matti guesses. "She's probably calling for her daily check-in knowing her feisty self."

"Levi has a girlfriend?" Aria asks.

Matti exchanges a glance with me, but I give him a subtle shake of my head, signaling for him to keep quiet. As much as I trust Aria, some stories aren't mine to share, including Levi's. If he wants to tell her about Mila, he will when he's ready.

"He doesn't have a girlfriend," I say rather than give too much away. "Now, about this drink... Should we head over there now?"

Another sinfully decadent smile from her makes my sweatpants that much tighter. "I'll get changed back at the hotel and then meet you guys there. Just text me the address."

***

Aria Monroe is going to be the death of me.

Honestly? If this is how I go out, I won't even complain.

The woman enters the bar wearing a red mini-dress that hugs her body in all the right places. The satin fabric hugs her slender frame just right. Her hair is slicked back into a high ponytail, emphasizing her cheekbones and full, luscious ruby-red lips, and I swear my heart stops at the sight of her.

I'm not the only one who notices. The other three members of the famous four have grown quiet beside me as she approaches, but they all know better than to say something slick about her. There's nothing to tell when it comes to Aria and me, not yet at least until she decides to make this official between us, but anyone within a ten-foot radius knows I have my sights set on her. If Matti, Levi, Cal, or any of the other members of the team made a move, they'd catch my right hook pretty damn swiftly.

Aria breaks the awkward silence. "Am I interrupting something?"

"What? Uh, no. Not at all." Levi clears his throat, signaling over to the bartender. "We were just talking about what we're all bringing to Friendsgiving."

Aria raises a brow. "You guys have a Friendsgiving? Like, when everyone brings a dish to pass?"

"Every year," he replies. "I host it at my place on Thanksgiving. A lot of the guys are far away from their families and can't get the time off to go home, and I enjoy cooking. You should come."

I've never actually attended Friendsgiving since my family lives in Los Angeles, but the thought of Aria having intimate time with the guys without me has the jealousy festering all too quickly. It's not that I think the boys would make a move on her, but I'm trying to get to know her, and any stolen moments where someone else is getting more of an insight bothers me.

"You totally should," Matti says. "It's Cal's first time this year since he's a new member of the team! He's thrilled to attend."

Cal rolls his eyes, taking another swig of bourbon. "Keep telling yourself that." His gaze swings to Aria. "I'm going by force."

"Nobody wants to spend Thanksgiving alone," Levi replies defensively.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Cal mutters lowly enough so only I can hear it.

Turning on my barstool to face Aria, I send her a sympathetic glance. "Don't let them force you into anything. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Doesn't she have a family to spend her holiday with? The question threatens to spill from my tongue, but the way today has been going has me holding it back. I don't want to push her too far. We're in a good place right now. I don't want to ruin it.

"I'll go," she says with a shrug. "I have nothing better to do."

Okay, so... No family?

Do they live far away?

Does she not stay in contact with them?

A million questions float through my mind when the bartender approaches. Aria orders a shot of whiskey, which has me arching a brow in her direction. "Drinking hard liquor tonight, are we?"

She shakes her head almost instantly. "Oh, no. I don't plan on getting drunk. I need a clear head tonight. So will you. I just need a shot to loosen me up."

Jesus. The blood rushes to my dick in a matter of seconds, and the jeans I'm wearing grow painfully tight. I rise from the barstool, allowing her to take my seat, but she doesn't take it. I lose my breath when she takes a step between my body and the bar instead and bats her eyes up at me innocently—an expression I'm certain I will never be able to say no to. Whatever she's about to ask, she'll get without any hesitation.

"Have you had anything to drink yet?" She asks.

"No," I respond, my voice thick.

"You're sober?"

I can hardly find the ability to nod.

She frowns when the bartender delivers her shot. Turning around to grab the glass, she faces me again, holding the shot with red-manicured nails. "That's a shame. Aren't you supposed to be celebrating?"

I place both of my hands on the bar behind us, caging her in. Dipping my mouth down to her ear, I whisper, "If you think I'm going to miss out on whatever plans you have in store for me for a few measly drinks, you're out of your mind."

I eye her pulse thrumming rapidly in her throat, knowing I'm eliciting the desired effect I want to have on her, but physically, she doesn't show it. Instead, she moves her mouth to my ear and whispers, "But you played so good tonight..." She runs her free hand down my chest, moving lower and lower, until...

Yup, fully hard now.

"You deserve to have drinks with your friends," she continues, pausing her fingers just above my belt.

"Having drinks with my friends isn't what I want."

"And what is it that you want, Connor?"

Pulling away from my ear, she downs the shot of whiskey, her eyes remaining locked on mine, and holy fuck, I'm two seconds away from fucking her right amid this crowded bar. Our chemistry is too palpable. Levi, Matti, and Cal don't exist anymore. The bass from the music grows silent. The only thing that matters is the way she's staring at me with hooded eyes filled with desire.

"You know exactly what I want," I say.

"You're right." Swiping her tongue out to gather a drop of whiskey remaining on her lip, she dips her hands beneath my t-shirt to grab onto my belt buckle. With the crowd around us, nobody is paying any attention, but even if they are, I don't care.

"I'm going to give you the best of both worlds tonight, Holden." With a flick of her wrist, she tugs on my belt. Even if I could speak right now, I don't think I would. "In five seconds I'm going to excuse myself to the bathroom. Will you be joining me?" Another tug and my belt comes undone, giving her full access to the zipper. I'm not sure what she sees on my face, but she giggles softly, lighting a fire of pure need straight to my cock. She doesn't laugh enough. I need to hear more of it.

"Good," she says even though I haven't replied. "Because I just gave you a head start."

Author's Note:

EARLY UPDATE!

Aria or Connor????

They both make me want to FAN myself.

Sheeeeesh!

And before you ask, NO, you will not be robbed ;)

I wanted to give you something to look forward to on Monday! <3

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