The Bet by Max Monroe

Thursday, March 29th

Jude

I stand out in front of Lexi’s school as parents and small kids file inside the building, following the sign that reads, Mathletes Competition. My mom, brothers, and Winnie and Wes are probably already inside the auditorium with Lexi, but I’m waiting on the arrival of one final guest.

Glancing down at my Rolex, I see it’s already half past six, but when I look up again, I spot her, Sophie, walking toward me.

She looks beautiful in a pair of jeans, boots, and a beige sweater, but her eyes are wide and imploring. The instant she closes the distance between us, those eyes of hers only get bigger.

“Glad you could make it, babe. Even if you’re late.”

“Jude!” she whisper-yells. “A school? I’m not having sex in a school! That’s how you end up on the sex offenders’ registry!”

She looks downright scandalized, and I just wrap an arm around her back and tug her closer to me. After one soft press of my lips to hers, I grin. “We’re not having sex here.”

Sophie leans back to meet my eyes. “Okayyy…but that still doesn’t answer the blaring question of the night.”

“Which is?”

She huffs out an annoyed breath. “Why are we at a school?”

“It’s for a good reason. Nothing nefarious, I swear,” I answer loosely and glance down at my watch again. “Now, come on. We better get inside because we’re already late.”

Sophie just stands there, staring at me with narrowed eyes. Her whole demeanor is sassy as hell, and of course, I find it fucking sexy.

“The longer you just stand there, the higher your chances of me actually coming up with dirty, fucking scandalous things to do at said school,” I whisper to her. “I mean, I do have a badge and a condom in my back pocket, so…”

The smallest hint of a smile crests the corners of her full lips, and I can’t stop myself from pulling her closer to me again and kissing her.

She tastes like her favorite fruity mints, and the aroma of her delicious perfume goes straight to my damn head. Fuck. This woman. She never fails to be all the addictive things that keep me coming back for more. I can’t resist her. Never grow bored of her.

I just want to spend time with her. Do dirty, bad things with her.

When a little moan escapes her throat and my cock starts to like that train of thought a little too much, I pull away from the kiss and gently press a hand to Sophie’s lower back.

“Have you ever been to a Mathletes competition?”

“A what?” She blinks three times, and I chuckle.

“Yeah. Me neither.” I press one final kiss to her forehead. “Let’s go see what all the hype is about.”

“You do realize that I still have no idea what’s going on, right?” she asks, and I smile down at her as I open the entrance doors to let us in.

But I don’t say anything else. Instead, I lead us down the main hallway of the school and toward the sign that reads Auditorium.

Once we’re inside, I search the crowd of seats for my family. My brothers’ big-ass heads are easily spotted near the front, and I guide Sophie down the red velvet walkway and toward the two empty seats that reside to the left of my three brothers and whatever random woman Ty has brought to this event.

Thankfully, Sophie just follows along, her eyes taking in the current change in scenery with both bewilderment and interest.

I come to a stop beside Wes’s aisle seat, and he looks up with a friendly smile, but when he spots the woman standing behind me, the one whose hand is currently locked with mine, his expression changes from relaxed to a calculating head tilt.

“Mind if we slide in here?”

“Oh yeah. Of course,” he says and taps Winnie’s shoulder to get her attention.

She pulls her eyes away from the stage where all the students, including Lexi, are beginning to file out and into their assigned seats. First, her gaze meets mine with a slightly irritated smile. “You’re late, but glad you could make it,” she whispers toward me, but when she notices Sophie easing into the aisle with me, my sister’s head jolts back and her lips form a little circle of surprise. “And you brought a guest…?”

“Winnie, this is Sophie,” I quickly introduce as we slide in past my sister and brother-in-law. “Sophie, this is my sister, Winnie.”

“Hi,” Sophie says, her voice timid and more reserved than I’m used to. “It’s…uh…really nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”

Her honesty is unnerving. Mostly because Sophie actually does know a lot about my family.

She knows even more about you. More than any other woman ever has.

I guess if I weren’t standing in the middle of my niece’s school’s auditorium, that realization might feel like a real kick in the gut, but for some reason, it doesn’t.

I mostly just feel happy that Sophie is here.

Remy, Flynn, and Ty, and whatever random woman Ty’s brought to this event, notice the interruption our late arrival has caused, and just as Sophie and I slip in past them, I don’t miss the snooping stares that follow us.

We sit down in the two empty seats, and I ignore the questioning looks from my mom, sister, and brothers to whisper into Sophie’s ear, “We’re here to cheer on my niece.”

“Oh, okay. Awesome.” Her eyes search the stage. “Which one is Lexi?”

I point toward the spot where the little cutie sits. “The adorable blonde in the center right there.”

She smiles. “Got it.”

Not even a minute later, a teacher steps up to the podium and begins to introduce the contestants of the Mathletes competition. Each kid walks up to the front of the stage and waves, giving the families a chance to clap for them.

When Lexi’s name is called, that’s when I realize it’s not just my family that has come to cheer her on, but Thatch and Cassie and Georgia and Kline, Wes and Winnie’s closest friends, along with four New York Mavericks players.

The mere thought makes me grin. Of course Winnie’s kid would have the fucking Mavericks come to her school competition.

We all stand up to cheer for her, and by far, Lexi’s squad of supporters is the biggest and the loudest.

“Get ’em, Lex!” Thatcher Kelly shouts with a fist pump.

“Go, Lexi!” Quinn Bailey, the famous quarterback for the Mavericks, yells through cupped hands.

Three other well-known Mavericks, Sean Phillips, Cam Mitchell, and Teeny Martinez, also join in with wolf whistles and cheering at the tops of their lungs.

And everyone else is being just as obnoxious.

Including Sophie.

She claps and waves both hands in the air and yells, “Go, Lexi!”

It’s fucking adorable and makes me chuckle, but it also makes my heart feel like it forgets how to beat inside my chest, and I have to swallow hard to quell the odd sensation.