Her Striker by Charlene Raquel

Chapter Ten

 

 

Dean shook his head. “You do know that everyone is going to be dressed up for this thing, right?”

Drew smirked. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“You’ve got Vans on your feet and no jacket or tie.”

“I’ve got dress pants on and a button-down shirt.” Drew shrugged. He didn’t want to go to this stupid party anyway. He was only going to see if he could find a lead on his brother’s death or the assholes who kidnapped him.

“They might kick you out.” Dean had scoped out the parking lot and the building earlier that day. There was nowhere good to observe so he was going to sneak inside and borrow the security system to keep an eye on his friend.

“That will never happen, and you know it. Everyone wants me there.”

Dean threw out his foot and made Drew stumble. “Don’t act like a dick.”

“You know I was joking. I need to be there for answers, but I don’t want them to think they have me.”

Dean handed him a small Bluetooth device that was nearly invisible when Drew placed it in his ear. “The earpiece will allow you to hear me, and I should be able to hear what is going on around you through your phone.”

“Thanks, man. Too bad you won’t be able to see everything.”

“I’m working on that.” Dean had talked his brother into hooking him up with some seriously wicked tech. It just hadn’t arrived yet.

Drew slipped his phone from his pocket. “Will the battery last?”

“Yeah, I swapped out your battery with one that will last all night and then some. It’ll work. Trust me.”

Drew slapped his best friend on the back. “Always do. Stay out of trouble, and don’t get caught.”

“It’ll be a fun night. If I can get into the security system, I’ll be able to see what’s going on.”

“Don’t make me have to bail your ass out.”

“Never happen. The Athletic Department has its own independent computer network and surveillance. I want to know why.” Dean was going to enjoy digging for information.

“See ya.” Drew plastered on the cockiest smirk he could muster and strutted through the door on the ground level. He didn’t bother stopping at the desk to check in. Everyone knew who he was. Yeah, that sounded conceited, but the sad truth was he had absolutely no privacy at all.

He chuckled as the girl called after him. “Mr. Maxwell! Mr. Maxwell.”

There were a few people he recognized socializing as they waited for the elevators to the top floor. Drew nodded to a couple and gave one of the football players a chin lift. He wasn’t in the mood for useless small talk.

A commotion at the desk behind him caught his attention. Tall blond twin swimmers argued with the girl who had tried to stop him. One of the sisters was on the list, and the other had been left off. Drew was going to ignore the situation, but he noticed most of the people were coupled off. It might look bad if he showed up by himself.

“Ladies, may I offer my assistance?” Drew put his arms around both of them. The girls were almost as tall as he was, with long lithe bodies in snug fitting mini dresses.

The girl on his right pouted. “They won’t let us both in.”

The one on his left ran her hand up his chest. “I’m not on the list.”

Drew snuggled them closer to him. “What are your names, ladies?”

“I’m Jessie.” She leaned closer and kissed his right cheek.

“And I’m Jeanie. Our last name is Burns.”

Drew glanced at the nervous girl behind the counter to read her nametag. “Melissa, will you check again for Jessie and Jeanie Burns?”

Melissa scanned the list. “I’m sorry, only Jessie is listed.”

Jeanie pouted prettily. “How could I not be on that list? What are we going to do?”

Jessie buried her face in Drew’s neck, pretending to cry. “I can’t go without my sister!”

Not to be outdone by her sister, Jeanie started sniffling and rubbing her hand along his jaw. “They told us we both had to go. I’ll get into trouble.”

Both girls were seriously playing up the dramatics, but Drew could make it work. He tightened his grip on the girls. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.” He turned to Melissa and the others who were loitering behind the desk. “Jessie and Jeanie are both my dates tonight. Right, ladies?”

Their hysterics stopped immediately, only sniffling while they continued to cling to his shoulders.

Melissa’s mouth hung open, but she didn’t comment, and neither did anyone else.

Drew led his “dates” to the elevators, ignoring the crowd that had gathered to watch the show. He had wanted to make a statement at the event, and bringing two dates with him would cover that nicely.

He had half expected the twins to get pissed at him for what was probably a dick move for having them both as his dates, but they went along with it, and no one stopped them. He would let things play out. At worst, they’d ditch him once they got to the Athletic Club. The way they were both running their hands all over him, he didn’t think that would happen. He could probably bring them both home with him.

“Dude, you’ve been in there for all of five minutes, and you already have two girls throwing themselves at you,” Dean complained in Drew’s ear.

Drew tried not to laugh. He glanced up at the camera in the corner above the elevators and gave Dean a smirk.

“Don’t get cocky, and don’t screw it up with the twins. I’ll take one off your hands at the end of the night.” Dean wished he had additional monitors. He had broken into one of the coach’s offices and hooked up his laptop to the network port. It was too easy to break into the system. Almost no challenge for him at all.

Dean was getting a ton of information that he was downloading and would review later. He was also leaving a little program that would allow him to get back in at anytime from anywhere. Shaking his head, he watched Drew flaunting his dates.

Drew was enjoying the girls competing with each other for his attention. It wouldn’t be the first time sisters threw themselves at him. Women loved soccer players.

The elevator arrived and he ushered them inside along with a few others. At the last minute, the tall redhead, Abby, slipped inside, gave him an exasperated look, and focused on the numbers over the doors.

Abby was wearing a barely-there white dress that had to have been taped into place. Her back was completely open, showing off her smooth, flawless skin. Not a tan line in sight. The front dipped low, accentuating her luscious chest. She was a beautiful woman who knew how to use that to her advantage.

Abby blatantly surveyed him with her eyes, stopping for an extended stare at the front of his pants. Drew’s dates noticed the interest and glared at Abby. He thought he heard one of the twin’s growl.

“It’s been a long time since I saw a cat fight.” Dean whistled into the earpiece.

Ignoring Dean, Drew gave Abby a smirk and turned to whisper in Jeanie’s ear. “What are you going to do for me now that I saved you?” He hadn’t really expected her to answer.

“Oh, gosh. I owe you so much for helping me. I’ll do anything you want, baby.”

Drew inwardly groaned. It was going to be a long night. He hated when girls were too easy. She wasn’t even trying to be quiet.

Jessie didn’t want to be left out. “I owe you too!”

Drew heard Abby snicker, so he watched her closely. She couldn’t help glancing at him every few seconds. He was going to ignore her until it was the perfect moment, which was not with two clinging women.

Thankfully, the elevator doors opened into a large, elegant room, decorated with sports memorabilia and college colors. Drew was surprised that many of the guests were in formal attire. That had definitely not been on the invitation, not that he would have dressed any differently even if he knew.

He led the girls into the crowd, deciding to do a lap around to see who was there. It was slightly awkward moving, since neither sister showed any sign of loosening her grip.

“Clingers. Your absolute favorite.” Dean chuckled over their connection. “You might want to wander toward the windows overlooking the football stadium.”

Drew rolled his eyes. This one-way communication was not working. He needed to ditch his dates so he could do what he needed to do. Leading the girls across the room was not as easy as he had planned. They were stopped every few feet by someone who wanted to speak with him or the twins.

Jessie and Jeanie still refused to release him. They loved the attention they were getting and played that up. They both were using any excuse to rub up against him. He had to catch Jeanie’s hand from dipping below his belt a couple of times.

Drew stopped when Adrian blocked his path. He gave the man a chin lift.

“Maxwell.” Adrian’s distain oozed from him. “Ladies.”

Surprisingly, neither of the Burns said anything. They must be smarter than he had given them credit for. Drew would have to keep that in mind. “Adrian.”

The swim coach approached, almost as if on cue. “Andrew Maxwell. Welcome to Stonewall. I’ve seen a few of your games. I must admit, I’m looking forward to watching you play here this season. I’m Coach Stan.” He held out his hand.

Drew extricated his arm and shook the coach’s hand.

Coach Stan nodded to Adrian and addressed the girls. “Jeanie and Jessie Burns. So happy to see you both. I’ve got someone I want you both to meet.”

The Burns twins both glanced at Drew, not wanting to leave him. “I’ll catch up with you ladies in a few minutes. If you wander past the bar, grab me a beer.”

Drew watched the coach lead them away. “What do you want, Adrian?”

“Always have to make a scene, don’t you?” Adrian sneered at Drew’s feet.

Drew held his arms out. “Like what you see? Want me to twirl around.”

Adrian narrowed his eyes. “Everything is a joke to you. Can’t even dress appropriately. What a waste.”

“Why are you bothering me? I’ve got a couple of ladies to entertain.” Drew was wasting his time, exchanging insults with an asshole.

“You can go back to your amusement in a minute.” Adrian’s grin turned sinister. “We thought you would want to reunite with an old friend. An old girlfriend to be exact.”