Page 17 of Jason

“The first row?” she asked, even though she was telling me, pointing at the row with her finger. “Is for the wives only, second for the fiancées, and third for the girlfriends,” she finished, focusing back on me. “The disposables like you have no place here, but when you manage to weasel your way in, you stand by the wall, only coming to the bar if you absolutely need it, and then back to the wall, and not sit in the first goddamned row. The few of us who are wives worked our asses off to get our men, took a lot of bullshit, and ate a lot of shit just so we could hold the position. So, it's rightfully ours. You do not come in here and disturb all that.”

Dear God, they were lunatics. I would laugh if I didn't see she was dead-serious. I had no idea how she could believe in half the stuff that came out of her mouth, let alone convince herself it was okay to live by that...that code. What woman in her right mind would put up with something like that? If what she hinted at was true, did she get she was talking about chairs at a football stadium? I knew she probably got other perks in her life, and for her sake, I hoped it was enough and she got exactly what she wanted, because I knew I couldn't live like that.

But still, right this second, she was trying me to put me in my place over chairs.

“Jason Harris?” she asked and shook her head at me, fake sadness coating her tone. “Not gonna happen, honey. He doesn't know what he wants or needs. Our girl Mindy here,” Autumn jerked her head back. “That’s the girl who's gonna warm his bed for a long time, who's gonna get his diamond, and who's gonna put the gold band on his finger in the end.” The sneer came back. “Not you.”

She took another step in my direction and all I could do was gawk at her for the sheer stupidity and insanity that was coming out of her mouth.

“In the unlikely event that the impossible happens and you get a repeat performance, you need to dress up to the standard,” once again, she looked at me from top to bottom.

I had on my worn so much they were almost white jeans, but they were my favorite, and when Jason saw the cuts on the knees and the one at the top of my right thigh, his eyes had gone dark and he shook his head, muttering Not enough time, before he turned and stalked to the door. White Converse on my feet, and a red T-shirt, which Jason had signed in the locker room, right under the words Love you on the outside and I'm going to fuck you later that he wrote on the inside. It was sweet, it was funny, and it was definitely sexy when he wrote it. I promised myself I was going to frame it and hang the shirt in my bedroom.

“No more of this…this…I don't even know what to call those rags you're wearing. As long as you're near Harris, you represent him and this team, so you need to act and dress accordingly,” she started to walk to the door but stopped when she was next to me. “But don't come back if you know what's good for you. Leave him to his girl,” she whispered, and one by one they passed me and walked through the doorway, leaving me alone to watch Mindy wink and wiggle her fingers at me. I was so shocked that the only thing I did was turn around and walk out. All the way through the hall, my steps echoed around me, but I barely heard it. What was with all the warnings against being with Jason? First, Logan and his looks of sorrow; now this, what did they call themselves, WAGS, wives and girlfriends of sportsman?

When was Mindy ever involved with Jason?

I knew he knew her before, but she was trying to get Logan and tie him down. They hooked up a couple times and even made out when we were all hanging in the bar after practice one night, before Logan got bored and cast her off. She tried getting to him by coming to Jason's place, looking for him, and that was only because she didn’t know where Logan lived. At least, that's what Jason told me. All the guys thought it was funny that Jason lived in a small house, and they frequently came over with girls. That way, the girls didn't know where they actually lived, and the guys got entertainment when Jason had to fend the women off his property. Sure, it’d stopped since we became an item, but I knew some of the guys weren't happy about it. Especially Logan and Dylan.

Was it possible Mindy and Jason were together?

When were they together?

When did they break up?

Did he tell her he loved her, too?

The first tear that fell jolted me, and I quickly wiped it away. I didn't want anyone to see me cry, especially not those vultures. Was he only playing me? What did he think he would possibly get out of it? By the time I came to the mouth of the hall, right where the players were coming out, the streaks that my tears were leaving on my face were more than obvious. I looked up and was met by the smirks of the foursome that ripped me apart, and I was so focused on them I unfortunately didn't see another snake coming right at me, ready to strike.

“You're still here,” the snide comment was a punch to my already bruised heart. I looked to Curt, wanting to tell him it was probably the last time he would see me, but he didn't give me the chance. He took a menacing step toward me and hissed, “You need to cut Jason loose. Because of you, he's passing the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“What?” I whispered through cold and going on numb lips.

“Oh, he didn't tell you, did he?” the evil smile warned me to brace, but I wasn't smart enough to listen. “He's got offers from all over the country. The most lucrative one coming from L.A., which we both know is right around the corner from where he grew up. Now, he won't admit it, but he wants to take it. The only thing keeping him here is you and your cunt.” He took a step back, and just like the WAGS did ten minutes before, he looked me up and down. “I don't know if it's sweet enough to pass over twenty million dollars, but I sincerely doubt it just by looking at you. So back the fuck off, lose that ironclad grip you have on his dick, and you and your pussy need to disappear from Jason's life. Am I clear?”

“You're fired,” the barely restrained rage coming from behind Curt's back surprised us both.

Turning around quickly, Curt put his hands at waist level, his palms pointing to the ground, and he was moving his arms up and down like he was pushing the air down. “Now, look here, Jason. I don't know what you think you heard, but, Rory and I…we were just having a little chat. Nothing more. I just wanted to check in to see how your recovery was going.”

One of Jason's brows had gone up, “So, the fact that I just heard you telling Rory about the contracts I refused several times and spewing shit that she needs to leave me, not to mention calling her a cunt, was all my vivid imagination?”

“Now, I never called her a cunt.”

That was not the way to go. With a jerk, Jason threw his bag from his shoulder and had a hand wrapped around Curt's throat, pushing him into the wall in the blink of an eye. I watched it, but still I didn't see when he did that; it was so fast.

“You ever come back or near Rory, I'm going to kill you. You hear me?” If I were in Curt’s place I would nod frantically, but the man just looked at Jason and patted at his wrist like one would a child on the head. “Do not ever come back. I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear you.” Pushing Curt farther into the wall, which I thought was impossible, he finished on a scary whisper, “and I especially don't want you to even breathe around Rory, let alone talk to her again. You got me?”

Curt glanced at me sideways, but quickly looked back at Jason when he shook him a little and slammed him back into the wall. He was now turning blue in the face, and his palm that was patting Jason’s wrist started to claw at it.

“You got me?”

He gave one last stubborn look before he wheezed, “Yes.”

Taking a step away, Jason released him, and Curt crumbled to the floor, rubbing his neck and sending me a hateful look that had fear sneaking up my spine. Not even sparing him one glance, Jason bent, picked up his bag, threw it over his shoulder in one fluid move, took my hand gently in his, and pulled me away from those horrible people. Right to his car. On our way out, I couldn’t help myself, and I turned over my shoulder, raised my hand and gave the WAGS a nice little wave and a smirk. The sight of their stunned faces was a nice perk, too.

I knew I shouldn't have; I knew it wasn't my place. And I also knew his answer had the power to destroy me. I kept telling myself to keep my mouth shut, to not ask anything and just gather my things at Jason's house and go home. This was too much. The things that were said to me today hurt too much. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out the truth.

Still, I did.