For the Win by Sara Rider Read Free Book Online

snarl.
    â€œNo, Jaime. I do not want a shot called the Leg Spreader. I said I’m fine with water!”
    This was not good. He’d promised the owner to bring a certain kind of attention to the Stinging Kiss and a catfight wasn’t what he had in mind. He knew things were about to escalate when Lukas leaned over so she was nose to nose with the much shorter Chen, who responded by cracking her knuckles.
    Gabe snatched two tumblers from a passing waitress’s tray in exchange for a wink and a generous tip. It took only a couple of steps to shift into gear, turning on his most persuasive smile and a healthy dose of “Hometown Hero” charm.
    He tapped Lukas’s shoulder, hoping to defuse the crackling tension.
    â€œWhat? What could you of all people possibly want right now?”
    Gabe widened his smile to cover his shock at the venom in Lainey’s voice. Apparently she still wasn’t over that whole press conference incident. “You look like you could use a drink.” She accepted the tumbler he thrust in her direction but made no motion to move it toward her lips.
    â€œThanks,” she intoned before turning back to Chen.
    â€œI was hoping you would sign an autograph for me,” Gabe said hurriedly. It was the first thing that came to his mind.
    â€œIs this some kind of joke?”
    â€œNo. For my kid sister, Tessa, actually,” Gabe improvised. “She’s a big fan and it’d mean a lot to her. She has dreams of playing in the AWSL one day.”
    Lukas stepped well into his comfort zone, getting right up into his face. “Maybe you should quit trying to sabotage the Falcons if you really care about your sister’s dreams.”
    â€œHey, that’s not fair. I sent you an apology.” Lukas made a skeptical face. “The flowers . . . ?”
    Her eyes went wide and buggy, which Gabe hoped was a sign of appreciation. All women appreciate flowers, right? As an apology gift, they’d never failed him before.
    â€œYou sent those to me? I had to blow my nose on my sleeve a hundred times during the first half and I flubbed a free kick because I couldn’t stop sneezing, thanks to you! Are you so insecure about the Surge that you had to massacre my sinuses before the Falcons’ first game?”
    â€œOh shit, I didn’t mean—”
    â€œLocker rooms are supposed to be off-limits! Would you have sent flowers to a male athlete’s locker room right before a game?”
    Sweat seeped into his Armani shirt collar. Why was it so difficult to impress her? He’d never met a woman more immune to his charm. The club had gone ominously silent, with all attention on Gabe and Lukas. Chen no longer looked like she wanted to fight her captain. Instead, she had her hand perched supportively on Lukas’s shoulder. “No, it’s—”
    â€œThen what? You think that just because you have some magical penis that you’re automatically better than us?” She slapped a palm to her forehead. “Oh my god. You really believe that, don’t you? That’s what this is all about. You think men are better athletes than women.”
    Gabe hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t answer that question, no matter how much Lukas’s expression dared him. But at that moment the stupid male part of his brain clicked on. The same part that convinced him he could disassemble electronics without destroying them, and drive anywhere in the continental United States without a map. The part that compelled him to truthfully answer questions like “Do I look fat in this?”
    â€œWell, it’s just a simple fact of biology that men are stronger and faster . . .”
    He really should have bit his tongue.
    â€œYou think you could outrun Chen, a world-class sprinter? She’s one of only a handful of athletes to medal in two sports at the same Olympics. You think that fancy Nike contract of yours is going to