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Rafe Savage was going to get laid tonight Laid good Laid hard And laid by an extremely hot chick Too bad it wasn’t the wohteen

He finished drying off in the locker roo it at his hip Wandering back toward his bench, Rafe found h Riders teammates already showered and dressed And while they were planning various ways to celebrate their win on ho froainst the boards

At his space a the heavily lacquered wooden benches, he pulled ibuprofen fro, popped a few, and downed them with cold water

“Mia’s going to be bummed when I shoithout you” Tate Donovan wandered to the bench next to Rafe’s and sat “She just texted to say she’s sorry shefor us at Top Shelf with a few of the other girls”

Thatup with the wives and girlfriends of teamh Riders as any of theirlfriends dumped, but sisters were blood

Which was exactly why he’d never touch her But that was only one of a slew of reasons Those thoughts stole the smile from his face Rafe could weather a lot—the hardest hit fro schedule, new strategies thrown at him on the fly What he couldn’t face was another concrete demonstration that he and Mia would never be more than friends

“I’m sure I’ll catch up with her while she’s in town,” Rafe lied, scrubbing a dry towel over his head

Every time Mia had come to see her brother over the last year, Rafenever faded If anything, it only got worse She still texted him, but he rarely responded She still called, but he never answered And just knowing she was in townmissed her

And that was the probleh to miss her this badly

He spread a little gel through his hair, wondering how she earing her hair now What she looked like now What perfu What new clothes styles she’d helped create and started sporting Man, he could talk to her for hours about what she’d been doing in New York Missed hearing her crazy stories about the characters she met and worked with in the fashion industry Missed the way she h

God, he hated it when she came to town

“You okay?”

Tate’s question helped Rafe refocus on the night ahead and the stupid dinner he’d been roped into At least the chick who’d won the charity auction and chosen Rafe as her co this puck bunny would be able to distract hi just blocks away fro time with their mutual friends

“Sure,” Rafe lied again He pulled on his suit pants, wincing at the aches pulling through his body “Just want this headache to go away It’s not the head I want throbbing while I bang the hell out of someone”