Marie had flawless ebony skin and gray eyes that Jasmine suspected were colored contacts, but that didn’t make them any less arresting. Her gold evening gown caught the light, drawing more than one set of eyes to her impressive figure.
All three women were smiling. Despite that, she sensed a less than welcoming vibe from them.
“So, you’re here with Will, huh?” Gwyneth said. “I haven’t seen him attend one of these events with a date before. Are things serious between you?”
Jasmine took a sip of her wine before responding. She had never been approached about her personal life so directly. She wasn’t sure whether to be uncomfortable or grateful they weren’t beating around the bush to get the answers they sought.
“Will and I met in February,” she said. “Are you all here with ballplayers too?”
The women exchanged glances, likely unhappy with her vague response. Until she knew why they were asking, she wasn’t about to give them more.
“Yep,” Alexis said. “I’ve been with Tony for almost a year and a half now.”
Because Jasmine had started keeping up with the team, she knew Tony Descalso was a relief pitcher.
“Gwyneth here has been with Kyle for about a year,” Alexis continued, referencing the team’s right fielder, “which is the same for Marie and Eddie.”
In some of their more casual conversations over the past few weeks, Will had shared some things about his teammates. Jasmine knew Eddie was never without a woman on his arm whenever the team traveled. She saw no reason to mention that, though it might have been satisfying to see the reaction from Marie. She was currently giving Jasmine a thorough scan that didn’t feel all that flattering.
“That’s nice,” she said, unsure what else to say.
“Since this is your first one of these shindigs,” Alexis said, “let me give you a few pointers.”
Jasmine lifted her glass to hide a rather catty smile. “By all means.”
Tipping her chin toward a group of six or seven women, the other woman said, “Those are the One-Timers…the girls the players date once and never bring to another event. You know, kind of like one-night stands?”
Jasmine nodded, presuming Alexis and her two friends had already lumped her into that group.
With a nod in the direction of four women who were trying way too hard not to be obvious about watching them, Alexis said, “Those over there are the Repeaters. They’ve been to a few events with the same players, but the future of their relationships is still uncertain.”
“Then there’s us,” Marie chimed in. Her voice was low and her accent lyrical, telling Jasmine she was born in another country. “We’re the ones with long-term relationships heading toward marriage.”
“I see,” Jasmine said.
How could these women not be aware of how crazy they sounded?
Alexis turned her gaze to the group of women that included Everly and Sierra. “That group over there is The Wives.”
Unsure whether to reveal that she was acquainted with a couple of them, Jasmine nodded again.
“Until you marry a player, you’re not allowed to hang out with The Wives’ Club,” Gwyneth said.
“Is that so?”
“Yep. So if you think you have a future with Will, you should prepare for years of this type of thing at social events.”
Jasmine found their interpretation of the groups rather odd based on what she knew about Everly and Sierra. Both women were friendly enough. She couldn’t imagine either of them ostracizing someone based on their marital status.
“A couple years, huh?” she said to fill the silence that lingered after Gwyneth’s statement.
“Oh, yeah,” Alexis replied. “It isn’t easy to get these guys to commit. They have women throwing themselves at them everywhere they go. You have to give them a reason to settle down.”
“You mean love?”
“Oh, sure,” Marie laughed. “If you’re lucky.”
Likely seeing Jasmine’s puzzled look, Alexis said, “Most of The Wives snagged husbands in less…we’ll say traditional means. For example, Tianna pretty much bought Austin. Her family’s loaded.”
“Yeah,” Gwyneth agreed. She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “And Lena basically blackmailed Luis. I don’t know what she has on him, but there were rumors of some rather choice sex tapes.”
Finding herself more and more amused, Jasmine said, “Really?” in a way that conveyed more interest than she felt.
“Yeah. Or you could always go the pregnancy route,” Marie said, nudging Alexis in the side.
All three of the other women laughed.
Calming herself, Alexis explained in a loud whisper, “Sierra snagged Evan by getting knocked up.”
Jasmine couldn’t even pretend to be amused anymore. “Thanks for sharing