Page 100 of Free Agent

As such, Cole was sure to give me a warning. The pictures from my time at Wildwood with Rori might be “cute” and all that, but it also represented a shift in how we, and our relationship, were perceived.

There was a lot of potential for things to go really bad.

But I wasn’t worried about that.

Things going bad wasn’t even an option in my mind where Rori was concerned.

We were going to be good, and I took that same energy into the interview with me.

Speaking with Arnez and Arizona was always a laidback energy, which was a huge part of the appeal for me. I’d interviewed with them before, back when their show was a radio format. Now it was a podcast that had a visual element attached, and the production was a lot higher, which I liked for them. Despite the “gossip” nature of what they did, they’d never leaned into that malicious energy a lot of our successful media platforms latched onto.

It was refreshing to watch them grow.

It was laid back, a little drinking, fun questions, the exact type of energy where it was obvious I would be asked about personal relationships, meaning, Rori.

They didn’t disappoint.

“Okay,” Arnez started. “Enough beating around the bush… so you really just took that man’s fiancée from him, huh?”

“Wow,” I replied, dropping my head to laugh. “I don’t know if I would say it like that.”

“Shit, we would.” Arizona cackled. “And I mean… as you should. Rori Mitchell is fine as hell, and deserved much better than what Monty was throwing at her.”

“Now that’s an assessment of the situation I can agree with.” I nodded.

Arizona leaned in. “So you’re calling Monty a bitch, correct?”

“Oh fa sh—damn, I almost walked right into that, didn’t I?”

She waved a hand at me. “Yeah, keep walking.”

“You know I can’t do that,” I chuckled.

“Why the hell not?” Arnez asked.

“Not my story to tell,” I answered, and they nodded together.

“Oh, your public relations people aren’t playing around. They told you not to say anything?”

“They didn’t tell me not to say anything.”

Arnez sucked his teeth. “Okay, then what can you say?”

I thought about it for a moment, then answered. “I can say that… I think Rori Mitchell is an incredibly smart, incredibly beautiful, incredibly successful woman, and I enjoy every moment of time I get to spend with her.”

“Okay that’s cute,” Arnez said, and Arizona nodded. “Mmmhmm, real cute… y’all be fucking?”

“Damn.” I laughed, shaking my head. “You know I’m not about to answer that.”

“And you know that not answering is an answer, don’t you? Just say it. What are y’all? Friends? Friends with benefits?”

“She’s definitely the homie, no question there.”

“So yes, y’all be fucking.”

“I mean, I can’t decide how that gets taken, but me and Rori are good.”

“Mmhmm,” Arizona mused. “I don’t know why you trying to play it cool. We all saw those pictures of you kissing her, all covered in mud. You took her home to meet your family. She met your mama.”

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