Page 45 of Catching Feels

“He said Jags, not cougars.” AJ laughs.

Her jaw drops. “You did not just call me a cougar!”

“Why you gotta say it like it’s a bad thing?” AJ throws his arm around her. “A twenty-three-year-old, hot as hell pro baller can dream, can’t he?”

Nour smacks him in the back of the head. “Not in front of her brother, he can’t.”

“Does that mean I have permission to do it behind your back?” AJ asks.

Nour steps to the cop holding the baseball in his hands. “What I don’t see happening between two adults is none of my business.”

“Hell of a hit, kid,” the older, rounder cop says as he hands him the ball and then a marker.

Another smiles at Bennett. “I don’t care what they say, you’re better than your old man ever was.”

The cop who pulled me over comes back from his cruiser with a Jags’ ball cap. “My kid plays center. You’re his favorite.”

“Fuck, man, that’s cool to hear. What’s his name?”

“Little T works. His name’s Tony.”

“Jillian,” Rome sighs.

“Grown-ass woman with a job,” I remind him.

“Love that for you, love that you stuck up for the fam, but you ever hear the term don’t bring a knife to a gun fight?”

I lift my arms and make muscles. “I bring the guns everywhere.” Then I step back and raise my hands in the air. “Goodnight, everyone. It’s been fun, but I’m going to head back to my little tin can and pretend you all don’t exist until the sun comes up and we do this all again.”

Rome rolls his eyes. “There’s room in here.”

I turn and head to the door, reminding him, “Grown-ass woman with a job, and a taser, and pepper spray.”

“Oh shit, I forgot to tell everyone. Three days, and we can move back into the townhouses.”

“Seriously?” I hear one of them ask.

“Seriously.” Rome laughs.

“It’s about damn time!” AJ cheers.

After a half-ass shower, I’m sitting in the middle of the bed, surrounded by a pile of money. Five hundred and ninety-seven dollars, all mine.

I do the math, and even being conservative with the numbers that Abe suggested, I’ll have close to thirty grand by the end of the season. That’s a nice little nest egg for grad school without touching the stupid amount of money both Rome and Hudson gave me for college graduation.

When my phone buzzes, I look down and frown when I see the name John Smith. I don’t wanna deal with him, but I know he won’t go away until I do.

I hit accept. “Hi.”

“That all I get from Daddy’s little Jill?”

I roll my eyes. “It’s late.”

“I know that, but I caught the game tonight and saw you looking like a million bucks on the big screen and had to call.”

“No, actually, you didn’t have to.”

“Don’t be like that, Jill.”

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