Page 76 of The Longshot

“It’s alright,” I try to calm him, gently removing their hands from my body with a playful laugh. “It’s okay. Now, what can I do for you ladies?”

“Can you sign this for me, Wilks?” They waste no time pushing a Crawfield jersey in my face.

“Sure thing,” I’m quick to oblige as I sign along the number thirteen on the back of the shirt.

“Can we get a selfie, Wilks?” The next girl requests, unlocking her phone and handing it over to me. I take it from her hand and snap the selfie between the gates—her face red with excitement as I hand it back to her. “You’re the best. Thank you so much!”

“Don’t sweat it.” I’m about ready to break away and begin my search when the final lady presses her body up against the fence, her breasts pooling out of her top…

Lord have mercy.

“Mind giving me an autograph, too?” she asks, suggestively running her hand up and down my arm in temptation.

“Um… sure?” I respond with a wince. “What is it that you uh—want me to sign?” I ask, clueless as to what memorabilia she’s brought, when all of a sudden, she hands me a marker and gently taps along her cleavage line.

The memorabilia is her own.

I gulp. “Seriously?” I gesture towards her breasts.

“Mhm.” She confidently nods her head with a strong pout of her lips. “Right here.”

I clear my throat, undoing the lid of the marker as I lean in to sign against her chest.

“Don’t be afraid to go a bit lower.” She clutches a hold of my hand and drags the marker down so that it’s in the line of her cleavage. “There.” She releases her grasp with a wink. “That’s much better.”

I continue my signature, heat rising to my cheeks, when all of a sudden I hear my name get called out from behind me. This time, I know it’s not a fan.

Fuck.

“Uh, Wilks?” Delaney prompts me to turn over my shoulder, where not only can I see a questionable look on her face, but I can see a flustered Chelsie by her side, with her eyes honed in on the fact that my hand is still on top of this woman’s chest.

Shit.

I pull back, snapping the lid on top of the marker before I quickly hand it back to her.

Green was right. It was Chelsie. She came.

“I can come back later if now isn’t a good time?” Chelsie murmurs beneath her breath, ready to break away, but I gently clutch onto her wrist.

“No,” I tell her, pacing my way to her side. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just?—”

“A part of the job?” She raises a suspecting brow, though there’s a hint of playfulness in her tone, relieving me entirely.

“I can assure you that I’ve never seen him do that before,” Delaney jumps in, acting as my certified wingwoman as she pats my shoulder. “And that he’ll never do it again.” She squeezes tightly. “Right, Wilks?”

Chelsie laughs, and the sound alone makes me laugh. It’s just the feeling I need before the two of us are left staring at one another absentmindedly.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Delaney takes a step back as the crowd slowly clears from around the gate, leaving the two of us standing in silence as I watch Chelsie’s hair fall in front of her face, left mesmerized by the glimmer of her skin until she flashes me a saddened look.

“What did you come by to tell me yesterday?” she asks, picking at the few strands of hair that have stuck to the lip gloss that lines her bottom lip.

“I… I just came by to talk, Chelsie,” I try to explain. “I mean, that’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do—talk.”

She twists a sparkly ring on her index finger. “And if we were to have talked…” She peers up at me in thought. “What would you have said?”

The pressure builds as I release a breath. “Well,” I begin, loosening the collar of my shirt. “I would've started by telling you that I didn’t mean for things to escalate the way they did the other night. You were right, Chelsie. Things were moving too quickly.” It’s hard to maintain consistent eye contact with her without completely faltering in her view. “But, I really like you. I do. So much so that it clouded my judgment. I started to act like Wilks, not Gary.”

She swallows deeply, leaving me with no other choice than to shamefully stare down at the ground until all at once, she raises my chin up.

---