Page 229 of Out of Bounds

Because you’re leaving.

"Just one of those nights, I guess." I shrugged.

"Well, are you coming to shower with me?" She wagged a finger at me and nodded off the bathroom. "You’re so good at getting my back."

You have a phone call today.

"I’m coming," I said and followed after her, the biggest bastard she knew.

92

Kassie

Hope You Still Like It

Ryan was distracted.

The kind of distracted where I had to call his attention a dozen times. In the car, I tried to show him my new animated Ryans, scowling at the screen like real life Ryan would, but that didn’t work. He’d gotten back on a good sleep schedule and falling off the wagon had me doing laps around him.

“What’s up with you?” I asked again, poking him in the stomach.

“Tired.”

I couldn’t help the frown. “What can I do to help?”

For a moment, Ryan gazed down at me and something crossed his face. We spent all our time together. I knew his little idiosyncrasies. If I could draw him with the Five Lines Rule, Iunderstood him with a Fifty Lines Rule. Any new creases were instantly noticeable and I didn’t recognize the new ones.

“We’re here,” the driver alerted us and Ryan straightened up.

I touched his arm when the door opened. “Ryan?”

He reached for my hand and the two of us stepped out to a chilly November morning. Too early to be awake and up doing football nonsense, especially after yesterday’s game. I blinked at the sudden light though and fixed my stare on the sign ahead, covered in smiling animals, waving off to the empty parking lot.

“We’re at the…the zoo?” I said slowly.

“It’s the surprise.”

I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Literally no clue what Ryan had cooked up and I was tugged along by him to a tired guide, holding up a Marrs University sign.

"Hey, folks!" We were corralled off to the side and the guide clapped his hands. "Welcome on in, we’re so glad to have you here. We’re goingbehindthe scenes today!"

"Oh my god," I whispered to Ryan as we followed after him. "They’re finally putting you where you belong. Meals every day, enrichment objects, constant exercise, and no cell phones. It’s paradise."

"Thanks, Kassie."

His calm appreciation for the joke cracked me up, and I stifled a giggle while the zoo official drew us from one roped path to another. Us and our photographers were literally the only people there. Nobody else.

"Today, we’ll be meeting some new friends of ours.” The guide rotated around and walked backwards, giving us a little introduction. "A raid was conducted a month and a half ago on a mansion in Riverside with over three hundred animals. We’re pleased to invite them into a home that can accommodate them."

"Holy shit." I blinked. "Three hundred? How did people not know about that?"

"A tiger escaped and mauled three neighbors. Hey, Mallory! Everyone, this is Zookeeper Mallory. She’s going to be taking it from here!"

Zookeeper Mallory took her stance in front of us, clean khakis and a button-up blue shirt, urging us closer. "Hello, Romans! We’re so excited to have you here today. We’re always ready to support. Go, Marrs!"

We were led to a gorgeous dome building and motioned toward an indoor washing station. Excitement started to build. There were perks to the whole contracted relationship experiment, and one of those was all the behind the scenes stuff we got to see. I craned my neck to get a better look at the door, painted in tropical leaves. "Can I ask what the surprise is?"

"I hope you still like it," Ryan said, his voice low.

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