Page 25 of The Foul Out

“Don’t touch the hair, man,” Mason said in a low tone, mocking me. They all gave me shit about it, but my fans loved my hair, and I had no interest in being caught looking like I’dbeen electrocuted, then finding the photo circulating online. I was known for my perfect hair, and I wanted to keep it that way.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I tipped to one side and dug it out again.

Bambi: It was for the greater good. Let it go, man.

I glared at the message. I still couldn’t believe he’d thrown the race. The asshole really had let me win.

Me: Payback will be delivered.

Bambi: Meme of a guy dancing.

Me: That’s a threat, not a promise. It shouldn’t be exciting.

Bambi: But I love a good surprise. It gives me tingles.

A laugh worked its way up my chest, but I choked it back down. Because dammit, Harper was right. Not that I’d tell her that. Because she was wrong about the rest, and I didn’t want to give her any ideas.

“Why’d everyone bail tonight?” Jasper asked with a frown.

“They want to hang with their girls.” Mason shrugged, shifting in his seat. “After that long-ass playoff run, I can’t blame them. If Aurora wasn’t down there right now, I’d be at home with her too.” He tipped his bottle to the Bolts’ bench, where his girlfriend sat chatting with Fitz, the goalie coach. I didn’t know the guy personally, but I’d heard he was tons of fun.

The door behind us opened, and Jasper whipped around.

“Yes,” he cheered as Cam stepped inside the suite. “The fab four are together again.”

Cam sauntered in and slapped four folders on the ledge in front of us. Then he dropped three bags of M&M’s on top. Good man. I tore one open and tossed a handful into my mouth.

“Hope that excitement remains when you get a look at all that paperwork.”

My shoulders sagged. When the M&M’s appeared, I should have known that I’d be asked to deal with something I didn’t want to do.

“Didn’t Kayla narrow down the candidates?” Mason asked. “Wasn’t that the point of your meeting today?”

With a shake of his head, he snagged a beer from the fridge at the back of the suite. He popped the cap off using the edge of the counter, then wandered our way again. “She narrowed it down to six candidates for the two grants, but I brought a few other things with me. The top folder is yours.”

Mason picked it up, easing the remaining bags of candies to the folder beneath it before putting it on his lap. I’d let him go through them first, then I would weigh in. Though after four years, we rarely disagreed on our picks.

“First, though.” Cam locked his gaze on me. “The repair bill for Harper’s car.”

“Repair bill?” What the hell was he talking about? I tossed another baseball candy into the air and caught it in my mouth. I loved the way it felt when they landed on my tongue. Almost as much as the crunch of the candy coating between my teeth.

“We had her car towed so we could fix the tires and the paint.”

Frowning, I sat up straighter. “We did?”

“Yes, you wrecked her car.”

Scoffing, I tossed another chocolate. After I’d chewed it up and swallowed, I added. “I didn’t touch her car.”

“Maybe not directly.” Cam tipped his beer bottle at me. “But you opened your mouth and produced the words that caused the car’s demise. So in turn, you wrecked it.”

When he put it that way, I got it.

Jasper barked out a laugh. “Yes. That’s like girl logic. I love it.”

I frowned at the idiot.

Setting the candy down, I leaned forward in my seat. “She’ll let me fix her car, but she won’t let me help with the kids?”

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