Page 49 of The Foul Out

Mic dropping? Mic Dropper?

“Drop the Mic?”

That was the one. Nodding, I pulled out the almond milk from the bag and quickly tucked it into the fridge so Piper wouldn’t walk in and see it. They were out of her normal brand, and if she saw it before I could pour it into the almost empty carton, it would be a long night.

“Love that place.” He leaned back against my counter, settling in as I shut the fridge.

“I think it’ll be fun.” I hoped. As long as Zara didn’t leave me alone when I knew literally no one else.

“What’s going to be fun?” Piper asked from the doorway.

I tilted to one side so I could see around Trevor. There, in the entrance to the kitchen, stood Piper and Sam. They were still wearing their backpacks. Kyle was behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and his attention fixed on Trevor.

“Did you ask Mom out again?” Sam stepped close and tipped his head back to assess the neighbor.

I winced. It happened so regularly that even the kids expected it.

With a laugh, Trevor mussed Sam’s hair. “Theagainshould make me feel pathetic. But this is the first time I really have hope.”

That was ironic, because I’d said no.

“I’ll see you later.” With a wave, he turned toward the entryway, only to freeze when he caught sight of the large man in my foyer. “Who are you?”

Without responding, Kyle removed his baseball cap, turned it around, and slipped it on backward. Then he settled his hands on his hips.

“Holy shit,” Trevor muttered.

“Bad word,” Piper announced.

“Kyle Bosco.” Trevor’s eyes widened as he looked from Kyle to me and back again. “How?”

I was surprised he recognized Kyle like this. Nothing about the man in the tight black T-shirt and jeans who was standing in my entryway and glaring looked like the Boston Revs’ fun-loving Kyle Bosco.

“You and Streaks are friends?”

“Another person who doesn’t do social media?” Kyle had been more stunned than Zara when he’d discovered that I didn’t have Instagram or TikTok or any of the other apps I couldn’t name.

I cleared my throat. “I think he does.”

Trevor was usually in the know when it came to local sports and other media gossip, so I’d have guessed he probably wasted hours a week scrolling.

“Didn’t see any of my posts this week, man?” His attention was on Trevor.

“Huh?” I asked, arms falling slack at my sides. I was thoroughly confused about where this conversation was going.

With a smirk, Kyle lifted his chin. “Your kids are all over my social media, Crabby.”

I had signed social media waivers, but I’d assumed Hannah would be the one posting, I guess, since she ran the Revs’ official social media pages. And I supposed I figured there would be apost or two, but not much more. If that wasn’t the case, then I was surprised I hadn’t heard from Jace. He was a huge Revs fan.

“Did you see that we won the domino run poll?” The expectation in Piper’s voice made it clear that everyone should know what that meant. She had been very proud of their massive toy creation, so I couldn’t blame her. Though I couldn’t imagine all that many people really cared about a silly competition between kids.

“But the…the foul ball thing,” Trevor stuttered.

“Mom should never have done that.” Piper scowled. “Just looking at the stats, the Revs were the better team. And the Revs would have crushed the Metros going head-to-head. Especially if Asher Price’s and Kyle’s batting averages stayed over .300.”

“That’s my girl.” Kyle smiled down at my daughter.

Trevor stared with his mouth open.

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