Page 142 of Off Pitch

I kiss her again as I hear Lucia speak. “About fucking time!”

We both laugh. “Seems like our friends are eavesdropping.”

“In their defense, we’re standing right beside them.”

“Alright, Knox,” Rory says, grabbing Harlow by the shoulders. “Lucia and I are stealing your girlfriend. I think it’s time for a girl’s night.”

“Yes!” Lucia shouts. “Perfect idea, Ror.”

Harlow laughs. “I guess I have plans for tonight now.”

“Go have fun, Lo.” I kiss her one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

The girls say their goodbyes before they all but usher Harlow out of the hallway, eager for their impromptu girl’s night. I have a feeling I’m going to be the main topic of discussion tonight.

“Only took him four and a half months,” Lane pipes in, “but he finally made his fucking move.”

“I don’t think four and a half months is fair,” I state. “This wasn’t real in the beginning.”

Cole claps a hand on my shoulder. “But it’s real now.”

“Very real.” I smile again. I went from a man who never smiled to one who can’t stop smiling. But how could I not smile when I think of Harlow, the epitome of sunshine and happiness?

“Just don’t hurt her again. We may be friends, but I will kick your ass if I need to.”

“I’ve got four inches and thirty pounds on you, Pierce. You couldn’t kick my ass if you tried.”

The clubhouse door opens now, and Josh strides out after his shower. “Did I miss the meeting memo?” he asks, gesturing at us crowding around each other. “Is this an intervention or something? Knox’s smile is kinda freaking me out.”

“Dick,” I mutter, shaking my head.

“What’s got you all happy right now, Fort?”

I mull it over momentarily, thinking about how to phrase it before I go all in.

“I have a date with my girlfriend tomorrow night.”

fifty-one

Harlow

“So wait,” Ella says,glass sloshing as she moves her hand to the side. “You’re telling me that this was fake? That you’ve been keeping it from meall fucking season?!”

I’m sitting with the girls in a circle on Rory’s floor. She has the biggest apartment of the four of us—having a Hall of Fame baseball player for a dad has its perks—so we’re sipping wine in our pajamas as my mind reels.

“Um, yes?” I answer warily. “But it wasn’t to exclude you. You’re planning a damn wedding, so you were busy, and I didn’t want to take you away from that. I also needed to tell as few people as possible to keep this realistic.”

“Well, I’m not happy about that, but I’m letting it slide becauseohmygodyouhaveadatetomorrow!”

I can’t help but laugh. “It’s so hard to believe this is real.”

“Oh, it’s real, sweetie,” Lucia replies. “I told you from the start that Knox would fall in love with you by the end of the season.”

“We don’t know that he’s in love with me. We just know that he actually asked me on a date.”

Rory smirks. “Babe, I’ve known him for years. I haveneverseen him the way he is around you. He’s got it bad for you.”

“That makes two of us, then,” I say lowly.

---