Page 61 of Shoot Your Shot

Whether he’s eating me out on a teacher’s desk or making me ride the arm of a chair with his dick in my mouth … he’s a good time.

Just as my hand stretches his waistband, the sounds of hissing and wrestling come from the living room, snapping us both out of the desperate trance we were in.

Ducking away from him, I rush toward the commotion to see Ted beating the shit out of my poor Rocket.

“Those fucking cats,” he hisses from behind me.

“Cut it out,” I yell, stomping my feet and sending Ted running behind the couch. I reach down and grab Rocket, pulling him against me. “I’m sorry, bubba boy.” I kiss the top of his head, checking him over. “I should have been paying more attention. Forgive me?”

“You realize that’s a cat, right?” Kolt grumbles. “Not sure he understands you.”

I want to tell him to shut up, but I can’t stop the laugh that comes out when I notice the huge-ass bulge in his sweatpants as he looks behind the couch.

As I head toward the guest bedroom, Rocket in my arms, Kolt calls behind me, “I thought for sure I was getting my dick sucked. You had the look in your eyes. I was positive that it was fucking on.”

“Moment’s over, superstar,” I toss back before looking behind me. I watch him pick up Ted, who seems to be clawing at him.

“Fucking cats,” he utters, shaking his head, “ruin everything.”

“Thanks again for watching Amy at the last minute,” Logan says as I walk him toward the door.

About twenty minutes ago, he brought her over. But instead of leaving right away, he hung around to make sure she was settled in because that’s the type of dad Logan is.

“No worries at all,” I say, leaning against the wall.

“I wish I could get out of this stupid interview tonight, but you know how that goes. But I do feel bad, knowing you’re recovering. I asked Walker and Poppy first, but they are visiting Walker’s sister, Briar.” He glances back toward the hallway that leads to the living room, where Paige and Amelia are, and sighs. “I don’t usually just dump her off at random places, I swear.”

“Dude, stop. It’s not like this is a crackhead shack or something. Also, I’m a little offended you asked James before me,” I say, smacking his arm. “But seriously, it’s our honor. I don’t like a lot of kids—you know this. But I love Amy. We both do. So, really, you’re doing Paige a favor because, now, she won’t be stuck hanging out with me, solo, all night.”

Logan nods. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it. So much so that I’ll spare you a dad joke—this one time.” He stops, concern growing on his face. “It’s just … I don’t ever want to put you or Paige in a position where something hurts you or you feel uncomfortable.” He jerks his chin toward the living room. “Ihope having Amelia around isn’t too hard on you guys. I never really thought of it till now, and I feel like a shithead.”

Logan is one of the few people who knows the truth about our infertility struggles. And leave it to him to be thoughtful enough to worry about our feelings when it comes to watching his kid.

“Cut it out,” I utter, shaking my head. “We are fine. We’re figuring our shit out, and we can’t hide from kids just because we’ve struggled to have kids of our own. Besides, I love Amelia like family. And even though Paige hasn’t been around her much in a while, she loves her too. The Sharks are a family, Sterns. As sappy as this fucking sounds and even though it’s off-brand as fuck, coming from me … you and Amelia are the glue. We’re happy to help.”

He stares at me for a beat before throwing an arm out and pulling me to him in true lover-of-all Logan Sterns form. “Fuck, man, you’re getting me choked up. Talking all this emotional shit.” He pats me on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you and Paige for finding your way back to each other. I mean, it sucks that it took you almost dying to do it, but at least it’s happened now.”

“Thanks,” I say, tensing. “We’re not out of the woods yet though. We have a lot to figure out.”

“Yeah, but you will.” He sounds so confident about that, and I wish I could believe him. “Marriage, I imagine, is a lot like having kids. You gotta figure that shit out as you go. I know I did.” He winces. “If you don’t believe me, you should have seen me figuring out how to put a diaper on her. Or how to put ponytails in her hair so that it wasn’t in her face.” He chuckles, clapping his hands together. “Trust that it’s all going to be okay, Kolburne. She might have come here at first because you needed her. But you look pretty healthy to me, and she’s still here. That should tell you everything you need to know.”

Pushing the door open, he looks at the hallway again and sighs. “Bye, baby,” he calls out. “I’ll see you in a little bit. Be good for Uncle Kolty and Paige.”

“I will, Daddy! I love you!” she calls back, and there’s something about it that sends a stab to my chest, as I imagine how much pride he must feel when she says that.

“See you later.” I force the words out.

“Call if you need anything,” he says before heading outside.

I walk back down the hallway and into the living room, and my chest swells as I watch my wife put on a puppet show for Amelia. Even though I know it hurts her, she’s doing it anyway.

Because that’s who she is.

“Daddy said you and Uncle Kolty are married,” Amelia says, sprinkling some more cheese onto the mountain that’s already piled high on her heart-shaped pizza. “I wish I could have been the flower girl.”

I snort, unable to help myself, as she gives me the most bummed, unimpressed look before going back to her pizza. I have to admit, I admire how neat she is with her pizza-making skills. Most three-year-olds would have sauce and cheese everywhere—at least, I imagine they would. But not her. Heck,she made less of a mess than Kolt did before he threw his together and then ran out to the mailbox.

“Sorry, sweetie,” I apologize, genuinely feeling bad because it’s obvious she’s disappointed over it. “We eloped. So, we didn’t have a flower girl. And it was also a long time before you were born.”

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