Page 83 of Dream Girl Drama

The afternoon Sig had kissed her up against the door.

His touch, his voice, his scent remained fresh in her head, like he’d just been there.

You’re going to feel my weight on top of you, Chloe. You’ll feel it behind you. Beneath you. You’re going to feel the weight of me, of us, everywhere.

You’re going to trust me to find a way for us, even though it’s getting harder. You delete everyone else, but you don’t ever delete me.Ever.

Chloe fairly dove out of bed and speed walked to the bathroom, as if those memories were hot on her heels. They found her and plagued her as she went through the motions of brushing her teeth, running a comb through her hair, sighing when it refused to cooperate, and fashioning her locks in a messy bun. She cleansed her face and did her best to conceal her lack of sleep with a quick, natural layer of makeup, but proceeded to look like hell.

“Oh well, Pierre,” she said a few minutes later while pulling on yoga pants and a Bearcats sweatshirt. “It’s a dog park, not a fashion show, right? And, anyway, you look good enoughfor the both of us, don’t you?” She reached down to snap on his leash, scratching his head for good measure. “Yes, you do, goodest boy.”

It was only a five-minute walk to the park, though it took ten because Pierre kept stopping to taste the air. Chloe let Saturday morning in the North End wash over her, trying to glean what comfort she could from the familiarity of locals meeting for brunch, crisscrossing with tourists on the Freedom Trail, the scent of coffee and bacon drifting down cobblestone streets. The sky was overcast and her sweatshirt was definitely warranted, but spring was beginning to kick in, the promise of warmer days giving the temperature a slight lift.

When she reached the dog park a few minutes later and found it empty, she frowned.

Elton had liked her text response. Had he changed his mind? Stood her up? Or was he just running late. Chloe had just slipped her phone out of her front pocket of her sweatshirt when she heard the commotion. Men’s voices. A lot of them.Loudones.

Coming from the neighboring baseball field.

Were some of those voices familiar?

She stepped into the gated area and started to close it behind her, her chin jerking up when she heard someone say, “Suck my balls.” And that someone was Corrigan. Not a doubt in her mind. And where Corrigan went, so did Mailer. What were the Orgasm Donors doing at the baseball field at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning...

Chloe’s mouth fell open.

They hadn’t gone through with that ridiculous challenge, had they?

Certainly not.

But she found herself exiting the penned dog park and marching up and over the small rise, anyway, just to be sure. Whenthe baseball field came into full view and she saw the parties assembled, she resolved to never again underestimate the competitive nature of professional athletes. Although they were being noticeably unprofessional this morning, if the “suck my balls” comment was any proof.

Corrigan and Mailer were shoulder to shoulder, facing off with Elton, who had a whole baseball team of men—and one young woman—standing behind him, attempting intimidation by crushing their fists into their leather gloves. Burgess was leaning against the chain-link fence, arms crossed, as if he’d just come in case an adult needed to step in. Several other members of the Bearcats team were also in attendance, and she couldn’t help it, her eyes raced furiously from face to face, trying to locate Sig, but he wasn’t there.

And that feeling in her chest was far from relief. It was crushing agony. A momentary spark of hope had lifted her and now she plummeted to the ground, her legs heavy enough to sink into the earth if she didn’t move. Move.

But... wait.

Why had Elton texted her to meet him at the dog park if he’d planned on going through with this asinine matchup, instead?

Maybe Grace’s take-no-prisoners personality was rubbing off on Chloe. Or maybe she was simply too heartbroken to be nice or too exhausted to second-guess herself. Whatever the reason, she marched with a building head of steam in the direction of the field, Pierre trotting beside her in the grass, not stalling for once. Did he sense the gravity of the situation?

“We win, you show up to our next home game in our jerseys,” Mailer was saying.

“Andwhenyou lose?” Elton scoffed.

“How about this? Your prize is you don’t get your asses kicked,” Corrigan barked, before hesitating and leaning to lookpast Elton to his hoard of teammates, his voice softer when he said, “Obviously, the lady would not be included in an ass kicking of any kind.”

The brunette ran a hand down her ponytail, which was cascading down from the opening of her cap. “Aw shucks, that’s so sweet.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I think I’ll stick around and give you the junk punch you so clearly deserve.”

Corrigan’s eyebrows shot sky-high. “Fair enough.”

The girl smiled back, sweetly. While grinding her fist into her glove.

Chloe liked her. A lot.

And that was the beginning and end of what she liked about this morning.

“Hey,Elton,” Chloe said, slowing to a stop beside the rangy baseball player, the leather dog leash biting into the palm of her hand.

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