Page 54 of Relief Pitcher

Dom: Tell him that he should’ve planned better.

Ethan: Hayden says he did plan for it, but sometimes supplies for small jobs like this get gobbled up by bigger ones.

Dom: Tell him that’s unacceptable.

Austin: We can push back the opening. It’s fine.

Dom: It’s not fine. He made a promise, and he’s failing to deliver.

Ty: …has that happened before?

[thread goes silent for twenty minutes]

Ethan: Hayden says you’re welcome to call any other contractor in town, and they’ll tell you the same thing about certain items being unavailable. Dom, we’ll figure it out. Changing contractors now will only put us further behind and cost us way more.

Dom: Fine.

Ty: We done with the grumpy game of telephone now? If so, can we talk about our routine for the Pride Fest drag show? We need to up our game this year.

Austin: I don’t think we should do Lady Marmalade again.

Dom: But we already have the costumes and the lip-syncing down.

Ethan: We need to show our versatility. Hee-hee get it.

Ty: We need emotion, theater, energy, and fake breasts! The Dahlia Springs Pride Festival is an institution, and amateur drag night is a big fucking deal. We need to be even better than last year. Last year, we bumbled around that stage, but everyone loved it because we were new in town with our brewery. This year, we’re established, so we need to bring it.

Ethan: I didn’t realize you felt so strongly. Anyone else feel like we just got a Braveheart speech?

Austin: [Braveheart GIF] Freeeeedom!

CHAPTER25

COOPER

Danita: What are you up to tonight? Want to hang out?

Cooper: I’ve got plans. Raincheck?

Danita: You? Have plans? On a Saturday night? That don’t involve me?

Cooper: Yup! Gotta get in the car. Have a good night.

Danita: I’d better get details later.

* * *

I drummed my fingers against my thigh, then shoved them in my pockets. After another minute, I crossed them over my chest, which made my elbows brush the sides of the narrow restroom stall.

Suggesting to meet Ty at a truck stop off I-5 to have some glory hole fun topped the list of my more absurd ideas. Ty made me want to do all sorts of ridiculous things. It was one hell of a way to spend a Saturday night though. It was either that or channel surfing until I passed out.

I couldn’t believe Ty actually wanted to. Over the time we’d been…fucking around? Been friends with benefits? Him “wingperson-ing” me into an addiction to his dick?…we’d never broached the topic of sleeping with other people. He’d said he wanted to help launch me into the dating market, but he hadn’t brought it up in a while. I sure as hell hadn’t either.

But Ty suggesting meeting up on a weekend night had to mean something, right? The bulk of our time together happened after Tuesday and Thursday practices and the post-game drinks on Sundays before he went home for his team meeting. We chatted via text on most other days and often talked about what we were up to, but Ty never mentioned going out to get his rocks off.Did that mean something?

The restroom door opened, and I held my breath while waiting for movement in the stall next to mine. Instead, someone started whistling as the faucet turned on. The door opened again, and moments later, the stall door next to me latched closed. My heart lurched into my throat at what was to come.

Meeting at a glory hole was getting me hotter than I’d expected. The blood coursing through my body had already gotten the orders to migrate south. Knowing Ty was on the other side of the divider but not being able to see him? Jesus. I licked my drying lips as I tried to calculate my next move.

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