Page 24 of The Shake Off

“Rough day?”

“Not really. School was busy, but it was good. Bell threw a tantrum before I left because she didn’t like her pajamas, so she went to bed in her fairy tutu and wings. I honestly couldn’t be bothered to argue, because I swear that child is as headstrong as her father.”

I smirked through my first sip of wine. Murraywasheadstrong, but he was no match for Kit. Even if Bell wasn’t Kit’s biological child, with the way she took after her, you’d never know it.

“Thank God for carbs and alcohol then.”

“Exactly!” She lifted her glass and gently knocked it against mine.

“Okay, let’s get cozy.”

I opened a drawer and grabbed a pile of paper take-out napkins – something I always had in abundance, seeing as I never cooked. It wasn’t a gene I’d been gifted with, and had reached the point in my life where I could probably name my local delivery guy as one of my best friends.

I picked up the wine and followed Kit to the couch, where she was already on her second slice of pizza, and plopped down next to her. I peeled off a slice, blowing away the steam on top.

“Did Murray take over bedtime?” I mumbled through a far too large bite.

Kit shook her head. “No, he’s gone to the game tonight. He and Rafe flew down after work.”

Of course they had. I should have already known the answer; it was Opening Day, and the boys wouldn’t miss supporting Penn and cheering on the Lions to victory. Murray, Rafe, and Penn were three best friends since college days, who did everything together, even now in their mid-thirties. Not long after Kit came along and fell in love with Murray, so followed Beulah, and Lowe. The six of them were a perfect little group that I’d somehow managed to infiltrate because Kit was my best friend.

Reaching for a napkin, she wiped the pizza grease off her fingers and picked up the remote. “What channel is the game on?”

I shrugged. “Dunno. Try them all.”

We hit the jackpot on the third attempt. The camera panned out from the Phillies field where the Lions boys were warming up.

“Do you think we’ll win?” Kit mumbled through a giant mouthful of pizza, only the cheese was still too hot and she couldn’t close her mouth.

I sat back and sipped my wine, trying to figure what she’d just said. “Do I think we’ll win?”

She nodded.

“Maybe. Beulah seems to think so, and Marnie has been busting her ass since Spring Training…”

Simultaneously, wine and air were inhaled too quickly and down the wrong way as Ace’s face filled the screen. My eyes watered profusely, tears streamed down my face, and my attempt at coughing it away wasn’t working, so I had to stand up and get my lungs back to normal function.

It was quite the spectacle.

As I sat back down, a broad grin spread over Kit’s face. She said nothing, but stretched out her leg and prodded me with a perfectly manicured toe, which reminded me I’d missed my appointment today.

“Shut up.”

“God, Pay,” she laughed, “his face when you walked off the other day. I thought he was going to cry.”

“As if…” I replied, using the sleeve of my hoodie to mop up my still watery eyes. “Probably the first time anyone turned him down, that’s all.”

She rolled her eyes. “Boys. Such delicate egos.”

“Yeah.”

Our focus went back to the screen as the camera panned around the field and stands. Unsurprisingly, it was a full house today. The Phillies red and white colors were almost matched in volume with the Lions black and gold, and it was almost impossible to see where one fan base ended and the other began.

Next, we were treated to a close up of Jupiter Reeves throwing and catching with Stone Fields, the same for Lux Weston and Tanner Simpson, while the commentators began their back and forth; discussion ranging from injuries and expectations, to new players brought in from the trade, and the phenomenal season the Lions had under Penn’s first year of ownership.

And then there he was, standing in the tunnel next to the Lions coach, August Chase.

“That man is handsome,” announced Kit. “I don’t think it gets said enough, but he’s a fox with a capital F O X.”

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