Page 143 of Fair Catch

“Hayes?” Kason’s disembodied voice calls. “Where are you? This place is a maze!”

I roll my eyes, because a three-bedroom condo in the heart of Nashville can only be so big, even if this is our first day actually in it.

“I’m in the master!” I call back, my gaze still locked out the floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall of our bedroom.

Kason’s footfalls echo through the nearly-empty condo as he approaches, becoming louder and louder until they stop directly behind me.

“There you are,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around my waist. A kiss lands on my temple before he rests his chin on my shoulder. “Getting used to the view?”

“Eh, I’ve seen better.”

Kason chuckles, nuzzling his nose against the side of my neck. “So have I, and all of them include you naked.”

A smirk tugs at my lips, and I turn in his arms. “Getting pervy on me already? At least let us get a bed in here first.”

“I don’t know, I’ve seen plenty of flat surfaces around here. The island in the kitchen, the counter in the bathroom. That shower is just begging for us to use it.” His eyes light up when he glances behind me. “Or you could pin me to the glass right here?”

All of the above sounds fantastic, but we’ve only got another ninety minutes until we need to return the moving truck.

“In good time, you nympho. We’ve got work to do.”

“And yet I seem to be the one moving all the boxes.”

“I was taking a break.” To drive the point home, I slip free from his hold and head out of the master and down the hall. “And now I’m getting back to work.”

Kason’s right on my trail, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into him as I enter the kitchen.

“More like taking in the view,” he muses, his tone light and teasing. “I just can’t believe we live here.”

Cocking my head, I ask, “In this condo or this city?”

His lips purse for a second before he shrugs. “I dunno. Both, I guess?”

I’ll be the first to admit, the condo will take some getting used to…for him. Comparatively, it’s a much smaller version of where Quinton grew up, but I’m well aware it’s a far cry from the upbringing Kason had.

And as for the city part…

“How are you feeling about it? About being back here?”

He frowns for the briefest moment, but it’s more of a puzzled kind rather than upset. “I thought I’d feel some type of way about it, but honestly? It feels like a fresh start. Even if this city carries a lot of shitty memories from over the years, now I get to experience it with you.”

I smile, feeling the same way, only for the past to come sneaking in again when I remember one of the people responsible for all those shitty memories he has.

One who is very intent on speaking to their son as of late.

“I saw your dad called again.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs, the word coming out clipped. “I have nothing to say to him, though. There’s no point. I got all the closure I needed the last time I was in that house.”

He’s said that many times, but regardless, his father seems hell bent on getting in touch with him. Ever since Kason was drafted back to Nashville, he’s been reaching out a couple times a week.

The cynic in me thinks it’s likely for money, but I can’t lie and say there isn’t part of me that hopes it would be for better reasons. Like rebuilding a relationship with his son, despite Kason’s well-deserved rejection of the idea.

It’s not my place to pry or push for him to mend fences with either of his parents, even if I want that for him. Everyone deals with their shit in their own way, and he respects me enough to give me that courtesy too.

The least I can do is return the favor.

As if reading my damn mind, like he seems to do a lot lately, he shoots me an inquisitive look. “Have you heard from your parents at all?”

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