Page 51 of The Stud

“Um…guacamole.”

The expression deepens.

“Salsa?”

Light laughter precedes my head shaking. “Stop ordering fajita toppings from my dog and tell me why you’re on my doorstep.”

“I was trying to remember his codewords.”

“Commands.” Adjusting Bear’s leash in my grip precedes delivering a sharp tug that indicates for him to heel as well as cease growling, which he instantly does. “And he doesn’t listen to them from just anybody. He’d be a shit guard dog if that were the case.”

Tanner doesn’t hesitate to cockily grin. “Good thing I’m not just anybody then.”

Bear mumbles woofs in agreement causing me to twitch a glare.

Still.

Istilldon’t need his lip.

“You’re about to be a very chewed somebody if you don’t quickly explain why you’rehereat my front door ordering sides like you’re at a drive through window.”

His hands casually slide into his sweatpants pockets. “I’m here for a post-game celly.”

Irritation over the idea he thinks I’m gonna give him some sort of victory mouth hug fuses with irateness regardingthe puck bunny label he’s mistakenly branded on my ass prompting me to coldly chomp, “What?”

“Walk. Wings.Wrath of the Titans.”

My shoulders instantly slump towards the ground on a softer, “What?”

“We’ll walk Bear – I know he needs one last outing for the night – order wings from Wing Warriors – they have a new bourbon flavor I’m dying to try – and see how far we can get throughWrath of the Titans– although I am open to other film considerations. It is –admittedly– not one of my favorites.”

“But…Greek Myths.”

“GreekGossip Girl.”

Yet again, it’s impossible not to giggle. “This from the stud that spent twenty-two minutes correcting everything STN ‘misreported’about training camps?”

“That was notgossip,” Tanner argues, obviously trying not to grin. “That was simply mefact-checking.”

An amused eyebrow lift is all he’s given.

Yeah, not so sure learning who was fighting off the clap was acrucialpart of injuries that needed to be discussed; however, I will admit, I’m even more unwilling to hook up with players considering the eyebrow raising amount of STDs they’ve apparently got in their stats.

“Shouldn’t you…be…like…cellying with the boys?”

“I’m right where I wanna be, Ducky,” informs Tanner without missing a beat.

“Stop calling me that,” I hiss on a gentle push forward, needing him to back up towards the grass.

“You like it.”

“I despise it.”

“You adore it.”

“I barely tolerate it.” The door clicks closed behind us. “A lot like you.”

“You’re so full of shite,” chuckles the white t-shirt wearing male across from me. “And you know it.”

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