Page 42 of Clean Out of Luck

Last time Kevin came to racquetball, he ended up limping out of the gym.

A side door swings open. Court-Liam—that’s the only wayI know him—ushers us in. He’s the one who took Scarlett on a date a while ago. He walks out of the courtroom and greets me with a smile. “Hey, Wade! Great to see you again. You did great in there.”

“Thanks,” I reply. “You’re Liam, right?”

“Yeah! We met a while ago.”

I get straight to the point. “Are you going to go out with Scarlett again?” I try to say it in a friendly way, but it might not come across that way.

He looks at me in surprise. “Scarlett?”

“The court reporter.”

“Oh! Yes. She’s so nice. I really like her. But I started dating someone else, and Scarlett was super great and understanding about it. In fact, she kinda encouraged me to go out with this other person. She said she thought we would really hit it off.”

Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.

“Hey, if you’re looking for somewhere to play racquetball, we play every Tuesday and Thursday, if we’re not working. I’ll add you to the group chat if you want.”

Liam looks excited at that. He grabs a scrap of paper out of his pocket, writes down his number, and hands it to me. “I’m not allowed to have my phone on in court, so this is the best I can do.”

He disappears back into the room, his arms swinging as he goes.

He’s goofy, but I like him.

Jack steps up to me. “Was Scarlett the court reporter for your room?”

“It was someone else that I didn’t recognize.”

Just then, the courtroom doors open. The jury files out, and Liam hurries off to lead them to the juror room. Soon, the judge and the lawyers follow, and finally, the court reporter.

I glance up and down the hall, hoping to find Scarlett before I leave. I need to talk to her.

I follow the other court reporter down the hall and to a door leading into a small office. The poor woman I’m following turns around sharply and presses a hand to her heart. “You scared me, following me like that.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say earnestly. I hold my hands up in the air. “I should have said something. Do you know if Scarlett is here?”

The woman nods twice, then leans into the office and says, “Scarlett. Someone is here to see you.”

She turns back to me and watches me curiously. “Are you Scarlett’s boyfriend?”

“Nah, I’m her brother’s friend. Just figured I’d say hi if she was around,” I explain.

The woman smiles slowly at me.

“What do you want, Wade? I’m working,” Scarlett says as she stops behind the other court reporter. “I see you’ve met Claire.”

“Claire’s a lot nicer than you,” I tease her.

Claire’s eyebrows shoot up. “Is Scarlett usually not nice? I call her the pushover of the office.”

Scarlett sticks her tongue out at Claire, but since she’s standing a couple feet behind her, Claire doesn’t notice.

“A pushover? Scarlett?” I smile. “That’s just what she wants you to think.”

Now, Scarlett is looking at me with narrowed eyes and drawing her finger across her neck as she glares at me.

“Be nice, Scooter,” I warn her. “Or else.”

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