Page 140 of Off Season

I think I need to lighten the mood. I look at Daylen, who just buzzed his hair short. He has a different hairstyle all the time. Sometimes it’s long and sometimes it’s short. It grows bizarrely fast. “Nice haircut, Forrest Gump. Did you lose weight with it? You did grow a little dad bod this off-season. Losing weight on the top could only help your slow ass.”

I’m fucking with him. The guy doesn’t have an ounce of body fat. He’s built like a brick house.

He gives me his trademark crooked smile. He knows what I’m doing. “Actually, I lost fifteen pounds, ten from the haircut.”

“Where did the other five come from?”

“I got circumcised.”

We all laugh hysterically. Daylen is always full of funny jokes. I love the guy.

I knockon Gemma’s office door and look at her. I used to think there was no better woman on this planet than Gemma DePaul. While I’ll always have deep affection for her as my friend, I know now that I was just waiting for Kam to come along. She’s my perfect match. That won’t prevent me from fucking with Trey though. I let out a whistle. “Hey, sexy. You ready for lunch?”

She smiles as she looks up from her computer. “Can you give me five minutes? I need to get this email out before we leave.”

I nod. “Sure. Is your hot boss in today? Maybe I can get some lunchtime action like her husband.”

“Good luck with that. Yes, she’s here today.”

“I’m gonna go say hi to her. Come get me when you’re ready.”

She wordlessly nods as I walk away and head toward Darian Knight’s office and knock on her door. She looks up from her computer and smiles much like Gemma did. I swear they could be mother and daughter. “Cruz! What a nice surprise. Are you ladies lunching today?”

I let out a laugh. “We are. Then we’re getting bikini waxes.”

“Is that how you keep your speed? By being aerodynamic?”

My eyes widen. “No, but now that you say it, maybe I should consider waxing for real.”

She lets out a laugh before inviting me in. I slowly walk around her office and look at the dozen or so picture frames scattered throughout her office. “Wow. You have a big family.”

“I do. My three daughters are all married with kids, and Jackson’s three sons are all married with kids. Our blended family is enormous. You should see the size of my dining room table.”

I pinch my eyebrows together. “I didn’t know Jackson wasn’t the original Mr. Darian.”

She somberly nods toward a photo of a blond man smiling with three little girls. “That was my first husband, Scott Lawrence. He passed about a decade ago.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“It’s okay. A lot of people don’t know.”

I point to one of the little kids in the photo. One who looks very familiar. “Is that Reagan?”

She smiles. “It is. She was a pistol then and she’s a pistol now. My girls are all adults and in their thirties, but they allhave the exact same personalities they had as kids. It’s amazing. You don’t have kids yet, do you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t.”

“Maybe one day.”

I twist my lips. “I think I always assumed I wanted kids because it’s what’s expected, but the woman I’m seeing doesn’t want kids.”

“What do you want?”

I’m considering how to answer that when Gemma pokes her head in. “Knock, knock. Don’t steal my lunch date, Darian.”

“He’s a cutie. If Jackson wasn’t coming by in a few minutes I’d definitely steal this one.”

Gemma grabs my arm and mumbles, “Trust me, we want to get away from this office for the next hour. It’s going to get…loud.”

---