Page 83 of Off Season

I wordlessly nod.

“It’s enviable how close you two are.”

“Myfamily is enviable? Ha. Look at what’s happening in there.” I point toward the loud chatter. “I hope you realize how fortunate you are.”

He gives me a sheepish look. “You’re right. It doesn’t mean you’re not lucky to be as close as you are with Bailey. You two can read each other’s minds. It’s cool.”

“It is.”

His dimples come out as he shakes his head. “I can’t believe you speak Spanish. You’ve been fucking with me this whole time?”

“Nope. I taught myself after you asked me to come here. I knew they’d talk shit about me.”

He stands there completely dumbfounded. “You taught yourself Spanish in a month?”

I start to open my mouth to respond but he holds up his hands. “Yeah, yeah. You’re a genius. I forgot.”

I nod enthusiastically. “I sure am.” I grab his hand. “Come on, fiancé, we don’t want to be rude.”

As we walk back in, I hear Ruben say, “That’s girl math, Lola.”

Cheetah asks, “What’s girl math?”

Ruben harrumphs. “Mybeautifulwife thinks that if she purchases something in cash, it’s free.” He turns to her and grits out, “I’m trying to explain that it’s not the case, mi amor.”

Everyone bites back their smiles.

Lola crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at him. “Well,Ruben, let’s discuss boy math. I heard you complaining to your brothers that it’s been weeks since we last made love. It’s been two days. I guess we all have different interpretations of math,mi amor.And shall we discuss boy math when it comes to…measuring?” She bats her eyelashes at him.

I laugh. I think I like Lola too. In fact, I like everyone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHEETAH

Iwake in the morning and reach my hand over to the other side of the bed, wanting to feel the warmth of Kam’s naked body but knowing that I won’t. As expected, it’s cold and empty.

I blink my eyes a few times and see her curled up, sitting on a chair staring out the window with nothing but a blanket wrapped around her. She’s so breathtakingly beautiful.

“Morning, Kam bam.”

She turns her head and forces out a smile. It’s clear from the redness and puffiness of her eyes that she was crying.

“What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“Did you sleep?”

She nods. “A few hours. Merry Christmas.” She masks her sadness and gives me her special smile that I love. “I’m hoping to get into the spirit. Do you have a candy cane for me under there?”

I chuckle as I open the blankets to encourage her torejoin me. “I do. You’re more than welcome to deck the balls and empty Santa’s sack.”

Her eyes light up as she stands, drops her blanket, and crawls back into bed. She nuzzles into me and my exposed morning wood.

I kiss along her jawline. “Merry Christmas morning.”

She lets out a soft moan. “I’m hoping for a not-so-silent night. Want to fill me up with some holiday spirit?”

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