Page 95 of Off Season

I answer, “My doctor told me to watch what I eat.”

She cracks a smile before whining, “Come on, kitten. Let’s do this. Ireallywant to do thiswithyou.” She playfully pouts. “I’ve been waiting for this since the day you invited me.Please.”

She reaches her hand out for mine again and this time I take it as I grab my balls with my other hand and begin praying in Spanish.

She pulls me until our toes dangle over the rocky ledge. “Uno, dos—”

Before she gets to tres, she pulls me and we’re flying through the air. Not really flying. More like plummeting to a certain death.

We’re both screaming. I might be screaming louder and at a higher pitch.

With a loud smack, our feet break through the surface and our bodies are immediately pulled under the water. We sink down a few feet before it’s time to swim back up to the surface. I try to pull her with me, but she lets go of my hand.

The water is clear, so I open my eyes. She’s looking at me as she sinks toward the bottom, making no attempt to move toward the surface. It must be at least fifteen feet down.

I quickly kick my arms and legs as I swim to her, grabher waist, and pull her with me to the surface until we both break through and audibly gasp for air.

With labored breaths, I eventually breathe out, “What were you trying to do?”

With an equally labored breath, she responds, “I wanted to touch the bottom, cockblocker. Now we have to do it again.”

“Fuck. No.”

Yep, we do it again.

KAMRYN

We’re in the rental car with Cheetah driving because I probably would have driven in the opposite direction. My anxiety skyrockets when I see the sign for my hometown approach. My breathing becomes labored. What the fuck am I doing here?

Bailey and Daddy. I’m here for them.

Cheetah turns to me. “Do you want to go see your father, or do you want to go straight to the hotel?”

“Go to the hotel. I told you, I’m not stepping foot in that house. Let’s see if Bailey and Tanner want to go out. It’s New Year’s Eve for fuck’s sake. We need to party.”

“We’re here for a funeral.”

“Whatever. It’s not like it’s a normal, sad funeral. It’s a celebration. I already signed my dad up for Tinder. He’s gotten a few hits. He’s a good-looking guy.”

He shakes his head. “He’s burying his wife of nearly thirty years tomorrow.”

“Meh. It’s a party. And parties have music. I started a playlist for this one.” I click on my music app and hold up my phone asthe song “Another One Bites the Dust” plays, followed by “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.”

He shakes his head again before cracking a smile. “What’s the worst thing you can do at a funeral?”

Now he’s talking my language. “What?”

“The corpse.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s a good one. At my funeral, I want Bailey to send everyone a text from my phone that readsOMGit’s dark in here.”

He chuckles. “You’re deranged.”

I smile. “Thank you.”

We pull into the hotel, drop our bags in our suite, and then head straight to Bailey’s room. Tanner informs us that she’s been at my father’s house for a few hours, but a minute later, I feel her comforting arms wrap around me from behind. She whispers into my back, “Thanks for coming.”

I close my eyes. God, I missed her. I turn around and hug her back, taking in her familiar, comforting scent.I mumble into her, “I’m here for you and Daddy, not her.”

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