Page 73 of Off Season

Layton smiles. “Do you know what comes after sixty-nine?”

I twist my lips. “Seventy suddenly seems like the wrong answer.”

He smirks. “Mouthwash.”

We all laugh as Tanner returns from whatever it is he was doing upstairs. Again.

We all lift our beers and offer our cheers to Daylen, who just signed a huge contract extension. I’m happy for my friend and certainly ecstatic that he’ll continue playing in Philly for the foreseeable future. Daylen is such a genuinely good guy.

I say to him, “With all that money, think of all the hookers you can now afford.”

He nods enthusiastically. “I know, right? What’s the best part of having a hooker die on you?”

“What?”

He bites back his smile. “The second hour is free.”

We all burst out laughing. “Oh fuck, that’s a good one.” I pull out my phone. “I need to text it to Gemma. She’ll want to use that one in a book.”

I look down at my phone and realize that I have no service. I forgot that there’s none in the man cave.

As I head upstairs in search of better service so I can send Gemma the text, I suddenly receive a bunch of notifications on my phone. All my messages from the past few hours come flooding through all at once.

I ignore most until I see three from my doorman. That’s odd. He doesn’t reach out to me unless it’s important. I click on our text chain.

Evan: Sorry to bother you, but Ms. Hart stopped by.

A few seconds later, he sent:

Evan: She was rather upset so I let her in your apartment.

An hour later there’s another text from him.

Evan: I’m suddenly anxious that I shouldn’t have let her in. Let me know if it was the right thing to do. I can ask her to leave if you’d prefer.

Technically they’re not allowed to let anyone in. He could be fired for doing so but I’m obviously happy he did. Especially if she’s upset.

Me: Sorry. I had no reception. Thanks for letting her in. It was the right thing to do. I’m on my way home.

I immediately leave and head home. After Evan nervously fills me in that she was practically shaking when she arrived, I again assure him that she’s always welcome. He also informs me that she asked him to make a fire, which he did. She loves fires. She has me make one every time she stays over. She sits in front of them and works on her laptop while I’m asleep.

I walk into my apartment and see a makeshift fort. It’s not as good as mine, but she clearly tried hard to craft a good one.

I poke my head into the fort opening and see her in panties and a small midriff-baring T-shirt, lying on a bed of pillows. “Want to play haunted house? I’ll scream when I’m inside you.”

She sleepily smiles and stretches her arms. “You’re back.”

“I am. And I’m not happy with your wardrobe. My adult forts are nudist forts. You know the rules.”

She sighs. “It’s shark week for me. I tried to respect your rules, but this is as naked as I’m getting.”

Ah, she has her period. Maybe she’s just hormonal and that’s why she’s upset.

I wiggle my eyebrows. “I happen to love sharks. I’m an expert fisherman.” I flick my tongue suggestively at her. “I’m all for a rainbow kiss.”

She holds up her hand. “Not happening. My inner shark is a Great White and she’s a ruthless bitch. We’re talkingTexas Chainsaw Massacre-level shit going on down there.”

I chuckle. “That was bizarrely and disturbingly illustrative.” I nod toward her cotton panties, not as sexy as her normal thongs, but still adorable. “I like the cute little bow on the front of your panties.”

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