Page 31 of Don't Look Down

It’s good-natured and full of love, but they just don’t quit.

They’re quite amusing, but time is wasting.

“Hey you guys!” I interrupt

Sky rewards me with a guffaw of laughter. “Hey, LTB! How’s it hanging?”

“It’s hanging so that’s always a good sign, right, nurse?” Am I flirting? Nah, it’s purely harmless banter between friends. Nothing exciting here.

Why does it feel exciting?

“To answer this accurately, I’d need a visual of how exactly it’s hanging but, in my professional opinion,” he pauses here and makes a hmmm sound like he’s thinking it through, “yes. Yes, it’s hanging so that’s a good sign. You’re a healthy boy, huh?” Is he flirting back? The increased speed of my heart beat tells me yes. And apparently, I like it.

“That I am. I kind of have to be in my line of work.”

“That’s right! It’s been a while since you last mentioned it. You’re a bit cagier and close-lipped so I can only assume it’s something outrageously scandalous. You dirty boy! Don’t tell me. Let me guess. Addy! Help me guess what career a dirty boylike LTB can have. Fit. Healthy. But dirty.” He purrs the last word.

“Knock yourselves out. I can't wait to hear your guesses.” My heart is pounding triple time. Is this my moment of truth? I’m simultaneously amused and casually dying by this turn in our conversation. It’s a good thing, right? It is my fault, but I just had to try to open the door somehow. I didn’t expect to take this long once I decided to tell him. Maybe I can ease my way into spilling the truth? Could it be this simple?

Now that I've gotten into this, I can’t decide how I want it to actually play out. Will I tell him if they guess right? Will I just spill and tell him on my own? Or worse, keep hiding?

“He can’t wait to hear our guesses,” he updates Addy.

“This would be a lot more fun if I could hear both sides of this conversation, Sky,” Addy gripes. “Hmm, let’s see.”

Anxiety and nerves cause my fingers to tingle a bit. A brick has settled heavily in my stomach.

“He’s gotta be a stripper! Their goods gotta lookgood, amiright?” Addy chirps in the background.

“Ooh, ooh, or he could always be in porn. He travels a lot. Strippers don’t really travel, do they? But porn stars would totally travel to shoot content. Collabs and such.”

I guffaw. “Wow, you guys are way off, but I’m sure you’re right. At least in regard to amateur porn stars. Business expense the heck out of traveling to film a collab. I’m thinking that’s a hard no on traveling strippers… But I could be wrong since I’m neither.”

“You never know, boo, they might,” Sky replies. “We’re wrong, Addy. Next guess?”

“What about a cage dancer? I’m sure they travel with the DJs they dance for. Like that one hottie from Quench you hooked up with way back when.”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot about him. Felix was hot. And bendy.”

Everything inside me screeches to a halt and freezes. Full stop.

Wait. What? Quench? Like,myQuench?

Up until this point, I was laughing at their guess, but at that comment, I am frozen. I’ve had this feeling for a while now that Sky lives in Florida, especially since he loves the Florida Bull Sharks, and has mentioned the beach more than a few times, but shit. Am I actually right? And does he live closer than I suspected?

A lot of fans have favorite teams that aren’t their local team. This is a fact. And there are a ton of beaches in this country. He could literally be anywhere along the East Coast.

It’s impossible to keep the question from popping out of my mouth. I need to know.

“Sky, don’t answer if it makes you uncomfortable, but I have to ask. Do you live in South Florida, too? I’m sure it’s not an uncommon nightclub name, because thirsty bitches are everywhere, but it’s just too much of a coincidence for me not to ask.”

“Mayyyybe, why?” He pauses, then gasps loudly. “Wait. Shut the fuck up. You said too.Landon!Does this mean you’re here?”

I have to take a steadying breath. I can’t breathe. My chest is tight. What d’you know? That breath doesn’t help at all. “Yeah, I sure am.” The shakiness of my voice is audible. Does he hear it? “What are the odds? Fucking crazy.” My pulse is racing unsteadily, and I'm definitely overheating.

“Holy shit, Landon. What?! Ohmigod, Addy! You won’t believe this! Landon lives here too! I’m in Palm County. I actually work at PCH. Is that close to you?”

“More or less. I’m maybe thirty minutes from there.” My hands are shaking. PCH is practically right across the street from our old training center. What a coincidence.

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