“From what?” Silas asks as we spot Penny at the end of the hallway with her tripod set up and a question for us to answer for social media.
“Uh . . . I’ll tell you later,” he says with a smirk. He leans into Penny and gives her a kiss. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey,” she says while pressing her hand to his chest. “Did you stop in to see Holden?”
“Yeah, he looked happy.”
“He seems to be doing okay. I’m glad about it. Now, please answer my question so I can continue to soar as the best social media manager to ever exist.”
I glance at the question and read it out loud. “What’s your favorite Taylor Swift song?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Posey says.
“Wait!” Penny holds up her hand and presses the record button. “Okay, go.”
“Favorite Taylor Swift song has to beShake it Off,” Posey answers.
“Are You Ready For It,” Silas says.
“Uh . . . that Romeo and Juliet one,” Eli answers.
“Love Story,” Posey says.
“Right, yeah, that one.”
They turn to me and I say, “The 1.”
Penny stops recording and clasps her hands together. “Perfect, boys, thank you.” Then she turns to me and points her finger. “Now, I have to talk to you.”
“Talk to me?” I point at my chest.
“Yeah, you.” She glances over her back and steps forward. “Word on the street is, you like my friend.”
My eyes flash to Eli who looks guilty as shit. He bites his lower lip and says, “Listen, things got a little crazy last night, and I might have said some things out loud to prevent myself from . . . finishing too early. I was just saying stuff off the top of my head.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter.
“Well, is it going to be the finger or the belly button?” Silas asks.
“The finger,” Posey says, looking irate. “We aren’t even going to test his ability to hold a hockey stick. For fuck’s sake, man, it wasn’t that hard to keep a secret.”
“To be fair, I screamed like a girl when I said it out loud.”
“How is that being fair?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Please don’t chop off my finger.”
“What the hell is going on?” Penny asks.
“Nothing you need to know.” Posey grabs Eli by the shoulder and pushes him toward the locker room.
“Wait,” Penny calls out. “I promise I won’t tell her . . . I actually . . . I need your help.”
Posey pauses. “What kind of help?”
Penny glances over her shoulder again, probably checking to make sure Blakely isn’t around. “Blakely was offered a new job, and it’s unmatched, like she would be stupid not to take it, but I don’t want to lose her, and that might be selfish, but I just had a baby, and I’m still highly emotional and very erratic, so I need you to make my best friend fall in love with you so she stays here and never leaves me.”
“Oooo, plot twist,” Posey says as he lets go of Eli. He gives him a once-over and says, “Your fingers are safe for now, but you’re currently on probation. Understood?”
