Lose the cell phone for a whole day
Strip Poker
“I’m so proud of myself for these, honestly. They were wild, and my friends can be the worst sometimes, like dancing on a bar? Ugh.”
“I believe we got a photo of that here.” I pulled out her journal, running my fingers over the printed pictures. She wore her red bikini and held a bottle of beer as her rainbow hair went in every direction. “I wish I could steal this one. You look so hot.”
She snorted. “I recall you not getting on the bar even though you were supposed to do all these with me!”
“Mm, the majority are with me. That counts?” I teased. I loved getting her riled up.
“You have selective choices. Anyway, do you want to go camping tonight? I called, and the ground has a spot, I just need to get some gear from Ale’s sister. She said I could borrow it! We could leave now and start the twenty-four hours?”
What happens when the list is over?
The pang in my chest doubled in size. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to come up with an excuse to why we couldn’t camp but that I could still spend the night with her. That seemed lame, but if we did this, then she only had one item left. My pulse raced, and I winced the longer she stared at me.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t have anything tomorrow. Wait, I didn’t ask if you had morning workouts!”
I don’t.But what a way to save the day.
“Ah, I do.”
“Shit. Okay.” She sighed and spun her phone in a circle onthe table. “When would another night work for you? We could try around your practices. Or the weekend? Damn, my coach wants me running a few day clinics.”
“Mallinson,” I said, my voice firm.
She glanced up at me, her frown apparent. “Yeah?”
I exhaled and leaned against the wall to her kitchen area, crossing my arms as I chose to be honest. It was terrifying. I hated it. How did people do this all the time? “I can go tonight. I lied about practice tomorrow.”
“Great! But wait.” She chewed her lip. “Why lie about it?”
“Our seasons start in two weeks, something I’m painfully aware of, and I’m afraid that once this list is done, you won’t want to hang out with me.” I winced, the little vulnerability leaking through my voice showing weakness. It sucked putting yourself out there like this. Mack could laugh, tell me no shit, or end this now with two weeks left of summer.
“The list has been fun and the reason we started spending time together, Dean.” She walked toward me, her eyes sparkling. She ran a hand down my arm, up my chest until she cupped my face. “But even if this thing caught fire, I’d still hang out with you. I know we can’t be together, but I love every second I have with you.”
“Until the season starts?” I added, without thinking.
Her eyes clouded over, but she nodded. “Yes, exactly. We agreed to a summer fling. Summer ain’t done yet, Romano, so you’re not getting away from me yet.”
Ever.
The thought intruded like a bad case of athlete’s foot. EVER. Who the fuck was I? That made no sense. I didn’t do relationships. I didn’t do feelings. This was a lot for me, experiencing this summer of trust with Mack. Was it even possible to maintain when the season started?
Parties. Practice. Mentoring Jayden. Jayden!
“Hey! I have cool news to share.” I put my hand over hers, our fingers interlocking. “I spoke to Jayden about being the next captain, and it was honestly freeing. I’m going to show him the ropes of how to do it. I think that was what coach wanted me to experience.”
