I’d give it back, and I’d confess. But for now, I attached it to my own keyring, nodding to myself as I gave her apartment one last look.
I hurried down the stairs, locking the door behind me. I headed down the alley behind the garage, toward the patch of trees at the back of the neighbor’s property. It was the same place I used to hide my car in high school every time Adrian and I snuck off to a party or something.
And it's where I'd park the next time I came here.
With excitement thrumming through my veins, I pulled off into the parking lot behind a grocery store and pulled out my phone. I took a picture of the panties clutched in my fist, making sure the identifying lace was on full display.
It took me two minutes to figure out how to send Hallie the picture from an unknown number. Of course she’d figure out it was me, but at least this way, I could sow some doubt. I imagined her sitting there surrounded by her family and a bunch of strangers at that T-ball game, unlocking her phone to discover a picture of her panties in my big hand.
It probably made her blush. Maybe it made her wet.
I grunted as I shifted the car into drive, knowing this encounter of ours was going to have to happen sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. I had so much planned for Hallie Rutherford.
Six
Hallie
The metal bleachers werescorching under my thighs, even through my denim shorts. Mid-July in Illinois didn’t mess around. Cayden was up to bat, his little helmet wobbling as he stepped into the box.
Brooke was already on her feet, clapping loud enough to drown out half the parents on our side. “You got this, baby! Just run when they tell you to run, okay?”
I smiled despite myself. My nephew was the cutest kid on the planet, and his mom was the loudest cheerleader in the suburbs. My dad was filming on his phone, and my mom was snapping photos. Anna ignored us all, spending the entire game texting away, and Adrian dropped onto the bench beside me with two blue slushies in his hands.
“Mom gave me cash,” he said, handing me one. “Don’t judge.”
“What are you, six?” I teased, taking it anyway. The artificial blue-raspberry flavor brought back memories of county fairs and the concession stand at the public pool, and it was just what I needed. “You’re a full-grown man and you asked Mom for concession money?”
He shrugged, sucking down his slushie. “I was only kidding, but she went along with it.”
Just down the bleachers from us, my dad was quietly working a sudoku puzzle, only halfway paying attention to the game. Meanwhile, my mom was chatting with Mrs. Lang, who’d lived just down the street from us for as long as I could remember. They were both grandmas now, and together, they were almost insufferable. I’d been trying to tune them out, but Mrs. Lang’s voice carried like a megaphone.
“So Hallie’s still doing that remote thing?” she asked Mom, loud enough for half the bleachers to hear. “Must be nice to work from home. How’s the company treating her? Is it the same company she moved to Milwaukee for?”
My stomach tightened. I stared harder at the field, pretending I couldn’t hear.
Mom beamed like I’d just been named employee of the year. “Oh, yes. She’s their digital design coordinator now. They love her up there! We’re all so proud.”
Mrs. Lang turned to me with that bright, invasive smile. “Hallie, how many hours a week are you putting in? Is it pretty flexible? I’m thinking of suggesting something like that to my sister-in-law. She’s in marketing, like you!”
I forced out an awkward laugh, shifting on the bleachers. I didn’t look up from my slushie. “It’s… pretty flexible, yeah. Just, you know, something different every week.”
Brooke glanced over from her cheering post, her eyebrows raised like she knew I was fibbing. It almost looked like Anna and Adrian exchanged a quick glance, too, like they all could tell I was beingevasive. Thankfully, that answer satisfied Mrs. Lang, and she and my mom turned to cheer on their grandsons as the teams swapped places.
Just when I gave Cayden a quick wave through the chainlink fence, my phone buzzed hard against my thigh.
It was from an unknown number. Assuming it was spam, I swiped open the message without thinking.
But there was a photo.
There were my black lace panties, the ones I’d worn while DoorDashing all day, clutched in a big, familiar fist.
Heat flooded my face so fast I felt dizzy. I slammed the phone facedown on my lap like it had burned me.
“You good?” Adrian asked, slurping down the last of his slushie like a little kid. “Who is it?”
“Uh, just–somebody,” I croaked. I stood up too fast, handing him my little styrofoam cup. “I’m gonna hit the bathroom real quick.”
I didn’t go to the bathrooms. I veered left, around the chain-link backstop, past the dugout where the kids were shouting and high-fiving. There was a narrow strip of shade along the side of the little brick equipment shed, out of sight from the bleachers.
