“Cool. Thanks.” I took the gift bag and checked inside, finding two bottles of water, snacks, and what looked like packets of Tylenol.
“Someone will be checking IDs before anyone gets on, so bring those with you,” she added.
“All right,” Dylan said.
She slid two keycards across the counter. “The elevators are to your left. Wi-Fi info is on the card sleeves. If you need anything else, dial zero from your room.”
“Thanks.” I took the keys and handed one to Dylan. Then we made our way to the elevators.
We rode up to the second floor, where the room was exactly as we’d booked it. I dropped my duffel at the foot of the bed nearest the window and set the gift bag on the desk.
“I’m showering,” I announced.
Dylan checked his phone. “It’s almost time to meet Tyler and Hayden, and I need to shower too.”
“I’ll be fast,” I promised.
I grabbed my toiletry bag and headed into the bathroom. Hot water rinsed the airplane off me, and when I stepped back into the room with a towel around my waist, Dylan already had clothes laid out on his bed.
“My turn.” He scooped up his things and disappeared into the bathroom.
I pulled on a button-down and jeans, then checked my phone while I waited. A few minutes later, the shower shut off. Dylan came out with damp hair, tugging on dark jeans and a short-sleeve shirt that made his shoulders look even broader than they already were.
“I’m ready, and I could use a drink,” he stated as he combed his hair.
“Me too.”
We took the elevator back down. The restaurant off the lobby had a bar along one side and large windows facing the water. Tyler and Hayden sat at a table near the glass, drinks already in front of them. Tyler lifted his hand when he spotted us.
“You two clean up nicely. I almost believe you’re adults.” He grinned and opened his arms for a hug from Dylan.
“You could’ve led with ‘I missed you.’” Dylan hugged him.
“Yeah, of course I missed you, but my baby brothers are growing up,” Tyler teased, pulling me into a hug too.
“We’re twenty-two, for fuck’s sake.” Dylan embraced Hayden.
“Don’t mind your brother,” Hayden said. “He’s getting all sappy knowing we’re going to be fathers.”
“I can’t wait to be Uncle Jase.” I smiled. “I’m just glad it’s you having a baby and not Cammie. If it were her, I’d have to murder the father, and that would fuck up my baseball career.”
“Maybe we’d be cellmates,” Dylan joked, clearly implying he’d help me kill the guy.
“I wouldn’t go around talking about murder with all the Secret Service agents around,” Tyler stated as we all took our seats at the table.
“They should be at the house, not here, right?” I asked.
Tyler lifted a shoulder. “We don’t know. They could be in plainclothes.”
Hayden cleared his throat. “Is camp treating you two okay so far?”
“Mostly.” Dylan picked up his menu. “They’ve had me running for three weeks straight. My legs felt like Jell-O every night.”
The server came over, and we ordered drinks and meals. Once she walked away, Hayden leaned his elbows on the table.
“Give me the rundown,” he insisted. “I want details.”
Hayden worked in Boston as a sports photojournalist for his family’s paper and taught photography at Hawkins University, where he’d met Tyler when Tyler was his student. Whenever we talked about camp or games, he always wanted every detail.
