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“Well, there goes that idea.”

He raises one eyebrow. “You were going to do what with a hyena exactly?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just drop the hyena off at the Hyena’s house or something. I’m still workshopping it.”

“I see” is all he says, and I have no idea if he loves or hates the idea. After a minute, he adds, “I was just thinking of leaving a mean note or something, but maybe I should go bigger. Not dangerous, wild animal big, but maybe bigger than a message.”

“Oh, don’t worry. We will send a message.” My lips tip upward at the thought. “Let’s go smaller.”

“Like how small?”

An idea sparks in my brain. “The size of poop.” Sebastian doesn’t react, so I tack on, “Hyena poop.”

With those two words, Sebastian furiously starts clicking on his phone again.

“Did you know that hyena poop is white?” he asks.

“Huh. I did not.” I know little about hyenas, to be honest, other than what I know from watching The Lion King as a kid.

I pull out my phone to confirm that hyena poop is indeed white. Not really sure why I felt the need to Google animal feces, but here we are. I tuck away my phone in my back pocket while my brain is sifting through additional ideas.

“We could just use regular poop.” I shrug. “We need to come up with a plan so she won’t pull that shit again.”

“Ah, hence the shit.”

“Hence the shit,” I reiterate.

The locker room is still and darker than usual. Only a few lights are on, closer toward the entryway across the room. There’s no usual activity, no loud noises or bright lights, just two big dudes sitting awkwardly on the concrete floor. The stench of sweat still lingers in the air, though, even if there’s a sweet smell trying to hide it.

We are both quiet for a moment until Sebastian utters in a soft voice, “She loves presents.”

I raise an eyebrow at him to urge him to continue.

“I don’t remember much about Athena, but she loves pretty things—the bigger, the better.”

I smirk at the comment. At right tackle, Sebastian is one of the largest guys on the team, so that mantra speaks true. He’s probably got at least thirty pounds and an inch or two on me, and I’ve never been regarded as small.

“Do you remember where she lives?”

“No, but I can find out.”

Chapter Four

Calvin

An hour later, Sebastian and I are all in black with a gigantic box in the cab of his truck. He supplied the box, and I supplied the…well, the shit.

Let’s not get into the details, but let’s just say there’s a beautiful turquoise package with an enormous bow ready for delivery.

I glance down at my phone to check the map directions. We just pulled down the Hyena’s street, and we are point two miles away. “It’s coming up. House sixty-nine,” I share with Sebastian.

He whips his head over to face me. “What number did you say?”

“Sixty-nine,” I repeat. Oh. “Oh. You don’t think her house number has anything to do with you, do you?”

“I don’t know.” His voice is gruff.

“That would be creepy,” I voice. Sebastian has worn number sixty-nine since forever.