Page 95 of Not On Your Life

“Pleasure doing business with you.” She grins and starts to turn then spins back around. “And if you happen to see a car being covered in saran wrap later, you know nothing.”

I can appreciate a harmless prank. I salute her and head down the hall, away from the noisy cafeteria.

The second I step through the door to the court I hear a banging loud enough to wake the dead. There’s a good chance Maddie will kill me after this little stunt.

“Help!”

Callie and Megan are standing guard in front of the door, and I shoot the girls a wink. They disappear out of the gym.

“Callie? Megan?” Maddie calls. “Where are you going? I swear I’ll talk to each of your teachers and make them assign you more homework.”

Her threats are the cutest.

I grip the handle and swing the door open, stepping inside before Maddie has a chance to break free.

Maddie jumps back to avoid a collision with me. “You.”

The door shuts behind me and her eyes widen in horror.

“Seriously? You locked us in here again?”

I grin. “No. The door handle is perfectly fine. The janitor fixed it yesterday.”

She frowns. “What’s going on?”

“I may have offered the girls some pizza to get you in here.”

“Excuse me?” She tries to shove me away from the door, but I hold her back. “Let me out of here.”

“Not until you kiss me and makeup.” I smile at her.

She halts her fight, dropping back a step. “Why doIhave to kissyou?”

“Because you’re the one who wanted space. I gave it to you.” I motion to the closet. “Now I’ve taken it away.”

“You do remember I’m afraid of public restrooms, right?” She glares at me.

Oof. I might have skipped over that part.

“I have to admit. I won’t remember everything. I’ll forget stuff, probably things that are important. But I’ll never forget about you. Not even if you tell me to leave this room and never come back.”

“I can’t believe you,” Maddie growls. It shouldn’t make her even more sexy, but it does.

“I need to talk to you.”

“And locking me in a closet was the only way to do so? You know they invented all sorts of devices for people to communicate.” Her voice rises, and I’m pretty sure she’s itching to pick up the bat to her left.

I scoot in front of her before she gets any ideas.

I rock back on my heels. “Yeah, but this was more fun.”

For a moment, I’m sure she’s fighting a smile. But then I know she’s not when her hands fly at me. She shoves me back into the door fisting the collar of my shirt.

Would now be a terrible time to tell her how hot that was?

I take her hands and tuck her safely against me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.