Page 76 of Total Shutdown

He twists his head to face me, and it’s then I see just how serious Archer Moore can be. In all the seasons I’ve played with him, I’ve never seen him look like this.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you ask me; I’m not talking about it. I might be a lot of things, but contrary to popular belief, I’m not an idiot. I know where the line is. So, can we just forget this conversation ever happened?”

“If that’s what you want, I?—”

“Yeah, that’s what I want,” he bites out, shooting off the bed and heading for the dresser over on the far side of the room.

Pulling a drawer open, he grabs a couple of tops and walks them over to a training bag slung on a chair in the far corner. “I’m going to hit the gym for an hour before we head to the arena. Want to join me?”

I mull it over, thinking it might be a good way to get us back on track, when my phone buzzes next to me, and Ezra’s face lights up the screen.

I pick it up and wave it at Archer, indicating I can’t make it to the gym.

He throws a top on and gives me a thumbs-up. “Say hi to my little buddy Ezra,” Archer calls over his shoulder, swinging the door open and closing it behind him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the arena?” Ezra gets straight into it the moment our video call connects.

I guess ahello, how are youwould be asking too much of a preteen.

“Will be in an hour. How was school?”

He rolls his eyes and dumps himself down on Alyssa and Dom’s couch.

“Ezra, shoes off, please!” I hear Alyssa call from behind him.

Ezra rolls his eyes again and then fidgets—I’m guessing pushing them off with each foot in the way he does at home. “School was school. What are we doing for the holidays?”

I shrug since, just like Thanksgiving, I’m not a fan of Christmas. The only effort I make is for my son. “I guess the same as last year—dinner at Alyssa and Dom’s and then back home for dessert and board games.”

“Borrring!” he exclaims, which earns another scolding from Alyssa.

I run a palm across my face. “Well, you come up with something, and we can discuss if it’s possible. Remember, I have games all around that time.”

Ezra looks off to the side and then back at me. “Can we … can we go see Collins and her garage for Christmas?”

I scratch at my chin, not sure how the fuck to answer. She doesn’t really have family, so I can’t use that as an excuse—and I don’t want to. Seeing Collins on Christmas Day would be the best gift.

Still, I need to play this safe for everyone. I can’t just go and invite ourselves over to her place.

“She’s likely already made plans, and I’m not sure detailing her bike is on her agenda that day.”

My son visibly deflates, and I do the same. It’s no lie that all any good parent wants is to see their child happy.

And Collins makes him exactly that.

“She loves bikes just as much as me, and I want to spend the day at her garage, so I think you’re wrong, Dad.”

It’s possible I am incorrect, and a large part of me hopes I am.

I roll my tongue across the roof of my mouth, figuring out what the hell I should do. She wants to talk when I get back to Brooklyn, and while Lustful Luxuries isn’t exactly the place to hold a meaningful conversation, I’m confident my bed will be after I use whatever we buy on her later that night.

I rein myself in.Jesus, Sawyer, you’re talking about Christmas with your son.

“All right,” I say, and Ezra’s face lights up like the damn Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. “Let me talk with her when I get back home.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

COLLINS