Page 194 of The Illicit Play

We hang up, and I can’t drop my smile. Tyrell snickers at me, shaking his head. “So loved-up. Damn, man. Now I’m flying solo. The only single in the house.”

I wince. “Yeah. We really need to do something about that. Hey, why don’t we go out tonight? We could celebrate Blake’s new job and take her to Offside or something. We could get the whole crew together. It’ll be fun.”

“What? You gonna sit their snuggling with your women and pick out a girl for me?”

“Maybe.” I grin.

He sticks out his tongue, obviously disgusted by that idea.

“Oh, come on. If you want to get yourself a girlfriend, you need to put yourself out there. You won’t find anyone hanging out at home, and if you’re not willing to do that online dating thing, then you need to go to places like Offside.”

“I haven’t been there in ages.”

“Well, tonight’s your night.” I give him a soft slap on the shoulder, then point at him. “You’re coming.”

“Yes, sir,” he mutters, obviously hating the idea.

I know what he’s worried about. We’ll make him go and talk to some random girl. She’ll smile and flirt because she’s not stupid. Tyrell’s quality—it’s easy to see that. And then after a few dates, he won’t be feeling it, and then he’ll have to do the whole “not sure I want to pursue this” speech. He’s said it plenty of times before, but surely there’s a girl out there who can get him past the two-to-three-date window.

“I believe in you, man,” I say again as I open the door to Offside that night.

“Shut up,” he softly mumbles, walking past me into the bar.

Carson snickers as he follows. Nylah’s got his hand and is already waving at someone on the dance floor.

Sienna bounces in behind her, all bright and cheerful. She dropped Zoey off at Coach Jones’s place about a half hour ago, and Mrs. Jones is in heaven having a little one in the house again. Nylah’s sister has already set up a tea party apparently. I had to hear all about it on the car ride here.

Zander and I stayed quiet while the girls gushed about how cute Zoey is. I could see his lips twitching in the rearview mirror, though. Yep, that man adores his little girl.

Wily and Satch are already waiting for us inside. They scored us a great table between the dance floor and the dartboards. His arm’s around her shoulders, his protective hand keeping her close as she darts her eyesaround. She’s so obviously out of her comfort zone, but I’m glad she’s here. It means a lot to me that she wants to celebrate Blake’s new beginning.

Zander and I head straight to the bar, ordering a round of drinks, and the first hour flies by. It’s all laughter over french fries and pizza, teasing as we try to pick out a girl for Tyrell to flirt with.

He’s squirming, shaking his head and telling us to “Stop, already. I don’t need anyone’s damn help to find me a girl. This is officially the worst idea you guys have ever had.”

“We know you can find yourself a girl, man,” Wily tells him. “It’s about finding therightgirl.”

“And you guys are all experts?” He shoots a skeptical frown around the table.

“Hey, we’ve all scored.”

He scoffs. “You lucked out. You didn’t pursue shit. These girls foundyou.” Pointing at each of them, he lists it off. “Baby mama appears back in your life. Coach’s daughter throws a football at you. Tutor Girl is allocated to you. And you…” He gives me a little frown. “Actually, when did you and Blake get that spark? How did it happen?”

“Oh, um…” I squirm in my seat, flashing her an awkward look and wondering what the fuck I’m supposed to say here.

Blake grins. “The truth is, he walked in on me when I was butt-ass naked in the bathroom.”

“What?” Wily sits up with a growl.

I shrink into my seat, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Yep, that’s right.” My girlfriend continues to bury me. “I was shaving my legs, and he walked in on it, stoodfrozen, gaping at me for a second, and got himself an impressive hard-on. It was pretty beautiful, actually.”

“Stop,” I beg her, just waiting for Wily to jump out of his seat and thump me.

Satch giggles, slapping a hand over his mouth as Nylah starts howling with laughter.

Blake nudges me, her smile pure sunshine as she laughs out the rest. “I’m pretty sure he fell in love with me on the spot.”