“And they callmelucky.” Lucky throws his arm over Brady’s shoulders good-naturedly. “Of course, the new guy gets the baby otters. Betcha didn’t expect this when you signed on with the Thunder.”
Brady chuckles. “Definitely not. I thought I’d be playing ball, not playing with otters.” He grins up at me. “Thanks Isla, but why’d you choose me?”
I shrug. “Actually, Lucky’s right. It wasn’t about me choosing you, you did just get lucky. Rowdy’s goofy enough to have fun with the squirrels. Foxxy was a given. I’ve seen photos of Lucky’s eye black and knew that would be a great photo, so it was between you, Griff, and Hiro, and I went alphabetical. Dixon comes before Voss and Tanaka.”
The guys all disperse, and I take a minute to regroup. With multiple different shooting locations set up throughout the stadium and facilities, there’s a lot of moving parts today.
The photos with the birds will take place on the field, the otters and ducks are naturally in the medical treatment area, where the large tubs that will eventually be ice baths have been filled with slightly warmer water. The dugout and the locker room have also been commandeered for other photo setups.
As long as I don’t have to break up any morearguments over who gets which animal, we should be good to go.
“Have I told you how sexy it is when you take charge?” Luca’s voice is warm and low in my ear as his arms slide around my waist, tugging me back.
“Not recently,” I tease, letting my body relax into his arms. “But let's save that conversation for later. We’ve got wild animals to wrangle.”
“Do you mean the players, or the actual animals?” Luca retorts and I giggle.
“Both.”
35
ISLA
“I dunno why you’re nervous.”Charlie doesn’t even look up from his phone. “You guys have been dating or whatever for a while now, what’s different about tonight?”
I finally find the pair of shoes I’ve been hunting for in a box in the back of my closet and hold them up in triumph. Then, scooting backward, I turn and lean against the wall, pushing my hair out of my face.
“I’m not nervous. I’m…” I pause and consider what word to use. Because the truth is, I am nervous. It’s our first date since telling everyone we were seeing each other just two days ago. “I want to have a good time.”
Charlie finally glances over at me from where he’s sprawled on my bed and raises one eyebrow. He mastered the trick a couple of years ago and loves to pull it on me. “And those shoes are gonna make it a good time? Okay.” The eye roll he tries to hide isn’t lost on me.
“It’s not about the shoes. Those are just because they’re cute and go with my outfit.” I standup and walk over to the bed, sitting down next to him. “And I’m not nervous.”
Fake it till you make it, right?
Charlie rolls off my bed and moves to the doorway of my room. “Whatever you say. Can I order some pizza?”
“I already told you, Aunt Juni’s bringing over dinner.”
He tilts his head to the side, considering that. “Right. ’Kay. Then can I go play some vids?”
“Sure.”
He hops off my bed and leaves my room, and I turn my attention to picking the right pair of earrings.
An hour later, Charlie’s still in his room playing video games and Juniper is watching me put the finishing touches to my makeup. Luca’s due to pick me up any minute, and the nerves I thought I’d laid to rest are back. Only this time, I have a far too knowing best friend watching me.
“Okay, how do I look?” I turn away from the mirror and twist back and forth for Juni’s inspection.
“Absolutely stunning. Just don’t forget to breathe.” She stands and places her hands on my shoulders. “Enjoy tonight. You deserve a romantic date with your handsome man. And if you decide not to come home, that’s just fine. Charlie and I are all good here.”
It’s tempting to take her up on that offer. Going back to Luca’s place, making love and falling asleep in his arms, sounds dreamy. And not so realistic. I shake my head.
“That’s not exactly the kind of impression I want to set with Charlie. Every time I go on a date, I stay out all night? Nope.”
“It’s not every time, but it could be this time.”
I fix Juni with a look. “Stop. I’ll be home by midnight. Luca and Charlie need to have some more time to get to know each other before sleepovers happen.”
