She gives me a sheepish smile. “If I’m being honest, I think Landon thinks this is a death sentence. But I’m okay. I have my good days and bad days. I wish he wouldn’t worry so much about me.”
I glance at him, talking with Ivori and Evan by the drying station. “Knowing him, he carries a lot of guilt about leaving you for all these years. I bet he’s trying to make up for lost time.”
“Funny, I don’t think I’m the only one he feels guilty about leaving.” Marie watches me with the same keen eyes that Landon has. “I’m glad you two are working together again. It broke my heart to see you have a fallout the way you did.”
“Him coming back definitely gave us closure.”
“Or opened you up to new beginnings.” She shoots me a wink as she uses the back of my chair to push out of hers.
No. No new beginnings. No almost-kisses.
I pretend like I don’t know what she’s talking about. “If you think of lifting your finger to clean a thing, I’m going to lock you in your bedroom.” I snap my fingers at the girls standing around nearby. “Freshman, you’re on cleanup duty.”
Shreeya and Jayden both salute me. “Yes, Coach.”
“You telling my team what to do, Morgan?” Landon calls from the road, his nose scrunched and one eye closed from the sun.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Fletcher.”
“Uh-huh. A likely story.”
I glare at the JV girls and drag my finger across my neck.Don’t rat me out, or else.
They giggle as they head off to dry the last car in line.
Both teams stay behind to help clean up, and then Landon orders pizza for dinner. The crew piles into his backyard, breaking out their bead boxes and making team bracelets for tomorrow’s away games.
“Go hang with your mom,” I say, dumping a bucket of sudsy water into the sewer drain. “You must be tired from shaking that ass for tips all day.”
He chuckles as he wrings out a sponge. “You enjoyed that, did you?”
“Hell yeah.” I waggle my eyebrows. “I love me someMagic Mike.”
“Ainsley Morgan.” Landon presses his hand against his chest. “That sounds very sexist of you, reducing me to my body.”
I lift the hose off the ground and squirt him with it. “You loved it.”
He steps toward me, eyes blazing as he stalks me like his prey. “I think it’s funny how you’re the only one who didn’t get wet today.”
I hold up the hose in front of me in warning as I back away from him. “I was running the cash register. I had a very important job.”
“Everyone got their hands dirty at some point.” He arches a devious brow and he moves closer. “Except you.”
My eyes dart around the yard, mapping out my escape route. “Money is quite dirty, I’ll have you know. At least you were using soap.”
“Then I guess it’s time you get cleaned up.” Within the blink of an eye, Landon snatches a sudsy water bucket off the ground and takes off running toward me.
I spray him as I run, but soon run out of hose and have to toss it onto the grass as I bolt.
Landon is quicker than I remember, and soapy water crashes over my head from behind. The bite of the temperature stops me in my tracks.
I let out a high-pitched shriek. “It’s cold!”
Landon’s head tips back as his laughter bellows. “That’s what you get for laughing at me when I slipped in the mud at your house.”
I wring out my ponytail, giggling as the image of Landon falling replays in my mind. “You looked like a literal cartoon slipping on a banana peel. It was hilarious.”
He shakes his head, wearing a grin. “Come inside and I’ll give you some dry clothes to change into.”
