Page 26 of Her Game Plan

“Just because—” I start.

Another man walks up to us. I narrow my gaze, grasping for the name that goes with the man with green eyes and dark brown hair towering over me. “AJ Pitt, right?” I hold out my hand.

He shakes it, a questioning expression on his face. “That’s me.” He looks between Callan and me. “What are you two up to this fine morning?”

Ah, fuck. Falling into our old routine of annoying each other instead of acting like the happy couple we’re supposed to be.

“We’re trying to figure out where we’re going for our next date,” I blurt out. “Ya know, since we’re dating.”

Callan turns to me, eyes laughing as he mouths, “Smooth.”

The genius of my word vomit might be a little spottier than I let on. But its benefits far outweigh its negatives.

Pitt laughs. “No shit? Since when?”

Excellent question, Pitt. Something we likely should’ve covered when he stopped by the other day. It’s honestly a bit embarrassing that we didn’t.

“After the Jaxon Steele concert!” I wish I had a buzzer or something to hit with the speed at which that answer came to me. We were both there at the same time. It’s totally plausible we started talking after that.

Clearing his throat, Callan replies, “Yeah. Um, we’ve been keeping it very low-key since she’s a Langford, and we didn’t want it to be weird. For her family. Or the team. But it’s serious. Even though that was only a few months ago. Still serious. We’re moving in together.”

Great. He’s as terrible at this as I am this morning. Though I was kicked in the face all Saturday night by a squirmy three-year-old. What’s his excuse?

I wrap my arm around Callan’s waist, tucking myself into his side. “Right. When you know you know, right, Snookums?”

“Princess.” There is a hint of danger in his tone, and I can’t help the smile that crosses my face. If he wants to do terrible pet names, I can do terrible pet names. When I gaze into his face, there’s nothing fake about the grin we share.

Pitt’s eyes flick between us, humor shining in them. “Well, that is something.” He turns toward Callan. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me when I was at said house the other day, but at least it explains the car in your spot. I thought you’d finally added some color to your collection.”

“Never,” Callan grunts. “Cars should be black.”

Erroneous. Like clothes, cars are a form of expression. And unless you’re a mob don, no one is all black.

Pitt’s phone vibrates, and he glances at the screen before excusing himself.

“What was that?” Callan asks, gently extracting himself from my hold. “Can we not spontaneously announce our super-serious relationship to my best friends? It makes me look like a dick.”

“I didn’t know you and Pitt are that close.” Now that I think about it, I know very little about Callan besides what a superficial internet search turned up on Saturday night as Marlee watched TV and ate her weight in ice cream. “Oh! And he totally solved the parking spot problem for us.”

“What?” Bewilderment is the only way to describe Callan’s expression.

“We can carpool once I move in with you!” I explain. “We can share the spot like a real couple.”

“I don’t think that’s a thing real couples do.”

He might be right. Though most couples don’t work together, so we’d have to factor that into any comparisons. The couple in The Office carpool to work every day. And Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And when my mom goes into the office with my dad, she drives in with him.

“I think it might be.” I glance at my watch and start walking toward the team meeting room. “Oh, shoot. It’s almost time to start. Want to sit together?”

Callan catches up with me easily. “You’re coming to the start-of-the-season meeting?”

“Yup. I’m on the agenda and everything.”

“What are you going to say?” Callan asks. “Want to run it by me before you get up there?”

I let out a mock gasp. “Are you trying to censor me, Callan Devine? Real controlling for a guy I haven’t even moved in with yet.”

He laces his fingers through mine, and I refuse to consider how nice it feels to have his bigger hand wrapped around me. Handholding is for relationships. That’s not me. “Just fully committed to you succeeding.”