Page 60 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

“To fight,” I tell him point-blank, pushing my hair back off my forehead so I can see.

His brows shoot up, and his jaw drops. “What are you talking about?”

I turn in a circle and hold my hands out, looking at each one of them.

“You’ve got me surrounded, and while you might think it’s fun to gossip like girls, I’d prefer to throw down like men.” I lace my fingers and then stretch my arms out in front of me so they can crack.

“Well, this is going to be fun,” Sully says. Bro has at least fifty pounds on me, and while they don’t know I’m messing around with them, the thought that Sully would actually fight me is terrifying. I might be quick, but tackling guys is literally his job.

“Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be? Go harass your own people.” By people, I mean the defensive line.

“Nope, I think I’ll stay right here and enjoy the show.” He laughs.

“Bro, for real?” Tyler asks, eyeing me like I’ve suddenly become unhinged and shifting his weight.

I lock eyes with him and pause for dramatic effect.

“Nah, I’m just kidding.” I ease out of my stance and crack a grin. “Had you going there, didn’t I?” I smile victoriously, and all five of them groan as the tenseness releases.

“You’re an idiot,” Reid says.

“Me? Y’all literally surrounded me to ask me about a girl. Don’t you have other things to talk about?”

Collectively, they all say, “No.”

“What about him? After all, he’s the one about to have a baby.” I point at Reid.

“We talked to him all week. We’re caught up. Baby is measuring six pounds and is the size of a head of lettuce,” Tyler says.

“Really? Lettuce?” I glance at Reid and think about that for a second. What would it be like to walk around with a head of lettuce in my stomach? Weird, that’s for sure.

“Listen,” he says, pulling my attention back to him. “We’re just all happy for you and want to know how it went.”

“Well, she didn’t leave. She stayed the weekend. So that’s something.”

“Did you have a good time? What did you do? Was it awkward or were sparks flying?” Sully asks.

I think of all of us in this group. Sully is always the one most curious about the relationships his friends have. He cheers us all on and will lend an ear if we need one, but when it comes to him, I’ve never known him to date anyone. He’d make someone so happy too. He’s the type of guy who’s present and thoughtful. Well, lightning will strike one day, and I look forward to it.

“First off, Vivi was with us. So no sparks.” At least none that I’m going to tell them about. “And second, we did beach things. We hung out, built sandcastles, ate food, that kind of stuff.”

“Beach things. Is that why your fingernails are painted pink?” Camden asks, and the guys chuckle.

I hold out my hand and look to see that yep, they’re still painted. I completely forgot about that.

“Why don’t you stop by sometime? I’m sure you won’t walk away unscathed either once Vivi gets her hands on you.”

“Don’t you remember that time she put little ponytails all over Tyler’s head with the colorful rubber bands?” Sully chimes in. “You’ve got plenty of hair for that.”

Camden frowns.

“Well, I think a beach trip sounds awesome,” Bryan says. “I can’t remember the last time Lexi and I went to the beach.”

“Yeah, but you just took that trip to Napa where you ate and drank in luxury down the California coast. You can’t really complain,” Reid says.

“I’m not complaining. I’m just saying it sounds nice. Me. Her in a tiny bikini.” His eyes glaze over.

“Doesn’t your brother-in-law now live in Key West?” Camden asks, and Bryan nods. “You could visit him there. I hear there are some beautiful coral reefs to explore.”