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Hayden steps in front of Penelope, wielding a fairy wand like a sword. “Don’t worry, Penelope, I’ll defend you.”
She laughs and then starts handing out costume accessories to the guys. “Thanks, Hayden.”
Even though Penelope eloquently proved her own point, I feel like now’s the appropriate time to step up as the unofficial leader of this team and hammer home the expectations of my fellow players.
“I don’t want to hear anyone else bitching about this, either, all right? Penelope has put a lot of time and energy into this event, so let’s make those kids’ days, and remember that being healthy is something we shouldn’t take for granted.”
A bunch of my teammates nod in agreement, Colton glares at me as he pushes a long, black wig on his head, and Vince smirks as I turn around and come face-to-face with Penelope.
“I think I had it handled, Taylor.”
People move around us now, the bustle drowning out our voices a little. “I know you did, but I wanted to make sure they heard something from me, too. Cross is lucky I didn’t break his nose for his piss-poor attitude.”
“Fighting in front of the kids isn’t considered appropriate.”
I look around the room and then back to her, grinning now. “I don’t see any kids yet.”
We stand there in a silent stare-off until Hayden comes up to us, ending the moment.
“What do you think?” He twirls around in a sky-blue dress that sparkles when the light hits it with a curly blond wig and tiara on his head. He’s still wielding his wand.
“You are the prettiest girl at the ball, Hayden.” Penelope giggles while prompting him to keep spinning.
“I know. I gotta say, if football doesn’t work out, I wouldn’t mind dressing up and doing this professionally. It’s kind of fun.”
Vince comes up to us now, studying Hayden while shaking his head. “Dear lord.”
When I glance over at him, he’s in a pink-and-purple ruffled gown and a pink rhinestone tiara, which only makes his bald head glisten even more under the fluorescent lights.
“You’re one to talk. You look like Gru fromDespicable Me 2,” I say, fighting my laughter.
“Hey, I’ve seen that movie, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” He puffs out his chest. “He’s a kick-ass dad, and I like to think I am myself, too. He dressed up so his daughter wouldn’t be disappointed. And I’m telling you what, these kids are gonna love this, Penelope.” He turns to her now. “I play dress up with my daughters all the time, so this doesn’t even faze me. But just know you did good.”
“Maybe next time you can bring your girls, Vince,” she suggests. “I’d love to meet them.”
“They’re six and three, so not quite old enough yet. But you bet that when they get older, I’ll be dragging them to stuff like this so they understand just how good they have it.” He grabs a wand and taps it on my head, the plastic actually hurting for a second. “Now it’s time to transform this prince into a princess. Come on, man. Let’s find you a dress that makes your butt look good.”
Hayden begins to twist in an attempt to see his own butt. “Fuck, does my ass look good in my dress? Should I change?”
Penelope pinches the bridge of her nose. “First, no one can see your ass, Hayden. And second, please try not to use the f-word around the kids.”
“Oh, shit. Okay.”
“No ‘shit,’ either.”
I let Vince lead me away and over to the rack with all of the dresses. I’m not sure where she found costume gowns that would fit three-hundred-pound men, but I’m not surprised that she did. She’s a fucking rockstar.
“So what was that little speech for earlier?” Vince says to me, lowering his voice so people can’t overhear.
“What speech?”
“Your little outburst after Cross got lippy and Penelope put him in his place. Seems she had it handled to me.”
I take a dark-green gown off the rack and slide the zipper down so I can pull it over my head. “I didn’t say she didn’t. I just didn’t want anyone else to bitch. She doesn’t deserve that.” Yanking the dress down my torso, I slip my arms through the straps. “She’s put a shit-ton of work into this, so we need to, too.”
He eyes me suspiciously. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
“Why? What are you insinuating, Vince?”
