Page 220 of Just for the Cameras
“And a white wine.”
The bartender nods and gets to work while Maple loops her arm around my waist. “Is he going to try to talk to you?”
“If he’s smart, he won’t.”
“And if he’s dumb?”
“More than likely, yes. I’ll be pleasant because there are children here, and I’m not about to get into a fight with him, but if he says anything about you, I can’t promise to hold back.”
She smooths her hand up my chest. “Don’t cause a scene because of me. If he says something, we can just send a glitter bomb to his house later on.”
I raise a brow. “A glitter bomb?”
“Yes,” she says with a smile. “It comes in the mail and looks like a package, but when they open it up, it sprays glitter all over their home.”
A smile tugs on my lips. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before? Can I get a weekly subscription sent to him?”
She laughs. “We’ll set it up when we get back to…well, your place, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah, I just got some toys that I want to try out on you.”
“Toys?” she asks just as our drinks are placed on the bar. I stick a twenty in the tip jar and hand Maple her drink.
“Yeah, you nervous?”
“With you? Never.”
“Good answer,” I say as I take her lips with mine, leaving it as a simple kiss but letting everyone in the room know she belongs to me.
“Aw, it’s about time.” I pull away just enough to see Scarlett, Hutton’s wife, walk up to us wearing a pair of skinny jeans, white sneakers, and awhite tank top that shows off her toned midriff. Hutton is right behind her in a matching outfit, which makes me smile. “I’ve been asking Hutton to set up a dinner so I could meet Maple, and I can’t believe it’s taken a team dinner to make it happen.”
Scarlett pauses and then studies Maple for a second. “Holy shit.” She laughs. “Oh my God, why am I so stupid?”
“Do you know each other?” I ask, feeling confused.
Scarlett pulls Maple into a hug and holds her tight.
“Girl, why am I so dumb?” Scarlett asks as she pulls away.
Maple chuckles. “Uh, no, why am I so dumb?”
“Kind of feeling dumb as well,” Hutton says, raising a hand.
“Babe, this is Maple.”
“Yes, I know,” Hutton says. “She’s been at training camp all week.”
“No, this is Maple, one of Everly’s bridesmaids from her wedding.”
Hutton pauses, scratches his head, and then laughs. “Oh fuck, you’re right.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together. I even follow Flock and Tackle.” Scarlett shakes her head. “Babe, I might be losing it.”
“I want to say you’re not, but…this is pretty damning.”
“You know what? I blame Everly,” Maple says. “I don’t know why she didn’t say anything. You work with her, and I’ve gone to her several times about—ehhhh.” She glances at me, and I question her with a look.
“What have you gone to her several times about?”
