Page 43 of Offside Rules

By the time we settle our tabs and collect everybody’s jackets, Ellie has convinced Baylor that an early delivery route doesn’t mean she needs to go home before midnight. Baylor reminds her that she helped make the cupcakes and is welcome to help deliver them too.

Ellie suddenly gets very busy finding her phone.

The club is a short walk from Oakley’s. Inside, I follow Luka past the bar while the others trail behind us. The music gets louder as we reach the dance floor, and Baylor steps closer when a group squeezes past in the other direction. Her hand catches my sleeve.

I look down at her.

"Trying not to lose everybody," she says near my ear.

I slow down so she can stay beside me.

Luka points toward a booth along the far wall. Natalia is already there, putting her bag down and shifting a couple of chairs to make room. Baylor lets go of my sleeve to take off her jacket.

"What do you want to drink?" I ask.

"Just water. I still have to function tomorrow."

"Two waters," I tell Luka when he heads toward the bar.

Baylor slides into the booth, and I sit beside her. Hunter takes the spot at the end while Peyton leaves her jacket with him and follows Natalia toward the dance floor.

Ellie puts her bag beside Baylor’s.

"Coming?"

"In a minute."

Ellie looks at me, then back at Baylor. "You two have fun but don’t let her stay off the dance floor."

Baylor watches her walk away before leaning toward me. "She thinks she’s subtle."

Her knee rests against mine beneath the table. She doesn’t move it, and I don’t give her a reason to notice.

We sit there talking while the others drift between the booth and the dance floor. Baylor tells me about the birthday order and the mother who changed the cake-pop colors twice before choosing the original ones. I tell her about JP threatening to start charging us every time he has to cover for a bad pass.

"He should get a jar," she says.

"I’ll suggest it."

"Yours is doing pretty well."

"I’ve noticed."

"You could follow the rules."

"I could. But that wouldn’t be as much fun watching you ruin cupcakes everytime I walk out shirtless."

She shakes her head, blushing into her drink.

Then Ellie comes back, catches her hand, and tells her she’s had a long enough minute.

Baylor leaves her glass on the table and lets Ellie pull her out. I watch them find a spot beside Natalia. Ellie says something near Baylor’s ear, and Baylor tips her head back laughing.

Luka leans closer.

"You into her? You’ve watched her since she walked into Oakley’s."

"She’s Beau Fairbanks’s sister."