Page 19 of Tequila Tuesdays

Toward the end of practice, I confirmed the pizza order was on its way and grabbed the cake and picnic supplies out of my vehicle.

Josh helped me carry the stuff over to a couple of picnic tables we’d dragged together. “You know it’s not Frankie’s birthday, right?”

“What?! I can’t believe she lied to me.”

He looked alarmed, and I laughed and smacked his arm. “I’m kidding. Yeah, I know. But we needed to practice at least once this season, and I figured since everyone likes her, we’d get a better turnout.”

“You’re kind of scary. But we did get cake and pizza out of it, so it’s all good.”

I’d splurged and ordered from B.O.B.’s Pizza. The three huge boxes smelled delicious when the delivery guy laid them on the picnic table. The pizzas were twenty-four inches each of pure heaven.

“Har, if I weren’t already married to a hot momma, I’d marry you,” Jaime joked as he dug into the meat lovers’ pizza.

Frankie grabbed the half veggie half Hawaiian box, and we all dug in. We cracked open a twelve-pack of seltzer water since beer was off-limits.

I popped a can and grabbed a slice of greasy pepperoni. Because why mess with perfection? Dusk was settling in, and it had cooled down a bit. The evening was perfect for having a picnic in the park.

I looked around at my teammates and grabbed my cell phone to snap a few photos of us together. It was a good night. Later when I thought about that impromptu fake birthday party, it would remind me of that Brad Paisley song “Last Time for Everything.”

Chapter 8

OnSaturdaymorning,ourfirst volleyball match didn’t go exactly as planned. We had the earlier start time, and only one female player showed up for the opposing team. They didn’t have enough players to make up a coed team, so we mixed up the teams and played a few sets for fun.

A local cannabis shop sponsored this team, and a few players had sampled the inventory before the game. I could detect the distinct skunky, herbal smell of marijuana wafting off a few of them.

When one of the players missed the ball entirely when he tried to serve, a few players got the giggles. It took a good five minutes for them to settle down enough to resume play.

Kevin watched them through the net. “They’re fucking morons. I hope I was never that stupid when I was high.”

I patted his arm. “You’re too mean to get the giggles. You’d be more likely to start a fight or stab someone.”

He smiled. “That’s true.”

My teammates were happy because we’d technically won, but I felt vaguely cheated because the friendly game hadn’t been competitive at all. It’d been a fun morning though.

“You and Frankie need to come play with us next season,” Carl said while we were gathering up our things after the last set. Carl was their head coach, and he owned the cannabis shop. “I’ll give you a discount at my shop and design team jerseys just for you.”

“Thanks, that’s a generous offer. But we like our team and we’ve got history.”

He looked my teammates over, probably wondering how we’d all met. His team was a fun, cheerful group, and they told us they’d put a team together mostly so they could hang out away from work.

“If you change your mind, just swing by my shop.” He pointed to his jersey. It read Buddy Boyz Cannabis Shop in dark green letters with a stylized cannabis leaf logo, and “photosynthesis” written below. I had to admit, it was a great jersey.

On Monday morning, I visited a client in jail, and while I was there I found out Laurel’s father was being released. I called Laurel and Sebastian to let them know just in case the jail hadn’t contacted them yet. Neither one of them answered, so I sent Laurel a text and called Damien’s work.

“Hello, Harley. Did you call to finally apologize?” I could hear the grin in his voice.

“No. And don’t hold your breath.”

“I’m patient, I can wait. What can I do for you?”

I smiled in spite of myself. “I’m just walking out of the county jail. The front desk clerk did me a solid and let me know Laurel’s father is getting out today.”

“Fuuuck,” he growled. “I was hoping he’d be in there longer. Did you call Laurel or Sebastian?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I called you first because I can’t get enough of your charming personality and incredible wit. Of course I tried to call them first. They probably already know, but just in case. I also texted them.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can track them down.”

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