Page 32 of Home Town Advantage
I look into the bag, unable to believe how many fan letters I’m receiving. And I continue to get emotional every week when Vance sends Chocolate Cosmos. I know he’s been gone at their training camp for two weeks, but I’ve still received my weekly deliveries to our stadium.
An hour later, Palmer and I are exiting the elevator toward our apartment when I see an oversized teddy bear sitting in front of our door. I smile, assuming it’s from Shane. We had a little fight on the phone last night. He’s probably apologizing.
As I open it, I realize that it’s from a fan. Shit, this person knows where I live. I contemplate calling Reagan Daulton, but I don’t want security, so I decide against it.
VANCE
I’m at Layla and Presley’s house. They’re having a dinner party. We just returned from two weeks of training ahead of our pre-season games starting. I’ve been to most of Sulley’s home games and never miss any games on television. I enjoy watching her play. Thanks to Presley, all the Beavers’ games were televised on the big screen in the clubhouse at our training facility while we were out of town. He loves to watch his wife play ball. It makes it easy to sit with him under the guise of supporting Layla when it’s entirely about Sulley for me.
We’ve all been out a small handful of times since that first night. Sulley mostly ignores me, but at least she hasn’t yelled at me and left in tears again. I’ve remained quiet as the collectivegroups interact and build a friendship. All except Daylen and Kennedy, who continue to bicker. It’s an interesting dynamic; one I’ve never seen from him before.
Tonight, at the Ladrón house, I’m hoping Sulley will at least make eye contact with me, something she rarely does. I’ll take any progress.
Everyone has now arrived except Kennedy, which I’m certainly not complaining about. She’s bizarrely cold to me, but frankly, I don’t care. I only care about Sulley.
Sulley initially mumbled a quick hello to me but then turned around and quietly thanked me for the steady supply of Chocolate Cosmos I’ve been sending to her weekly. I know it was her special thing with Finn. I’m glad she likes them. They’re not easy to find or inexpensive, but it’s worth it just for her to talk to me.
The doorbell rings, and Daylen walks over to open the door. His face falls when he notices it’s Kennedy. He grumbles, “You’re late, sea witch.”
She immediately responds, “Better late than ugly.”
He shakes his head. “Why do you bust my handsome, scrumptious balls so much?”
She shrugs in an unaffected manner. “Believe it or not, I don’t consider your balls very often. In fact, I’ve never once thought of them. Why do all men think balls are important to women? They’re not. They’re pointless and weak. We’re confused by them. They sit there uselessly bouncing between your thighs. They expand and contract at random times. It’s fucking weird. When we buy vibrators, do you know what they don’t have? Balls.”
Daylen stares at her for several long beats until he eventually lets out a loud, booming laugh. “Fuck. That’s funny.”
She narrows her eyes at him and gives an exaggerated fake smile before sarcastically quipping, “Well, my goal of being your amusement for the evening is accomplished.”
Kennedy has an interesting look. Attractive but in a totallydifferent way from Sulley. She’s hard compared to Sulley’s softness. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she lived a difficult life. Her green eyes are piercing, contrasting with her very dark hair. It’s rare to see her without a ponytail, though she’s always dressed impeccably. Even when casual, it’s in designer clothes. Like tonight. To the naked eye, she appears to simply be in jeans and a white T-shirt. I know everything she’s wearing is designer, down to the very expensive high heels she’s got on. The other girls are in sneakers, regular jeans, and Beaver T-shirts. Not Kennedy.
Daylen turns and subtly makes a jerkoff motion to me. He usually dates bubbly, overly friendly, compliant, ditzy blondes. Basically, the opposite of Kennedy Jeffries.
She’s behind him as they walk through the two-story foyer into the main living area. Layla and Presley have a traditional, modest home in the suburbs. It’s nice, probably about twenty years old, not overly grand, and not as modern as newer homes seem to be. I like that it’s homey and filled with toys and clutter. It’s real.
As he walks by, Daylen whispers to me, “Did you know vibrators don’t have balls?”
I chuckle. “Have you never seen one?”
He looks appalled. “Why would any woman I’m with need a vibrator?”
I shake my head. “You’re a moron.”
He tugs on his hair, which is now in a ponytail, and says, “It must be the blond in me.”
We all head out to the back deck, which is made of the fake wood most people use. I inwardly laugh. Finn would hate this fake wood. He was adamant about using real wood to build his cabin. He couldn’t afford the higher-end materials, but insisted on using real wood.
Layla and Presley hired a caterer to cook and serve the meal. They said they wanted to sit back and have fun. With our season about to begin and the Beavers inthe middle of theirs, things are going to be crazy, so a relaxing evening with friends is well-deserved.
It’s me, Daylen, Beau, Champ, Sulley, Kennedy, Palmer, Shay, and her wife, Alyssa. It’s a beautiful, warm summer night.
They don’t have a ton of land, but the backyard has a pool and is well-kept. Even though their daughter can’t walk quite yet, there are lots of child safety gates, fences, and latches set up everywhere. I didn’t know so many things existed. It took Daylen and me ten minutes to figure out how to open a cabinet. Apparently they’re both child and man-proofed.
We’re just sitting when Kennedy’s phone starts pinging with a text notification. She looks down at it and lets out a laugh before silencing it. I ask, “What’s so funny?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. A guy who ghosted me months ago just reached out. They always come crawling back for more.”
Daylen scoffs. “When a guy texts you after ghosting you for months, he doesn’t miss you. He’s just checking to see if you’re still stupid.”
