Page 46 of Wanting the Winger

Ryan laughs. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it later.”

“Are you sure? He’s usually much better mannered than this.”

Brutus trots over to rub against Ryan’s leg.

“You better apologize,” I tell him.

“Great looking dog. The rainbow leopard spots are a nice touch.”

“Yeah, that’s Evie’s work.”

“She told me what happened. She was pretty horrified about her screwup.”

“It all worked out for the best,” I say.

“Seems like it so far anyway,” he says.

“I plan to be a part of Evie’s life, and Tillie’s too at some point. I hope that won’t be a problem for you.”

“If you make Evie happy and you treat them both well, that’s all I can ask for.”

“Consider it done.” I hold out my hand and we shake once more. “Come on, Bru,” I call out, and he hurries over. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

“No doubt,” Ryan says, following me into the mudroom. “It was nice meeting you, Darius.”

“You too.” I step inside Evie’s house and close the door as softly as I can. When I turn around, Evie’s standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed.

“What were you two talking about?”

“Not much. We just introduced ourselves to each other. He got to meet Brutus and see firsthand the massive pile of shit he left behind.”

“Oh.” She clamps her lips together but her blue eyes are filled with mirth.

“Ryan said he’ll scoop it up later.”

“So that’s all you talked about?” She digs for more.

“Pretty much. He was nice, though.”

I amble closer, enfolding Evie in my arms. “What are you doing up?”

“The minute you left my bed I woke up.”

“Did you think I was leaving without saying goodbye?”

“Nope. You’re too polite for that.” She smiles.

“I am, but I’m also too selfish to leave without a proper goodbye.”

“Ooh, this sounds promising. What does a proper goodbye entail?”

I brush the tip of my nose to hers. “It starts with my tongue in your mouth and ends when you orga—”

She smashes her lips to mine, showing her obvious enthusiasm for a proper goodbye.

* * *

With ten minutes remaining in practice, I’m still going strong. We’ve been working on small-area games, which are game-like drills that are played out in a space of limited size.

---