I nod. “You didn’t go to our high school, did you?”

“Nope. I met them all the night of senior prom. We had it on the same night. It’s long story. I’m sure Dylan can tell you about it.” She drops her gaze, just for a second before looking back up at me. “I don’t know,” she mumbles. “I kind of felt compelled to reach out to you and let you know that they’re all good people. They’re accepting of anyone, no questions asked. They’re the type of friends who become family, Riley.” She looks over at Dylan quickly. “And if you ever need anything, you can always call us. Especially when…”

“Yeah,” I finish for her. When he deploys, she wanted to say.

She smiles again. “I just didn’t want you to think that because you’re only dating Dylan, it doesn’t make you part of our family. Because you are now.” She laughs. “Whether you like it or not.”

Behind us, Lucy squeals, pulling our attention away from each other.

“You’re just causing more work for me, Luce,” Cam huffs. “You got streaks everywhere. Go sit in the corner like a good little girl.”

“Oh, Dylan!” She snaps, puffing out her chest. “Don’t tell me what to do!”

“What?” Dylan asks, turning to her from his spot on top of the ladder. “Did you say my name?”

Lucy yells. “You can Dylan too, Dylan!”

“She’s so wasted,” Mikayla says through a giggle.

“Why are you saying my name?” Dylan asks again, his brow bunched in confusion.

Confused Dylan = Hot Dylan.

“We’ve been through this,” Jake tells him.

“I forget,” Dylan mumbles.

Amanda chimes in. “Like that time Lucy forgot that we don’t all read like her and spoiled an entire book.”

“You can Dylan, too, AmanDuh!” Lucy shouts.

Now everyone’s laughing. Me included. “Why is my boyfriend’s name a verb?” I ask.

Mikayla speaks first. “It means to shut up or stop, I guess. Or, like, don’t talk about it.”

“Really?” Dylan asks. “Funny. When Riley says it, it means ‘Don’t Stop. Please. More. Keep going. Yeah. Just like that!’”

“Dylan, Dylan!” I yell, throwing my brush at his head.

Funny Dylan = Hot Dylan.

And Hot Dylan = Mine.

Twenty-Nine

Dylan

We spend the next month getting settled into the house. I see Riley a lot less since she got a job. I told her she didn’t have to, that I had enough income plus Mom’s life insurance leftover from the deposit on the house that she could wait, at least until I was gone. It was selfish, I know, but I just wanted her for myself.

She works at an animal shelter—which is perfect for her because she really doesn’t like people. This way, animals don’t judge her. She spends eight hours a day cleaning dog shit and mopping up piss and feeding them and giving them meds and she couldn’t be happier.

And I’m happy she’s happy.

Now, it’s summer and Jake and Mikayla, and Cameron and Lucy have graduated. Logan and Amanda still have another year because of the year they both missed—Amanda at the start and Logan when he took the year off with Doctors Without Borders. Jake is… well, Jake is taking his year off now. Everyone questioned why the hell he would possibly take a year off between college and all the possibilities the MLB are offering him and his answer is simple: Baseball’s been his and Kayla’s and his family’s life since he moved back to the states. Now it was his chance to give them the attention they’d been giving him. Everyone thought he was crazy. Everyone but me. I understood completely. The income they have from renting out the house by UNC is enough for them to live off for the next year before things get hectic again with him, so he’s taking the time. If the decision bites him in the ass, then so be it. Baseball is a career. It’s not his life anymore. He and Kayla have plans to travel and see the world, and me? Well, I’m just taking every horizon I can get.

“Watcha got, old man?” Riley says, her arms spread out as she watches me dribble in front of her.

From the stands, Logan shouts, “Yeah, Grandpa Banks. Whatcha got?”

We decided to put the house stuff on hold for the day and spend it with our friends at the sports park. We normally hit up the batting cages, but today we gave it a break and played basketball instead. Well, Riley and the guys and I played. The other girls sat in the stands arguing about some book something. Unless the book gets me laid, I don’t really pay much attention.

Now it’s just me and Riley, one on one, and she’s in short shorts, a sports bra and lose tank that barely covers said bra. She’s sweating though. Not because it’s hot, but because she’s down 12-2. She doesn’t like losing. It helps I’m almost a foot taller than her and my arm’s almost at a hundred percent again.

“Who you calling old?” I ask, dribbling around her for another lay up.

She narrows her eyes at me, just for a moment before she pouts.

“Don’t think you can distract me with your hotness. That shit won’t fly on the court.”

The pout turns to a smirk as she makes her way over to me, taking the ball from my hands. She drops it to the ground, then stands on it, using my neck for leverage. “Next score wins?” she asks.

I roll my eyes.

Lucy shouts, “Use the girl card!”

“What girl card?” I ask.

She smirks. “No sex for a month.”

“Pshh. You can’t live without sex for a month.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “Want to test me?”

I remove her arms from around my neck. “Nope.”

Her head throws back with her laugh. “I didn’t think so.”

She scores.

She wins.

I get guaranteed sex for the next month.

I win.

I’d call that a win-win.

I sit back down with the rest of the guys while Riley gets us drinks. “You let her walk all over you,” Cameron says.

Lucy glares at him.

He apologizes.

“Where does she hide that whip she’s constantly beating you with?” I ask him.

“In her magical pussy,” he says, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Lucy.

We all laugh as Riley returns with drinks. She hands the waters out to all of us and takes her seat on my lap. Then she places her bottle on my shoulder. “How is it?”

“Fine,” I tell her, kissing her neck. “I’ll rest it when we get home.”

She smiles. She loves it when I say home.

“So, do you know what the deal is, Dylan?” Amanda asks, her hand shielding the sun as she looks up at us. “Like, any idea when you go back?”

“Not sure.” I shrug. “I have a check up next week and we’ll go from there.”

Riley adds, “They’re really happy with his progress, though, so that’s a good sign.”

“And what? You go back to your unit?” Logan says.

“Yep. If everything goes to plan.”

“I can’t believe we’re all home for the summer,” Micky chimes in.