Page 114 of Turn Me On

“I’d love to go,” Maddox says.

“Absolutely,” I chime in.

Once Jason is gone, I wrap an arm around Maddox. “See? We already have friends here.”

“We do,” he says, and he smiles. Fuck, I love that smile, and I love putting it there.

I do my damndest to make him smile more the rest of the weekend.

Baseball season’s over, I collected my winnings from Gunnar since I finished the year with more RBIs, so when the weekend ends, I fly with Maddox to Los Angeles to help him start packing—though he doesn’t have much. I’ll miss his pool, but I won’t miss being apart from him. “Will you miss your friends here? Like Ellie and Bryan and the whole crew?” I ask, as I help him sort through his kitchen.

“I will. But I’ll visit Los Angeles for work, so I’ll see them then,” he says then checks his watch. “And we’ll go spend some time with Bryan now for lunch.”

“Can we scooter?”

He snort-laughs. “Knew you’d like scooters.”

He pulls his out of the garage, and I rent one since they’re all over the streets, then we ride to Santa Monica and meet his buddy for lunch at a sidewalk café.

“Can’t say I’m shocked he’s moving to San Francisco. Did I or did I not predict you were getting ready for a date the first day you spent with Zane down here?” Bryan asks, needling Maddox.

“Oh, this is gonna be good. Tell me more,” I say.

“He was shaving, and he always shaves right before a date,” Bryan recounts.

Maddox rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling too as he mutters, “Why do you do this to me?”

Bryan smacks Maddox’s shoulder affectionately. “Pretty sure Zane knows you dig him now.”

I beckon with my fingers. “Nope. I want more. I want all the goods, Bryan.”

Bryan sits back in his chair, smiles, and says, “I like you. You’re good for him. That’s the goods.”

“I’ll take it,” I say, then I press a kiss to my guy’s clean-shaven jaw. “I know you always shave for me, and I love it.”

“Me too,” Maddox answers softly.

The next night, we head out to dinner in Venice, and when we grab a table at the restaurant, Maddox does a double take. “That’s Braxton at the bar,” he whispers.

“Jackass,” I say, putting two and two together to figure he was the guy who wanted Maddox to be at his beck and call.

Maddox turns to me, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “He called me the other day. Said he wanted to meet.”

“Do you want to meet with him?”

Maddox shrugs. “He has this jackass friend who kinda makes all his decisions—”

“Shhh,” I warn, since Braxton just got up and is walking over to us now.

“Hey, there,” he says, looking a little sheepish.

Maddox stands, shakes his hand, ever polite. “Good to see you again. This is my boyfriend, Zane Archer.”

Braxton gives a chin nod and a smile. “Big fan. Great season.”

“Thanks, man,” I say.

Then Maddox asks, “How’s everything?”