Page 61 of Leave It On The Field (Grand Slam 3)
“Okay,” he says. “Hey, I told Dad to juggle the flight manifest around so Butch and Raine could fly with you. Did he tell you?”
“I haven’t seen your dad this morning either. I’ve been in hiding, remember?”
He grunts. “Yeah. Make sure at least Butch gets on the plane with you. God knows what kind of attention you’ll get in L.A.”
“I’ll make sure. Babe, I swear this will fade away like every other media story. Just try to get some sleep, okay? You sound horrible.”
“I’ll try,” he says. “I love you, Soph. I’m sorry you’re getting slammed. I told you before, whenever it gets to be too much, just tell me and I’ll quit that second. I’m not just saying that. I’m serious. That very second.”
“It’s not too much and I don’t want you to quit.” I look through the peephole and see Butch standing on the driveway. “We’ll figure it all out. I have to go. I love you.”
When I open the door, Butch grabs my bag. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Hold up. I need to call Seb’s dad to make sure he has open seats for you on the plane.”
“Already done,” Butch says, herding me toward the car. “He texted me this morning. I guess he bumped two people off.”
“Who?”
He shrugs. “No idea. Let’s get going. You already know how much I hate to be late.”
Raine pulls me into the back of the SUV with her. “Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to talk about it—to anyone. Will you run interference for me on the plane? If not, it’s going to be the longest five hours of my life.”
Raine puts her arm around my shoulders. “We’ve got you. Did you hear that, Butch? No one talks about the sex room.”
I swat her leg. “Not helpful.”
Butch laughs as he looks at me in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t tell anyone. I swear on my grandma’s grave.”
“Wait. You knew?” Raine kicks his seat. “How are you not sharing that juicy information with me?”
“You know how I am—when I promise to vault, it’s locked down.”
Raine hisses at him, and then turns back to me. “So, was it full-on sex? Or just a little foreplay?”
“It wasn’t anything. We just talked.” I put my head in my hands and groan. “This day is going to be from hell.”
“I’m just teasing. We’ll shut down anyone who starts in on you,” Raine says, rubbing my back. “I promise.”
I put my head on Raine’s shoulder and close my eyes. I’m almost asleep in the ten minutes it takes us to get to the airfield.
“We’re here,” Raine says, shaking my arm. “And it looks like we have a situation.”
Jack and Ricky are standing by the boarding stairs of the plane. Kaitlyn is off to the side of them. Ricky’s yelling and pointing at the plane. He tries to get around Jack to board the plane. Jack pushes him back.
“Eek!” I bury my head back into Raine’s shoulder. “I think Jack bumped Ricky and Kaitlyn off the plane.”
Raine cracks her window just in time to hear Ricky yell, “What are you talking about? I always have a seat!”
“Stay in the car,” Butch says, opening his door. “Let me see what’s going on first.”
Jack steps in front of Ricky again. “Rick, you need to leave.”
“Mr. Miller,” Butch says as he heads over to them. “Everything good?”
Ricky spins around and charges at Butch. He puffs out his chest. “This is none of your goddamn business, Butch. We don’t need input from Princess Sophie’s bodyguards.”
