She looked down, her shoulders shaking, trying to smother her laughter. She was failing so miserably.

“Right.” He sighed and pulled his hand away. “What’s your name?”

“What’s yours?”

Déjà vu again. This was a Keith 2.0 moment, except this guy was a lot younger. He didn’t look too much older than Reese.

“What?”

Marie entered the fray. “This is Stan. He’s Reese’s manager.”

“Ah.”

I didn’t care. I should have, but I didn’t. Reese and I were not a permanent thing. And even if we became—nope, I was not thinking that way. Stress, expectations, all the normal worries about relationships were starting to weigh me down, and that wasn’t Reese and me. I wouldn’t let that happen. We were fun and carefree. Free, being the key term there.

I plastered a smile on my face, nodding again. I was tempted to bow, but refrained. “It’s nice meeting you.”

I made a point of turning to look out at the gym. The team’s cheerleaders were on the court, doing a dance for the crowd. Thunder was waving his arms around.

I could feel Marie and Stan exchange a look, but it wasn’t happening. I wouldn’t get pulled in, get a label put on me, and then have to endure another round of suspicious questions. He and Marie had both put me through the wringer, but then she’d introduced me to tampon-shot-disguising tubes and told me I was hot, so I was a little in love with her.

They still hadn’t started talking, so I looked back. “Excuse me. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Stan’s entire face was twisted in a question mark.

Marie coughed. “Oh. Okay.” She finished her hotdog, wiping her face with a napkin. “We gotta go out for the restroom. You want anything else?”

I had a full beer in hand, and my own hotdog was starting to feel unsettled. “Nope. I’m good.” I smacked my groin. “Just gotta pee.”

Stan’s head reared back, and Marie’s eyebrows shot up.

She seemed transfixed, so I led the way—around a few groups of women who looked like they could be supermodels, and men I knew had to be in positions of power and wealth to even be in that box. Once outside, I was grateful. Marie had been following, but I looked back through the door, and she’d been caught by one of those groups of people.

The door closed.

I waited against the opposite wall.

The door opened, and two guys came out. Marie caught my gaze and held up her hand. One minute.

I nodded, settling in.