Jamie sloshed the contents of his water bottle toward his brothers, splashing them both. Cooper dodged most of the spray, even standing on one foot. “Simon?” he said. “How are you feeling?”

Simon looked at his brothers, his face passive. “I feel great,” he said.

“Thank you,” Jamie said. “At least I have one brother who isn’t an idiot.”

“But I’m pretty sure I’m working that day,” Simon said.

Jamie rolled his eyes. “You’re all morons.” He looked my way. “You want to get out of here?”

“Sure. Is food involved?” I said.

“I could eat,” Cooper said. “Are we going to go eat?”

Dave elbowed his brother, then said something under his breath too quiet for the rest of us to hear. Jamie didn’t even respond, just scooped up his bag and offered his free hand to me, leading me toward the parking lot.

“It’s cool,” Cooper called after us. “I’ll just get something at home, then. Y’all have fun.”

Jamie chuckled. “The youngest Hamilton isn’t always the most astute.”

“He’s kind of cute in his innocence.” I turned my head and caught a glimpse of Simon climbing into his car on the other side of the parking lot. I waved. “Great game, Simon,” I called.

He nodded and waved back. “You too.”

“Seriously,” Jamie said, repeating his sentiment from earlier. “I don’t know what got into him tonight. He was amazing.”

“He did play some incredible defense.”

We stopped, standing between his car and mine. “Want to ride with me to get a burger or something?”

I glanced down at my clothes.

“I can take you home to change first if you want.”

I shook my head. “No, it’ll be too late. I’m fine if you are. Let’s just get fast food somewhere.”

“Sounds good.”

It was weird. No, not weird. It was incredibly comfortable and easy and not weird. We were smelly and sweaty from our game, I had grass stains on my shirt, my hair was probably frizzy and ridiculous, and I totally didn’t care. Maybe that was the thing that was weird. Even though we’d only been dating a month, I was completely relaxed around Jamie. There was a casualness to being around him that was super easy. It reminded me of all the guy friends I’d hung out with in high school, which, upon further reflection, made me a little uncomfortable. Friendship was a good thing—a good way for relationships to start. But not if that was all there ever was. I thought about the thrill I’d felt when Jamie had kissed me for the first time. That didn’t feel like friendship, so why did I still feel uneasy?

Jamie: Did Lane ever call you about the inn?

Simon: Yep. Just waiting to hear back about when her boss wants to see me.