Calling It Read Free Page B

the bat up over her shoulder and her robe began to slip.
    Hearing that Fitz had moved out was enough of a surprise that he’d managed to keep his tongue in his mouth until she’d disappeared down the hall. The back view was as good as the front, though, and it was with a groan that he rested his elbows on the counter and buried his head in his hands. The past six weeks since the accident were the longest he’d gone without sex since he was sixteen years old. He was due for something nice and physical. No strings attached.
    When he caught the sweet scent of her coming up behind him—when he turned and was nearly struck speechless—he almost threw caution to the wind. But then his eyes went to the phone she held in her hand and he realized she was saying it was Fitz.
    Damn.
    Yes, he’d chosen Fitz’s place to escape to, but with the exception of her phone call after his accident, all of their recent conversations had been short but tense conversations about his Thanksgiving and Christmas plans.
    Bat Woman handed the phone over and then walked quickly away. At least there wouldn’t be any witnesses. He did take one last look, however—holy Christ, yes—before letting his head drop back down. “Fitz. Hi.”
    After a moment of heavy silence, she said, “So you’re invoking the D.B. clause.”
    Right.
    It wasn’t that he’d lied. D.B. was a nickname of sorts, one bestowed on him by Fitz when he’d started to believe his own press. “ Just calling a spade a spade , Nate. If you want to be a douche bag , I’m going to call you one. ”
    “Yep. I guess so.” Not that Nate had truly thought through the consequences of saying that was his name. He’d been ridiculously happy to have someone not have any clue, and then the woman’s feistiness had thrown him entirely. He’d latched on to the first name he could think of. The bat with the initials carved on it had been a gift horse whose mouth he hadn’t looked too far into.
    Fitz finally said, “You’re here?”
    Though it wasn’t the most enthusiastic greeting, it also wasn’t hostile. He’d take that as a good sign.
    “Yeah,” he said. “So when did you move out? Why did you move out?”
    She sidestepped both questions. “I can still cover the rent.”
    Like he cared about that. She shouldn’t even have been paying him rent in the first place, but she’d insisted. It just got donated to the town anyway. “Where are you?” he asked, hating himself for not having a clue.
    “Deke’s place.”
    “You’re living with Deke?” Nate snapped. Max Deacon, more of a player than Nate had ever been, and Nate’s baby sister? Hell, no.
    Okay, so he hadn’t been the best at staying on top of things. And he was pretty sure Fitz would say he had no right in the first place. But if Deke had gone against the sister rule and was now shacking up with Fitz, there were going to be words.
    But she laughed and said, “No, I am not living with Deke.”
    Thank the Lord.
    “Poker night,” she reminded him.
    The poker night he’d started with Wash, Jason and Deke. Hell, Cal might even be there and out of the army by now for all Nate knew. They were his friends—his brothers . And he hadn’t so much as texted them in two years. It wasn’t a surprise she hadn’t invited him to join them. He’d chosen Courtney over them and burned that bridge.
    “What are you up to tomorrow?” he asked.
    She hesitated for a moment, then replied, “How about you come out to Wash’s place for lunch if you’re free?”
    Wash’s place. The farm that had been Nate’s grandparents’ but that Wash now ran. “Is Wash okay with that?”
    There was a muffled conversation, followed by Fitz laughing. “Sure. He just says that D.B. better be bringing some work boots.”
    “Done,” Nate said. “Fitz...” Fuck, this shouldn’t be so hard. But as his coaches tended to say, if it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t working. So... “I’ve missed you.”
    She didn’t answer right away, and he