The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

“Hey, guys,” Mya said, joining us.

“Mya,” he said smoothly, the reason for his sudden change apparent. “Nice shirt.”

“This old thing.” She pulled at the frayed t-shirt and chuckled. “Thanks, I guess.”

Hailee and I watched the two of them. Asher was smitten, his eyes tracking Mya’s every move. But she seemed indifferent to his attention.

“So what are you girls up to later? I know Flick is heading to puppy heaven but what about you, Hailee? Mya?”

“Me and Cam promised Xander we would take him to Ice-T’s.”

“Just don’t feed that little shit any of the candy. We made that mistake once.”

“I think we’ve got it covered.” Hailee smiled.

“Mya?”

“I’m living the dream tonight with Mr. Galveston’s homework.”

“History?” Asher winced. “Ouch.”

“Do you even do homework?” She threw back.

“I do it… occasionally,” he added. “But just because I play football doesn’t mean I’m a dumb jock. You’re looking at a GPA of 3.33 right here.”

“Athletic and book smart. I am impressed.”

“You should be.”

“Okay,” I interrupted. “Not that I’m not enjoying watching whatever this is,” I wagged my finger between them, “but I need to go. I don’t want to keep George waiting.”

“Call me as soon as you get done,” Mya said, “I want to hear all about dreamy George.”

“Dreamy George?” Asher frowned. “Isn’t he the manager of the place?”

“The very young, very cute manager,” Mya nodded. “Flick’s words, not mine.”

“You have a crush, Fee, baby? I’m wounded.”

“I do not have a crush.” Heat spread along my neck and into my cheeks. “George is... nice. He’s also going to be my boss so...”

“Kinky.” Asher grinned, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“Gross,” I hissed, waving him off. “Right, I’m out of here. I’ll call you both later. Asher, it was a pleasure as always.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” he called as I left them to it. “Oh and Fee? Make sure George keeps his paws to himself. See what I did there... paws.” He exploded with laughter as I rolled my eyes and headed out of the building.

Wondering what I was getting myself into.

Turned out, I had nothing to worry about. When I’d arrived at the center, Serena had welcomed me, handing me a stack of paperwork to fill in. Then she traded me the papers for a volunteer handbook which she left me to study while she dealt with some clients. George eventually showed up to walk me through the volunteer schedule and list of duties. I’d missed the latest round of volunteer training, so for now I’d have to learn the ropes as I went, but I was just relieved to be there.

“I had no idea there was so much involved in pet adoption,” I said, shadowing George as he scrubbed a new arrival: Benji, a cute one-year-old puppy, brought in by his parents who were getting a divorce and no longer wanted him. He was so frickin’ cute, with big, round eyes and thick soft fur, the color of the sand.

“Our matching process is rigorous and time consuming, but it means better success rates. Something we’re very proud of.”

“I’m so excited to get started.”

“And we’re excited to have you. You’ll get to meet the other volunteers over the weekend. I think Sandie, Hale, and Lisa are in Saturday, and then Tom and Beth are down for Sunday.”