Page 75 of Offside Rules

Ellie snickers beside him.

"Laundry," I tell him.

"Looked urgent."

Baylor tosses the towel into the laundry basket, then washes her hands.

"If you’re done, I have three hundred cupcakes that need decorations and boxes."

Olsen sets his stack on the counter. "Just waiting for instructions."

"Good. Wash your hands."

He heads for the sink without another word.

Ellie looks between us, smiling, but Baylor picks up the order sheet before she can ask anything.

"Peyton and Natalia, you can start with the toppers. Cammy, would you check the quantities while they work?"

"Absolutely," Cammy says, taking the sheet.

I take my place beside Olsen and reach for a box. Across the island, Baylor looks up at me.

I smile.

She looks down at the cupcakes, but she’s smiling.

Before long, everyone has a set station set up on the island, and we all have a job to do. We spend the next two hours laughing and eating dinner that I order in while cupcakes get dropped in decorative sleeves, topped with decor, and adorned with sprinkles (which Olsen takes incredible precision with), and then each one gets loaded carefully into the boxes.

A quick trip to drop off the cupcakes with Ellie, Olsen, me, and Baylor, and then they say their goodbyes after we get back to the apartment. I’m glad she had the three of us to help her because the party was on the twentieth level of an event center. Taking that many boxes up by herself would have taken her forever.

When everybody’s gone, the apartment is quiet except for the dishwasher. Baylor has packed her clean piping tips and washed the last bowl. I pick up the light bag of used wrappers, and she stops me before I open the door.

"Thank you."

"For the boxes?"

"For asking them. For helping." She looks down at the towel in her hand. "And for not dropping me."