Текст книги "Scoring Wilder"

Автор книги: R. S. Grey

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

Chapter Twenty

When we came back out, the guys were sitting on the lounge chairs chatting, probably about soccer. What else did two professional soccer players discuss?

Liam looked up as we were making our way over.

"Kinsley, let's go to my house and change clothes and then we can come back to watch the movie," he said, standing up and heading over.

I nodded, and when he was close enough so that I didn't have to announce it to everyone, I whispered, "Do you think I'll be staying here tonight?" I couldn't meet his eyes but my cheeks were burning.

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His small smile said it all. "Of course, I won't let you drive back to LA this late, and besides, I want to sleep with you."

Sleep with me! I practically squirmed on the spot.

"I have an idea," I announced to the group, suddenly agreeing with Becca's plan.

"What if we have a giant sleepover? We can go grab stuff from Liam's place and then head back over..."

Liam's smile widened and he shook his head slowly. Not as if he was saying no, but because he seemed amused. "We can do the sleepover at my house. I have a movie room with couches that are comfortable enough to sleep on."

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I didn't expect him to buy the plan so easily, but I suspected he was trying to make it easy on Becca and me.

"Sounds good," Penn answered. "We'll meet you guys over there in a little bit."

Becca shot me a grateful smile and then she followed Penn up the stairs.

"C'mon, we can get to my house from the beach," Liam said, taking my hand and the cover-up so that I couldn't put it back on.

"You don't need this, we're only walking a short ways," he declared as I arched my brow.

"Mhmm, I'm sure that's the reason," I teased as his gaze drifted down my body.

"All of my fantasies did not live up to the real thing... I think I need a few more minutes before you put clothes back on," he 567/890

teased confidently, making me feel even more exposed.

I laughed and shook my head. Fantasies, my ass.

"Did Becca want you to suggest the sleepover thing?" he asked gently.

I bit my lip wondering if I should throw her under the bus. Maybe he would tell Penn. "Well technically it was her idea, but I thought it would be fun. Are you upset?"

He watched me explain and then narrowed his eyes. "It's probably for the best. I want to spend time with you, but if we were alone, we’d be going straight to my bed right now."

His words coated me like honey and I tried to shake off the allure.

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"Well you can take me to your bedroom," I winked, "...for a change of clothes."

He laughed and tugged my hand as we ascended the stairs to his house. It was even more beautiful up close. The design was open and inviting. Warm white hues and bright blue accents filled the living room and kitchen.

"This is where I like to spend my time when I can get away from the LA house,” he said as he tugged me past the kitchen that looked straight out of a magazine. “I was having a few things fixed so they had the water and electricity cut off for the past few weeks.”

I guess we were passing the tour all together. I was getting a glimpse of each room 569/890

as he continued pulling me toward his bedroom.

"I completely agree about it feeling like a home." I smiled up at him and our eyes locked for a moment. I think he was glad I appreciated his house. But to be honest, anyone would.

When we got to his room, he pulled open his drawers and handed me a t-shirt and some boxers.

"This should work. Sorry I don't have bras lying around. Guess you’ll have to go without." He smiled as if he wasn't actually that sorry.

I glanced down at the boxers to find that they had little snowmen on them. They seemed very un-Wilder-like.

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I held the waistband up between my fingers. “Stylin’ duds you have here, Mr.

Wilder.”

"Hey, don't knock the boxers. They're my Christmas pair." He laughed as he pulled out a pair of boxer briefs, sleeping pants, and a shirt for himself. I thought he was going to head into the closet to change, but as soon as he had his clothes pulled out, he dropped his swim trunks right then and there and headed to the shower.

My mouth fell open at the sight of him.

Every single inch of his body was toned and tan. His tattoos fell in perfect congruence with the movement of his muscles. I knew it took years to mold a body into that perfec-tion and I appreciated every single inch of it as I watched him head to his bathroom.

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"Come shower," he demanded just before his body disappeared from my sight.

I stood there motionless as I heard him turn the water on and then step inside.

Shampoo bottles clanged against the glass as I tried to make a decision. Were we moving too fast? Should I wait and shower separately? Did I even need a shower? There was chlorine in my hair and the longer I let it dry, the more damage it would cause… Welp, that’s settled.

His form was partly hidden by the fogging glass, but puffs of intoxicating steam were already rising from the top. I popped open the glass and sneaked in after him without taking my bikini off. I thought I could shower just fine in my bathing suit.

Liam disagreed. His eyes lit up as he took me 572/890

in and then in no time at all, he'd untied my top and bottom and my bikini fell to a pile on the shower floor. Damn, those hands could really move when he had a goal in mind. He kicked my bikini aside and brought me toward him. My hands splayed out against his chest, feeling his smooth skin as he started to soap up my body.

We were naked, so blissfully naked together, that I felt giddy and turned on all at once.

He squeezed a dab of body wash onto his hands; it was his body wash and it smelled clean and manly. He was going to wash me with it and I didn’t mind one bit that I’d come out of the shower smelling just like him. I wanted to use that body wash from now on.

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My eyes fell closed as his hands drifted over my skin. He skimmed over my shoulders, down my back and spine. It felt like he was slowly driving me insane under the pretense of cleaning me off. When his hand fell between my legs I thought I'd collapse onto the tile, but he didn't let me. One hand wrapped around my waist while his fingers brought me to another orgasm.

"You're so responsive to my touch," he said, nipping my ear as my hand found him hot and hard.

I grabbed the soap from behind him and returned the favor, but honestly it was more pleasurable for me than it was for him. Getting free access to run my hands across his skin was like getting to gorge myself on the most decadent desert. I reveled in the way he 574/890

tensed when my hand drifted lower, past his waist. I gripped him tightly and stroked him up and down as his head fell back under the stream of water. I loved making this man moan. If I could only hear one thing for the rest of my life, I would choose that moan—

hearing him make those low groaning sounds as pleasure overtook him. He came fast and hard, spilling out onto my hand and belly. It was a deviously sexy sight and I almost mourned the loss as the shower washed it away as quickly as it had appeared.

We both left the shower wearing sated smiles, but I still felt his eyes on me as I pulled on his shirt and boxers. We’d yet to completely have our fill of one another.

"You realize that the entire time we're watching the movie I'll be thinking about the 575/890

fact that you aren't wearing panties or a bra underneath your clothes," he commented, pulling on his pants.

I winked over my shoulder, feeling bold and beautiful after his constant stream of compliments in the shower. "Technically, they're your clothes." I said, moving toward the door.

He grinned wickedly, ditched his shirt, and made to chase after me. Damn his soccer training. He was much faster than I was. I ran down his hall laughing as I dodged his hands, then I hid behind the couch, faking to dodge left and right. He called my bluff and caught me as I tried to run away.

"Mercy!" I squealed as he wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up.

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He was setting me back down to my feet when Becca and Penn walked in. Becca eyed us curiously, but Penn just laughed and shook his head.

"What the hell have you two been doing while we've been changing?" Becca laughed.

I winked. "Playing chase. I'm much faster than Liam."

He wrapped his hand around my waist and squeezed. "Maybe you should train me then."

I laughed and pushed him away with my hand. "Yeah, yeah. Did you guys bring any movies?"

Penn held up three DVDs. "I brought Shawshank Redemption, 300, and Boondock Saints."

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Becca and I both cracked up. "You are such a guy, Penn."

"I don't think my options are any better," Liam admitted, rubbing the back of his hair with his hand.

"C'mon Becca, let's go check out Liam's stash while the boys make the popcorn."

"Did you guys bring your own candy?

Because I'm not sharing," Liam called behind us.

The second we rounded the corner toward Liam's movie room, I put my hands on Becca's shoulder and silently squealed up and down. She joined in and soon we looked like two crazy people jumping and spinning in a dark hallway.

"This is a dream, right? We're going to wake up tomorrow in the house and I'm 578/890

going to be wearing my onesie," Becca whispered as we kept walking.

"No. This is definitely happening, my friend." I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt.

"Sorry we took so long changing. Penn was a little distracted. We may have rounded a few bases."

I threw her a shocked glance as we pushed through the door to the movie room.

He'd pointed it out to me earlier, but of course we hadn't actually been inside. No detail was forgotten inside the room. There were giant plush recliners in the first two rows and then two rows of couches behind it.

They were wide and overflowing with fluffy pillows. The screen was obscenely large and there was a fancy-looking projector mounted on the far back wall.

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Beneath the projector there were shelves upon shelves of movies.

"Wait, how many bases did you guys skip?" I asked as soon as the door was closed.

Becca couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "Well, let's say he knows what I taste like."

I started cracking up. "BECCA!"

"What?! You did it to Liam... in his office no less!"

"I know, I know. I'm just... wow. Has a guy done that to you before?"

She bit her lip. "No, but now I'm wondering why the hell I waited so long."

We started cracking up again and I couldn't stop with the giddy squeals.

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Eventually we tried to look through Liam's movie

collection,

but

it

wasn't

very

successful.

"I'm not sure how long we have until they get here, but the second we get home tomorrow, I have about one million questions for you," Becca whispered. We could hear the boys laughing down the hall and it sounded like they were heading our way.

"I'll try and help, but seriously I'm not much more experienced than you are," I shrugged.

Becca nodded. "We'll break out 50

shades. It should give us some answers."

“Yeah, like how to get flogged while wearing a ball gag,” I joked.

“True. Maybe we should stick to Judy Blume’s books.”

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I shoved her arm playfully just as the boys strolled in. Their arms were filled with drinks and snacks.

"Did you guys find something to watch?"

Penn asked.

Becca and I glanced from each other, down to our empty hands, then back to the shelf. "Ummm..." Becca mumbled.

I reached forward and grabbed the first movie I touched: Wedding Crashers.

"Oops… haven't we all seen this one?" I asked, holding it up. Everyone nodded, but Liam grabbed it out of my hand and went to pop it into the spaceship-quality projector system.

"That's good, we'll probably end up talking through it anyway," he shrugged. He had a point. With four people that were all hyped 582/890

up on sexual tension, we probably wouldn't be paying attention to the movie for very long.

All four of us could have fit comfortably on one couch, but Becca and Penn took the couch closest to the screen and Liam and I scooted onto the back one. The previews started to play as I adjusted on my seat and spread a blanket that felt like a cloud over my lap. Liam narrowed his eyes on me playfully and tugged the blanket onto him as well. It wasn't that big, probably because it was made of virgin baby sheep’s wool, so I had to scoot closer to him. Thank you, tiny blanket.

We had popcorn resting on our laps and candy spread out in front of us.

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"Hey, do you guys have anything good up there?" I asked, leaning forward to see their stash. Becca tossed me back a handful of Swedish Fish and one of them hit me in the eye.

"Hey! I only caught like three of those," I complained, popping one into my mouth.

"I caught the other one," Liam proclaimed proudly. A little red fin was sticking out of his mouth and I reached over to bite it off. He nibbled on my lower lip, and for that brief second I forgot where we were. When Becca cleared her throat, I pulled back and found her leaning over the couch, holding out the bag of candy.

"Should Penn and Kinsley switch? You guys can't have sex while the movie is on,"

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she joked. All at once Penn, Liam, and I shouted, “No!”

Becca laughed and shook her head before turning back around to cuddle next to Penn. When the movie started playing, we all made a good faith effort to actually watch it, but not even ten minutes in, Liam held out a bag of Peanut M&Ms in front of my face. I eyed him warily. Chances were if I reached for them, he'd gnaw my hand off.

"More

than

Peanut

M&Ms,"

he

whispered, and it took me a moment to realize what he meant. When it clicked, I bit down on my bottom lip to try and conceal the cheesy grin fighting to break free. I took the bag, leaned into the crook of his shoulder, and one at time, we ate the entire thing.

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Don't judge, it was a small bag.

Sometime during the movie I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up the lights were off and I had to pee like a race-horse. I was lying horizontally on the couch with a pillow tucked under my head that hadn't been there before. Liam was tucked behind me with his arm wrapped around my waist. I could hardly breathe, let alone move, with his grip wrapped securely around me. I gently peeled his arm off and then shuffled in the dark until I found the door.

When I came back from the bathroom, I peeked over the front couch to find Becca and Penn cuddled in the same position Liam and I had just been in, and I couldn't help but smile. I would have snapped a picture of them if I could have done it without waking 586/890

everyone up and looking like an intense creeper. They looked so perfect together and Becca was sleeping with this tiny smile on her face. It was pretty hilarious, but still adorable.

I tried my best not to wake Liam when I crawled back onto the couch, but I could feel my heart racing beneath my shirt. I lifted the blanket and slid down next to him so that my face was pressed against his chest. I took a deep breath and inhaled a whiff of his deodorant and body wash, letting my eyes flutter closed.

"Where'd you go?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around me. I hadn't realized he was awake.

"Went to look at your baby pictures and tax returns."

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"I thought you were ditching me."

"Not after you shared your candy with me." I smiled against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me tighter.

"I really like you... you should be my girlfriend."

My body stilled against his chest. Was he really asking me that or was he talking in his sleep? Maybe he'd never actually woken up and I was talking to his subconscious.

I played along as if he was actually asking me.

"It's late and asking me to be your girlfriend makes me feel like we're in high school."

He chuckled softly and bent to kiss the edge of my mouth. "Go steady with me. Be 588/890

my date to an event I have to make an appearance at next week."

"Yes."

"Was that a 'yes' to being my girlfriend or a ‘yes’ to being my date?" he whispered.

"To both. Now let me sleep, you fool, before I change my mind."

He laughed and I snuggled closer to him until I felt warm and cozy enough to drift back to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

I woke up the next morning to the smell and sounds of crackling bacon. I rolled off the couch, wrapped myself up in the soft blanket, and then peered over to find Becca still asleep with no sign of either Liam or Penn. They must have been the source of the bacon smell.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead," I said, yanking off her blanket. She groaned and started spouting out some very colorful names, one of which was something like: Wheat-Thinned Slut Monkey. I’m sorry, but what does that even mean?

"Is that any way to talk to your bestie?" I laughed as she tried to pull the blanket from around me.

"This is mine! Get your own!"

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"Kinsley! Becca! C'mon, breakfast is ready!" Penn called out. We sprang into action and raced to the kitchen, slipping and sliding in our blankets and socks. I almost wiped out when we rounded the corner to the kitchen and Becca couldn't stop laughing for five solid minutes.

Liam quirked his eyebrow at us. "I thought I got you Becca-proofing supplies."

I held up my leg and arm, which were both sporting bruises courtesy of my best friend aka spawn of Satan. "I keep forgetting to wear them. Maybe we should just wrap Becca up in bubble wrap. She packs a lot of punch for a small package."

The boys laughed. "I veto the bubble wrap," Penn joked.

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I waggled my eyebrows as I stepped up to inspect the meal they'd cooked. "You’ll re-think your decision after she karate chops you in the stomach."

Becca bonked me on the arm as a warning.

"I hope you guys like bacon and waffles."

My eyes lit up. "Waffle for me please!" I grinned and took a seat at the table. Becca followed suit.

"What, we cooked it and we have to serve you?" Liam teased, already preparing a waffle on a plate. I shot him my best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, please. Turn those off. They don't affect me." Yeah right, in two seconds flat I had a waffle, orange juice, coffee, and maple syrup placed in front of me.

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I winked up at him. "We'll do the dishes."

We spent most of Sunday lazing around on the beach. Liam rubbed sun block into my skin, taking extra time to get every surface he could find. I smiled over my shoulder at him and he bent forward to kiss me.

"Do you remember our conversation last night?" he asked.

"The one about the relationship status?"

I asked, biting my lip and looking back out toward the ocean.

"Mhm. Just wanted to make sure you were conscious of what you were agreeing to."

I laughed and admitted I'd worried about the same thing. "So you're my boyfriend? Liam Wilder is my boyfriend?"

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He chuckled. "Well I don't refer to myself in the third person, but yes, Liam Wilder is your boyfriend and... he's a lucky guy." He ran his hand beneath the strings of my bikini and I feared he would untie them as quickly as he had the night before. I slapped his hand away playfully.

After that conversation was over, I felt much less stressed about the situation. Being around him was easy and fun. Sure, when he pulled out a soccer ball and the four of us were playing around I could hardly concentrate from the way he looked in his swim trunks, but maybe I'd get used to that eventually. A few times I caught him watching me in the same manner and I had to stifle a laugh.

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All four of us tried to prolong the day as long as we could. I was loading my plate in the dishwasher after dinner when Liam wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled my ear. "You don't have to go home.

You can stay and I'll take you to practice tomorrow."

God, that was tempting. The feel of his arms around me blocked out most of my functioning brain cells, but I still had enough sense to shake my head. Liam was a force of nature in my life. If I let him, he'd breeze in and turn everything upside down until all that was left standing were my feelings for him. I had to put some healthy distance between us, just for a night.

I spun around in his arms and wrapped my hands around his neck. When I popped 595/890

up onto my tiptoes, I was almost level with his face. "I should go home and call my parents… check my email, you know, wrap my head around what normal life is like again."

He chuckled, "This could be normal life."

I shivered at his insinuation. "Don't try and convince me. My desire to leave is already dwindling."

“Sounds like I should keep trying to convince you then." He dipped his head and kissed my neck. My eyes fluttered closed and I let out a small sigh.

Then I snapped back to reality. "Nope.

No. No. Liam!" I pushed away from him and he held up his hands, trying to contain his laughter.

"You play dirty! Becca, let's go!"

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She felt the exact same way I did, which is why we all but sprinted from the house, waving goodbye to the boys and not letting them get near us. We hopped into my car and I locked the doors behind us just for good measure. The second we were inside and safe from our hormones, we started cracking up.

"Those boys are dangerous," I accused as I started my car and backed up out of the driveway.

"Good thing you were there for moral support or I wouldn't have left. Penn probably would have had to kick me out three weeks from now when I’d barricaded myself in his room."

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I laughed. "I just can't believe how fast everything is happening. Liam asked me to be his girlfriend last night."

Becca spun to face me in her seat.

"What?! When?"

I bit my lip and tried to focus on the road ahead of me. "Well, sort of in the middle of the night, but then he confirmed it again this morning on the beach."

I could see her gaping from the corner of my eye. "What did you say?"

"Yes! Of course. Do you think I’m insane?"

"Yes, a little bit. But, that’s unrelated to this situation. Wow, he’s such a catch.” She nodded as if imagining him for a moment.

"What about you and Penn?" I asked.

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Becca narrowed her eyes and stared out the front window. "I'm not sure yet. He just got out of that relationship and he's told me he wants to take things really slow. I don't think he wants to disrespect his ex by jumping into a new relationship so soon."

"I guess that makes sense. How long ago did they break up?"

"A little over a month."

"Hmm..." Honestly, I wasn't sure what the rule was on the appropriate amount of time between relationships. I guess it depends on how long they were together and the way they broke up.

"I think it's obvious that he has serious feelings about you, you guys were practically attached at the hip today. Just hang in there 599/890

and I'll try to get info from Liam if you need it."

Becca smiled. "Yeah, I'm trying to just go with the flow, but I'm not very good at it. I think my body’s too stiff.”

…

Monday morning, Coach Davis sat everyone down and explained that Tara was no longer a member of the ULA team. We voted for the new captains right away, opting to bump Sofie up and then replace her spot with a junior that everyone loved. I expected more commotion about Tara's leaving, but as soon as Coach Davis said the announcement, it was almost as if you could hear an audible sigh pass through the group.

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After practice I was heading into the locker room when Sofie caught up to me.

"Hey, could we talk for a second?" she asked. Her eyes were fleeting from me, to the ground, then back again, and she was fidget-ing with her hands.

"Sure. Of course," I said, preparing myself for the worst. At certain moments during the past few weeks, Sofie was just as bad as Tara, but now that her leader was gone, it was as if Sofie almost seemed shy.

"I

just

wanted

to

apologize

for

everything. Tara and I were really out of line, and while we both should have probably been kicked off the squad, I realize now that I was given a second chance and I won't blow it. I should have never treated you like I did and there's really no excuse..."

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I put my hand on her arm.

"No worries. Let's forget the past few weeks ever happened and we'll just move on.

Sound good?"

Relief flashed across her face. "Thanks, Kinsley." To my surprise she reached forward and gave me a tight hug. It was awkward. So very awkward. I patted her back and then kind of squirmed out of her hold eventually.

Throughout the rest of the week I tried to stay in the moment. At soccer, I focused on soccer. Coach Davis pushed us hard and it felt good to keep my mind occupied on something other than Liam.

We had a scrimmage scheduled against another area college the following week, so we were gearing up for that. I was nervous 602/890

just thinking about it, but Coach Davis assured me I would be starting in the game.

Unfortunately, that only made me more nervous. It would technically be my first college game and I wanted to impress everyone that was expecting me to excel. No, I wanted to exceed everyone’s expectations of me. I wanted them to say, “I thought she’d be good, but that girl is on fire.” They’d have no choice but to compare me to Katniss.

On Thursday, we were huddled up and Coach Davis was filling us in on last minute things before practice ended.

"Don't forget that this Saturday we'll be going as a team to watch the LA Stars play.

This will be a good learning experience for all of you that are coming off of high school teams. The level at which these professional 603/890

athletes compete will give you a taste of what we need to aim for during our practices and games. I won't make everyone ride together, just meet outside the stadium at 5:45 P.M.

Wear your black ULA shirts and jeans."

With everything else going on, I’d forgotten about going to watch Liam play.

"You're going to get to see your boyfriend play in a professional soccer game,"

Emily teased as we drove home. We'd filled Emily in on most everything that had happened over the weekend when we got back Sunday night. She had her mouth hanging open for most of the explanation, but by now I think it was starting to sink in.

"Penn will be there, too," I pointed out.

Even though they hadn't made it official, Penn and Becca talked every day, just like 604/890

Liam and I did, so they were technically together. Labels be damned.

"Doesn't count!" Becca clarified from the backseat.

"Um, yes, it definitely counts," I corrected.

“So Kinsley and I will go to that industry event with the guys on Friday, and then I can drive the three of us to the game on Saturday," Becca offered.

"Sounds bueno," I quipped.

"Mmm, that reminds me... let’s go get tacos for dinner!" Becca exclaimed. Emily and I agreed on principle alone. You don't turn down tacos in LA.