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We need to talk.

I have no idea what Griffin’s schedule is like. Does he do baseball training stuff in the evenings or only during the daytime hours? Or could he be out with his teammates or friends? Is the offseason their time to live it up? It’s possible he may not even text me back until tomorrow.

My phone starts ringing in my hand, causing me to jump. I fight a smile when I see Griffin’s name lighting up the screen.

“I expected you to just text back,” I say, unable to keep the smile out of my voice.

“Nope. I need to hear your voice when you either give me wings or crush my dreams,” Griffin says with a lighthearted tone.

I laugh. “That seems a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Maybe so,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Or maybe it’s exactly accurate. So, what’s it gonna be? Am I getting celebratory or self-pity ice cream tonight?”

His playfulness serves to bolster my confidence in my decision.

“Yes. I’ll go on a date with you.”

Chapter fourteen

Griffin

“You’ve got a little extra oomph in your twist today,” Adrian says. “Did you finally get some good news?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows.

I glare at him and throw the medicine ball across my body at the wall again before acknowledging his question. “Possibly,” I evade, although I’m sure the smile I’m fighting is confirmation enough.

The smile that hasn’t left my face since I talked to Danae last night. Five days of sweating over her silence made her affirmative answer that much sweeter when it finally came. Honestly, I haven’t really had to wonder whether the women I’ve asked out in the past would say yes or not. Sure, I questioned whether they were genuinely interested inmebut never whether they would say yes to a date. For a couple of days there, I was convinced that Danae was going to turn me down.

So, yes, I’ve got a little extra oomph in my twist today.

Before I can pass the medicine ball to him, Adrian annoyingly pats my cheek. “She really agreed to go out with your ugly face?”

I shove him away. “Yes, she did. We’re going out Saturday night.”

Adrian hollers in celebration, drawing the attention of the rest of the guys in the weight room. Our infield players make up a pretty tight-knit group of friends, so everyone came to work out today. Drew Sheffield, our first baseman, Luke Powers at second, and our catcher, Carlos Diaz, all make their way over to Adrian and me.

“What’s the cheering about? Did West finally manage more than three medicine ball throws in a row?” Luke teases.

I shoot him a look. “Very funny. You know I kept up with you the second the training staff cleared my shoulder.”

“Just kidding, man,” he says, fake jabbing my ribs. “We’re all glad you’re back for the start of the season. For real, though—what’s the cheering about?”

Adrian grins impishly at me, and pretty soon Drew catches on and points one finger at Adrian’s smile and one finger at me. “Ooo, this has to be about a woman! West, you sly dog, what aren’t you telling us? Is Lily gonna have a new WAG to assimilate?”

Drew’s wife, Lily, is the self-appointed welcome committee for any wives and girlfriends of Crowns players. And the ongoing social chair for the group. She’s grounded, easy-going, and friendly, so Lily’s exactly who I’d want to welcome Danae to the WAG club. But I’m getting way ahead of myself, probably due to the overreactive enthusiasm happening all around me.

Their pestering increases in volume and exuberance until I finally yell at them. “Shut your loud mouths if you want me to tell you.” They decrease the volume but continue their laughing and teasing. “I have a date this Saturday that I’m excited about. That’s all.”

“You’re not usually so evasive about going on dates. What makes this one special?” Carlos asks. He rests his chin against his fists and exaggeratedly bats his eyelashes. “Tell us about her.”

I smack the back of his head slightly harder than necessary. “Stop it, dummy.” They continue snickering andnotreturning to their workouts, so I decide to get this over with. “Her name is Danae. I met her through Camp Wizard a couple of weeks ago.”

Quickly filling them in with sparse details, I give enough information to get them off my back without sharing too much about Danae. She seems like more of a private person, and protecting Jason’s story is definitely something that would be important to her. So I’m quick to shut down further questions and shove everyone back to their weight machines.

“You’re fired as my friend,” I mutter to Adrian, who merely cackles.

“Whatever, man,” he says. “You could never live without me. Let’s hit those throws. You've gotta keep that bod in shape for your lady.”

“She’s notmylady,” I correct with a roll of my eyes.