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Chapter Eighteen

RAELYN

“So have you ever seen a baseball game before?” Phoenix asks me.

She is absolutely beautiful. Her fiery red hair cascades down her back, her eyes just as red as her hair.

She wears a black leather dress that looks professional yet badass.

The sleeveless leather hugs her softly, not too tight, but enough to show her curves.

The dress flares at the bottom coming at mid-thigh, and she pairs the dress with some sleek black combat boots.

Phoenix takes a seat next to me on the couch but leaves space between us. My tongue darts out and licks my dry lips. My leg bounces up and down, and my hands wring in my lap.

“Please, don’t be scared. I promise, you are safe here.” Her voice is soft and calm.

“Thanks.” I reach for the water and take a sip.

“I’ve known Drew since I was eighteen. He saved me when I didn’t even know who I could trust. He was always there for me. Even in the darkest moments, he tried to protect me. So when I say you’re safe, I mean it.” She places a hand out between us, but doesn’t touch me.

I nod. “He’s been great, actually. And no.”

“No?” She furrows her brows.

I hesitate before speaking. “I haven’t been to a baseball game before. Or at least, I don’t think I have. My memory is still missing things.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Those memories will come back in time. Don’t stress yourself out over it. That won’t help.”

“I know. It’s just an odd feeling,” I offer honestly.

“What is odd?”

“That I feel like the truth is right there. The memories are sitting right there. But there is this mirror in my head, and all I am doing is staring back at myself right now at this moment. I can’t see through the mirror to the other side. Where I know my memories are.”

Phoenix hums. “I wish I could offer more help. I really do. But what I can offer you is a chance to stop staring at the person in the mirror and experiencing the outside world for a bit. Like getting to go see Drew play baseball.”

“I don’t know anything about the game. I think. I really don’t know if I have ever been to one.” I frown.

“Well, there’s no better time to see one than now! The Mavericks are number one right now, and Drew is on fire. Come on.” She stands up. “My husbands and I have a box for just us. We can watch the game in comfort.”

My eyes widen at her words. Husbands? As in… more than one? How does that even work?

“Let’s go head up there now. I think the guys are there already. I can introduce you if you’re comfortable with that.” Phoenix stands up from the couch and grabs her phone off the desk, then saunters over toward the doors and looks back.

Slowly, I rise up from the couch and take small steps to where she stands. “Sorry. I’m just having a lot of trouble with all this new stuff.”

Her lips turn down. “I get it. You don’t know who to trust, who has your best interests. Who you can even let in to get to know you. One day, when you’re ready, I can tell you my story.”

“I… I think I would like that,” I admit.

“Good.” She smiles at me as she leads me out of her office. We wind around and walk through the back parts of the stadium.

When we finally reach a set of doors, two security guards stand on either side. They open the doors as she approaches.

“Jerry, Mike, this here is Raelyn. She is with the team and me, specifically Drew Spencer. Please see to it that she has access to anything she wants,” Phoenix tells them without skipping a beat.

“You got it, ma’am,” they both say at the same time.

We walk through the doors, and I see three guys laughing and standing by the window, and holy hell. If those are her husbands…

“Raelyn, this here is Daxon, Mason, and Colton. My husbands,” she introduces me to the men standing before me, and I am left speechless. They are all sexy as fuck.

Whatever mold they were cut from, they need to make more.

The one she calls Daxon is the first to reach me and extend a hand. My eyes widen at the size of his hand. Don’t they say something about the size of a man’s hand in correlation with the size of his peen?

My head turns toward Phoenix, and I am now trying to do sex math and wonder how she is still walking among the living.

Holy shit. Why am I thinking about Phoenix and her husbands’ sex life?

Ew. Stop it, Rae.

Daxon’s hair is black as night. His green eyes pop in contrast to the dark color. He is well over six feet tall, and his arms look like they are ready to Hulk out of his shirt.

“Hey there, Raelyn.” The tall blond one she called Mason stands in front of me, offering me a smile that would melt an iceberg. He extends a hand, and I take it. He covers mine with his other one and winks at me.

So, he’s hot as sin itself and a flirt.

Gigantor behind him comes over, or as his parents named him, Colton.

He looks all brooding and sulky. He kinda reminds me of Tristan.

He doesn’t extend a hand, instead just offering me a nod.

His glasses give him a sexy but nerdy look, and his size gives him a “I will crush you with my pinky” feel.

His eyes are a beautiful hazel, his brown hair styled so perfectly, it gives perfectionist feels.

I nod and try to offer a smile, but I am sure that my face looks horrifying as my mind tries to understand how this works. Literally, my brain is trying to understand how it is possible to be married to three very sexy, very strong men.

Do they have a sex schedule? Do they share a bed? My eyes widen for a moment. Do they have sex all at the same time?

Why are you still thinking about their sex life, Rae?

“This is a lot, I know,” Phoenix says to me, knocking me from my thoughts. Mason and Daxon offer me a smile, while Colton stares at me, like he is watching how I react to things.

“I, uh, I’m just overwhelmed with everything right now,” I say quietly.

“I completely understand. Just relax here and enjoy the game. I will make sure to take you into the locker room to see Drew after the game.” Phoenix gestures toward the couch-like seats in front of the window.

“Um, are you leaving?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “Nope. I am going to sit with you and help you experience your first baseball game. And I promise I will explain how the whole three husband thing works.” She winks at me. The three hunks of man meat smile at the response.

I scramble to put together a sentence. “How… wait… I…”

She chuckles. “Your surprised look gave it away. It’s totally okay. The guys and I are very open and don’t hide away from our love.”

I nod, and she leads me toward the couch at the front of the giant window that looks out over the stadium and field.

I can see players on the field warming up. The Mavericks throw the ball around in their white uniforms with the black numbering and letters. Inside the box, televisions broadcast the field, and you can hear the announcers through it talking about the line up and the record of each team.

The three guys stand by what looks like a small buffet of food off to the side of the box. The walls are painted black with the team logo in red. An outline of a horse is drawn in. There are white shadows around the red to pop the logo.

Music booms from outside all around the stadium as people start to fill the seats. People can be seen dancing to the music, waving their blow-up baseball bats. Kids and some adults have baseball gloves with them, and I turn to Phoenix.

“Why do some people have their gloves with them in the stands?”

“Oh! Well, sometimes players will hit what’s called a foul ball, and it will go off into the stands.” She points to the bleachers out in the distance. “The people sitting out there, behind what’s called the outfield, hope to catch a home run ball.”

“Home run?” I crinkle my nose.

“Oh, Raelyn, I’ve got so much to teach you!

Drew needs to just bring you to every game so we can hang.

I will get you to be a baseball pro in no time.

” She gives me a genuine smile. “A home run is when they hit it over that wall in the outfield. Then they can run all the bases, and when they get back to home plate, they get a run, or they score I should say. Sometimes there can be other players on the bases, and they all run in to score too. And if we’re really lucky, the bases are loaded when a home run is hit, and that is called a grand slam. ”

“That’s… a lot,” I admit, trying to piece it all together.

Phoenix laughs and nods. “There will be a pop quiz later.”

A laugh bubbles up from my throat, and suddenly, I feel more relaxed than I have in quite a while. Actually, that’s not true. I have felt this relaxed around Drew and the guys, too. Well, everyone except Cameron.

Sometime later, much later, the game ends, and I am in complete awe. It was fucking amazing. The Mavericks won, destroying some team called the Ducks or the Bucks? I have no idea. But either way, we destroyed them. And Drew killed it with his pitching, according to Phoenix.

Her husbands were pretty nice, too. They kept their distance, letting Phoenix and me talk and knowing I may be a bit uncomfortable with all the newness. And I am. So I appreciated them for that.

We make our way to the locker room, and I hesitate for a moment. Phoenix feels the hesitation and pulls me off to the side.

“Hey, you okay?” she asks softly.

“Yeah. I just, I don’t know. Something feels off, or weird. My head is messing with me.” I hesitate. “I may just be scared to go into a locker room with all of them.”

“Well, they aren’t running around naked right now, so all should be good. Coach will usually have a wrap up, and I come down to talk to the team to let them know how amazing they did. Then they do all the showers and stuff,” she reassures me.

I nod, and she leads me into the locker room.

The noise instantly assaults my ears, along with the sweaty man smell that attacks my nose. I crinkle my face and wonder how anyone can stand here for too long.

We walk further in, and I spot Drew. He gives me a big smile and waves both Phoenix and me over. Then he leans in and gives Phoenix a hug, whispering something in her ear.

“Hey, Rae. Did you get to watch the game?” Kayce appears from somewhere, and I turn to find him shirtless and sweaty.

My mouth instantly dries and drops open. And zero words form. And all Kayce does is laugh and wink at me. I can feel my face instantly heat up.

“Anderson, put some fucking clothes on.” My head snaps to Cameron, who scowls between me and Kayce. I swear I have no idea what his problem is with me, but he seems to hate me more than anything.

“Hey,” Drews voice pulls me back from the scowling asshole. “How was watching the game?”

“Uh, it was pretty awesome. I mean, I didn’t get most of what was going on, but it was fun to watch. You won, so that’s a good thing,” I admit.

“They were easy to beat,” Cameron grunts.

Suddenly, I feel eyes on me. A chill runs down my spine, and I turn my gaze towards a pair of piercing blue irises.

Tristan.

He studies me, not moving his eyes off me. I don’t understand him. He’s so quiet yet always there in your presence. I always just feel him around me; I get goosebumps along my skin, a shiver, and my heart races. His presence consumes my senses.

“Well, easy or not, we played hard and crushed them,” Drew adds as he pulls his shirt off.

And holy smokes, I realize I am in a room with men made of perfection. Drew’s abs are so well defined. His arms, fuck me, his arms are big and muscular. There is an urge to reach over and just touch them.

But I don’t. Because that would be weird.

“You all did amazing. And I had fun teaching Raelyn the ins and outs of baseball.”

Drew smiles at me. “Good. So now you can start coming to more games and cheering us on. We could use a good luck charm.”

“Then we should leave her at home,” Cameron mutters.

“Davis, I will make you take a line drive to the nuts if you don’t cut the asshole behavior out.” Phoenix narrows her eyes at him.

“Stop getting on Mom’s last nerve, Davis,” Kayce laughs.

Phoenix takes two steps over to him and slaps him on the back of his head.

“Cut it out, Anderson.” Phoenix purses her lips. Then she walks over to the center of the logo and clears her throat.

I watch Phoenix stand there, tall, strong, confident. She talks to the team, congratulating them for their win, all their successes together. She looks fearless.

And I wish I was like her.

But I’m not. I’m scared, unsure, and all I want to do is hide. Being here, being around people, makes my skin crawl. Everyone stares at me, judges me. And I don’t know what they want from me.

The only thing I am sure about is that I need to find my way home.

Wherever that may be.