Page 14 of Knox (Comeback Duet #2)
CREW
Knox stretched out on the couch beside me, his hair still damp from the shower we’d taken after messing around.
I hadn’t bothered with much more than a pair of sweats and a clean tee.
My shoulders felt better than they had all week, the last of that stubborn pull finally gone.
Whether it was from his massage, the sex, or the hot shower, I wasn’t sure.
Hell, it might have been all three things.
I picked up my phone from the coffee table and checked the time. It was around six in Portland, so Grady was probably done with dinner by now, either still at the table or already tearing through the living room, keeping Archer, Mallory, and even Debra on their toes.
The video call rang twice before Mallory picked up.
She sat at the dining table with her hair twisted up into a messy bun.
She looked tired, but healthier than weeks ago.
No trace of the bruises that used to mark her face showed, and the cast on her arm was gone.
Archer was in the background at the kitchen counter, drying dishes with his head bent.
“Hi!” Mallory answered.
“Hey,” I greeted.
She smiled and leaned over so Grady was on the screen too. “We just finished up dinner, and Grady tried to talk me into a giant bowl of ice cream, but I only gave him one scoop.”
“Daddy, it was so tiny,” my son whined.
“One’s plenty, bud,” I told him, fighting a grin. “Gotta save the big bowls for when I’m home.”
“That’s gonna be forever.” His shoulders slumped, but before I could tell him there were only a few more weeks left of spring training, he asked, “Is Knox there with you?”
“Right here, G.” My boyfriend bent over so Grady could see him.
Grady’s face lit up. “Knox, guess what? I hit the ball way past Archer today. Almost to the bushes.”
A smile tugged at Knox’s mouth. “Look at you. Hitting it farther every day.”
Mallory nudged Grady. “Tell them what else you did.”
Grady rolled his eyes. “I ate my broccoli. Even the little ones.”
“That’s my guy,” I praised. “Gotta keep your muscles strong.”
“He’s right,” Archer called out. “And eat your spinach so you get strong.”
“I don’t like spinach.” Grady pouted, then took a jab at Archer. “Maybe you need more spinach since I almost made you fall over when I threw the ball to you.”
“That true, Arch?” Knox asked. “Or you just milking it for the insurance claim?”
He laughed and came up behind Mallory and Grady so we could see him on the screen. “Hey, kid’s got a cannon. One of these days he’s going to knock me flat on my booty, and I’m cashing in.”
Mallory shook her head. “He’s only four.”
“Yeah, four going on being a big-leaguer soon,” Archer shot back, drying his hands on a dish towel.
Grady giggled like it was the best thing he’d heard all night. “Just like my daddy!”
The words hit hard, leaving me both proud and hollow. He still saw me that way, even with me over a thousand miles away. Watching through a screen gave me a glimpse, but it wasn’t the same as being there, living it with him.
Mallory nudged Grady. “All right, monkey. Time to say goodnight so Archer can help you get cleaned up.”
“Night, Daddy. Night, Knox. I love you.”
“Love you too, bud,” I said.
“Love you, G,” Knox added.
Mallory turned back to the phone. “By the way, I talked my mom into going home tomorrow. She’s in the guest room packing right now.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for her to leave?” I inquired.
“Absolutely. Plus, Archer helps a lot, and she can’t stay here forever.”
“I’m sure she’d love that.” Knox chuckled.
He and Debra didn’t have a good relationship.
I wasn’t sure why she didn’t like him that much, but it was clear she didn’t by the way she acted toward him.
I had to think it was because she believed Mallory and I should get back together now that I knew about Grady.
The call ended, and I set my phone down on the coffee table. “Feels like he’s got more of a life without me than with me,” I muttered after a bit.
Knox squeezed my thigh. “He’s got a life full of people who love him. And no matter what, you’ll always have a place in it that’s just yours.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “But just a few more weeks before I get to hug him.”
“It’ll be here before you know it.”
Knox was pulling a pan of bacon out of the oven as I walked into the kitchen. It smelled good and my stomach growled. Damn, I loved that my man was willing to cook for us.
“Morning,” I told him, and kissed his lips quickly.
“Morning.” Knox set the pan down on the stove. “Omelet?”
“You know the answer.” I grinned and then poured coffee into a mug.
He walked over to the fridge and got the eggs and the creamer for me. He handed me the bottle of vanilla goodness. “So, I’ve been thinking.”
That got my attention. “Is this good or bad?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“Oh god. Just tell me.”
He chuckled slightly and removed two eggs from the carton. “I’ve been thinking about how many kids figure they gotta choose between who they are and the game.”
I tilted my head and raised a brow. “Okay?”
“The other day, that kid Max said it was because of us that he realized he didn’t need to choose between baseball and being gay.”
“Right. That made me feel good when I heard him say that.”
“Me too.” He abandoned the eggs and grabbed his phone off the counter.
“I was thinking we could start a profile on The Loop. Just us. You know, making breakfast, heading to the cages, getting drinks with the guys. Let people see that they don’t have to give up one thing to have the other, and we’re still just Crew and Knox. ”
I took a slow sip of coffee, my eyes on him over the rim. The Loop was a video app where people posted short clips and shared them with followers. “You want people in our day-to-day lives?”
“Maybe not everything .” He smirked, and I shook my head with a chuckle at his innuendo. “But if there’s another kid like Max out there, I want him to see that we’re just normal people. I want him to know it’s this simple. That he doesn’t have to hide.”
I thought it over for a second. I wasn’t worried about people knowing who we were anymore.
We’d already confirmed our relationship with our posts.
This was more about opening up the rest of our life.
Letting people see all the parts that didn’t fit into a headline.
The easy stuff. The boring stuff. The stuff that made us real and just like everyone else.
I set the mug down. “All right. Let’s do it, but I’m sure it will be boring for people.”
Relief eased across his face, and he pulled me in by the front of my tee, pressing his forehead to mine for a second before his mouth found my lips. When he pulled back, he grinned. “Thank you, and you get to be the star of our boring Loop account.”
“Your idea. You’re the star.”
He hit something on the screen and then spoke as the phone was pointed at his face.
“What’s up, everyone! For those that don’t know me, I’m Knox Singleton, the best first baseman the Portland Seawolves have ever had!
” I snorted a little laugh, and he continued.
“And this is my boyfriend, the best catcher in all of the MLB, Crew Stratton.” I nodded my head in greeting, and he went on.
“Crew, tell the Loop peeps what we’re doing. ”
I shook my head, but couldn’t stop my mouth from tugging up. “Making breakfast, and trying to keep you from burning down the place.”
“Nah. I’m a better cook than that,” Knox said back into the view of his video.
“But let’s be real for a second. A few weeks ago, you might have seen a video floating around that currently has over two million views.
So, we think you guys might be ready to see how we live, and we’re gonna show what life looks like for us.
Do I dare say the good, the bad, and the ugly? ”
“There’s nothing ugly about you, baby.” I moved behind him so both of us were on the screen and then kissed his cheek.
“Hey now, don’t get me all worked up or we will burn down the kitchen.”
We both laughed, and then he spoke again.
“All right, my man is hungry, so I’d better go finish breakfast, but follow us if you want to get some insight on our day-to-day.
Peace.” He threw up the peace sign and then pushed stop.
After putting in a caption and hashtags that read: Baseball, breakfast, and the best kind of boring.
#Seawolves #JustUs #LoveIsLove he set the phone on the counter, but it didn’t take long before his cell started blowing up with notifications.
I glanced at the screen and saw comments, likes, and a lot of heart emojis.
If showing the real parts of us meant another person in the LGBTQ+ community didn’t have to wonder if they could have the same thing as us, then yeah, it was worth it.