Page 51

fifty

Knox

Yesterday was eye-opening for me.

I learned that not only do I care about Harlow, but that I care about her more than I’ve ever cared about anyone .

That helped me realize why I panicked when she asked if I thought this was still fake.

It’s because I wasn’t ready to face the truth; doing that meant allowing myself to be completely open. I wouldn’t have been able to hide anymore, and that scared the shit out of me.

Spending the past month with her reminded me of why I fell for her in the first place.

Past tense because I’ve fallen so fucking hard for her.

I don’t want anyone else.

I just want her .

Yesterday, I finally realized what word describes how I’m feeling, and I smiled like a goddamn fool.

I didn’t tell her then, but the word is still on the tip of my tongue, waiting to escape at the right moment.

All this means that I’m done denying everything. I’m done pretending this isn’t the most real thing I’ve ever felt with somebody.

I’ve already let Harlow go once. I won’t make the same mistake twice.

“Good morning, baby,” I say, walking up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist. “How’d you sleep?”

She leans into my touch, molding her body against mine. “Great. Your bed is so much more comfortable than mine.”

“Are you sure it’s the bed? I thought maybe it was me.”

She repositions herself, turning around with her body still pressed against mine as she leans back against the kitchen counter. “Maybe it was you.”

“What have I told you before about maybe, Harlow?” My voice comes out husky and needy.

I catch her gaze and see a fire burning red hot in her eyes. “That I need to use my words, right?” Her voice is dripping with desire.

It’s taking all of my damn willpower to not just bend her over the counter and fuck her again. To hear those moans I’ve been craving for the past month.

Thank fuck now is when Cole knocks on the door.

“Who’s here?” she asks, snapping her attention to the door as I walk over it.

“Cole,” I reply. “It’s Wednesday morning, Lo.”

I open the door, and Cole bursts inside. “Good morning to my two favorite people.”

I cock an eyebrow. “I’m one of your two favorite people? I thought your two favorite people would be Lo and Ro-”

“Be quiet, will you?” Cole groans. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

“You know I know already, right?” She tries to hide her smile. “I’m well aware that you’re in love with my best friend.”

Cole’s eyes go wide. “What?! No, I’m definitely not.” He crosses the room to set a bag of food down on the counter, coming to stand by Harlow.

“Oh, please,” she says derisively. “You’re not that subtle, Cole.”

“Goddammit,” he mutters, scrubbing his hand over his face. “How did you figure that out, Lo?”

“I’ll admit I was oblivious until the All-Star Break. That’s when Lucia pointed it out to me, and I finally put the pieces together.”

“Fuck.” Cole groans before trying to compose himself. “So, Lucia knows, too. Fucking perfect.”

“No one is saying anything to her, man,” I say as I join them at the counter. “That wouldn’t serve a point since Rory’s off-limits anyway.”

“Which is why my place will be permanently in the friend zone.”

“Friends make the best lovers, though,” Harlow teases.

“Not if I want to keep my fucking job.” Cole sighs. “Enough of this, please. I’d rather not think about that.”

“Alright,” I say, stepping away from the counter. “I’ll let you two be. I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”

“You’re not joining us?” she asks.

“This is a thing between you and your brother. I’m not going to intrude on that. You guys eat, and I’ll join you after that.”

Harlow flashes me a sweet smile as I walk away.

And that word gets a little bit closer to escaping.

“I’ll find you before the game,” I say as I wrap Harlow in a hug. I hear Cole snickering beside me, but I’m ignoring that for now. “On the field, though. I’m going to do some extra stretches before the game so I can make sure my leg is loosened up.”

“Alright.” She snuggles her head up against my chest. “I’ll talk to you then, Slick.”

I press a kiss on her forehead. “See you later, Freckles.”

Harlow says her goodbyes to Cole before she walks out the door. She wants to work on her blog before she gets ready for the day, and Cole and I need to get to the field soon anyway.

As I shut the door behind her, I turn around to see Cole with a big ass smirk on his face. “What’s that face for, Pierce?”

“Like you don’t fucking know.” He laughs, and I groan. “Come on, man. When are you going to stop lying to yourself?”

I sigh. “Soon.”

“How soon is soon?” Cole asks, eyeing me. “Because I think it’s obvious to everyone that you’re in lo-”

“I know,” I reply, cutting him off. “I know,” I say again, smiling this time. “I know I am.”

“Damn,” Cole remarks. “You actually are.”

“Yeah. I finally realized that yesterday. We walked on the greenway after lunch and ran into Simon. Everything just clicked into place then.”

“I can confidently say that this isn’t how I expected this season to go,” he admits. “I did think you’d become friends, but I don’t think I ever truly thought you’d be something more.”

“Neither did I,” I reply honestly. “But I’m glad everything happened the way it did. This is the first time I’ve actually felt happy in seven damn years.”

“And you finally realize that my sister isn’t Emily?”

After my injury, I talked to both Cole and Josh about Emily, adding them to the list of Harlow and Lane who know the story. That helped them better understand why things happened the way they did. They could see why I was freaking out.

I didn’t open up about that time until Harlow, but now that she and the guys know, it’s like a weight was lifted off me. I’ve kept my feelings about the situation with Emily to myself. Now, I have friends in my corner. I don’t have to shoulder all of this alone.

“Yes,” I say emphatically. “I know she isn’t Emily. I think my head finally got on board with that.”

“So, you’re going to talk to her when? This whole ‘will they, won’t they’ shit is exhausting.”

“Fuck off,” I laugh. “But I’m over it, too. I’m going to talk to her tonight.”

Some extra stretching today after practice does wonders. I meet up with Lucia and work to make sure I’m ready to start tonight. It’s my first start in a month and the first since I’ve been injured. The last thing I want is a showing like last time.

Once I suit up for the game, I throw on my Stars baseball cap and head toward the field with the team. As soon as I’m out of the tunnel, I make a beeline straight to the seats I secured for Harlow and her parents tonight, right by the dugout. Cole, Lane, and Josh seem to take note of that, but I pay them no mind.

“Hey there,” I say, walking up to the railing she’s now standing behind. I smile at her before turning to her parents. “Good to see you again, Vivian and James. Hopefully, I won’t disappoint tonight.”

“We’re just happy to be here, Knox,” Vivian says.

“As long as you don’t pitch like your last game,” James adds, “you shouldn’t be a disappointment.”

“Dad!” Harlow shouts, turning to him as James and I both laugh. “Please ignore him, Knox,” she says in exasperation. “My dad has no filter.”

“I see where Cole gets it from,” I laugh.

“How’s your leg feeling?” she asks, genuine concern in her tone.

“Great,” I answer. “The stretches helped today, and I feel good as new. I hope I can pitch a game worth watching today.”

“I’m sure you will. You’re a fantastic pitcher.”

I wrap my arms around her lower back. “With the perfect good luck charm.”

Harlow blushes as Cole, Lane, and Josh walk up, unbeknownst to me.

“Ah, there are the lovebirds!” Cole says as he and Lane take spots on either side of me, Josh sliding in beside Cole.

“Here we are,” I say with a smile.

“You two are my favorite couple,” Lane says, sliding an arm around my shoulder.

“You’re both ridiculous,” she replies, rolling her eyes while chuckling.

“Honestly,” Josh says, “I think you’re both lucky Cole is so great about this.” Now that Josh knows about the whole fake relationship thing, he’s jumping in to torment us, too.

“Yes,” I tease. “He sure has been great with my girlfriend being his sister and all.”

“I take back what I said,” Harlow chimes in. “You’re all ridiculous.”

“And you love it,” I whisper.

She smiles brightly. “Maybe I do.”

“Maybe?” I ask, cocking my eyebrow.

“Maybe.” She bites her bottom lip. She’s about to get me all riled up right before my first game back.

“Scholl’s waiting for me, so I need to get out there.”

“Good luck, Knox. You’re going to do great.”

I lean in and press a kiss to her lips. There’s probably a camera around somewhere, but that’s the furthest thing from my mind right now.

Fuck the cameras; I’m doing this for me .

“Find me after the game, Lo.” I smile at her and push her hair behind her ear. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Harlow smiles before softly kissing me again. “Nice baseball pants, by the way,” she whispers against my ear.

“Don’t stare too much when I’m walking away,” I laugh.

“No promises,” she teases. “Now go, your team needs you.”

“I’ll see you after the game, Lo.”

I finally leave the stands and make my way over to Scholl to throw out some practice pitches with the biggest damn smile on my face.

After the game tonight, Skip wants me in the media room, so here I am, sitting in front of numerous reporters with that damn smile still on my face. Josh is also here with us since he hit tonight’s walk-off home run.

“Spencer,” a female reporter in the second row says. “How are you feeling after your first game since your injury?”

“I feel good,” I reply honestly. “My recovery went well, and I felt great on the mound tonight.”

“Garro,” says a male reporter from the back of the room. “How does it feel being the one to break the Stars’ four-game losing streak?”

Josh smiles. “It’s nice, I won’t lie. It’s good to help us get the win, but I would’ve been just as happy if any of the other guys won the game for us. I always want us to get the W, and I’m happy with whoever can help us get it.”

“Spencer again,” says a female reporter in the front. “We’ve seen such a personality shift in you through the season. Can you attribute your stellar numbers this year to that shift?”

“Yeah, I think I can,” I reply. “It’s obviously not a surprise that I was very closed off before, and I do think some of that showed up on the mound as well. My numbers were still good, but not what they are now. Apparently, happiness can go a long way.”

The room laughs. When was the last time I got a room of people to laugh? It feels nice.

Josh pipes in. “We’ve been trying to tell you that for years, Fort. At least you’ll listen to Harlow.” That earns another laugh from the room.

“Another one for Spencer,” says the same female reporter. “We know Josh is engaged. Any future plans for you and your girlfriend?”

“Let’s stick to baseball, please,” Skipper says, trying to steer the conversation back.

“It’s alright, Skip. I don’t mind.” I turn back to the reporters. “It’s way too early to answer that question. We haven’t been together long enough for either of us to have considered that. But never say never, I suppose.”

Josh shoots me a disbelieving smile as Skip closes out the questioning and releases us from the media room. As soon as we’re in the hall, I take off toward the clubhouse to find Harlow.

I turn the corner and find her in the hall with Lucia, Rory, Cole, Lane, and a sleeping Sage. She’s mid-conversation when I come up and grab her from behind, spinning her around as she shrieks before setting her back down.

“What the hell was that?” she says, laughing. The other four are giving me very curious looks.

“Seemed like it would be fun,” I say, leaning back against the wall. “I did get you to scream, though, so I’m calling it a win.”

“From what I’ve heard,” Rory says maliciously, “you’re great at getting her to scream.”

“Fuck, Rory,” Cole moans. “I don’t want to hear about that.”

“Maybe you just need to make someone scream, Pierce,” Rory fires back. “Maybe then you’ll be less cranky about it.”

God, these two just need to fuck and get it over with. Just don’t let Skip find out.

“Yeah, I’m not getting involved in that,” Harlow says, turning around to face me. “Good game tonight, Knox. Five innings and no runs. Much better than your last outing.”

“I didn’t have my good luck charm at my last outing,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her in closer, ignoring our friends surrounding us.

“And who’s fault was that?” she replies with a smirk.

I smile back. “Don’t worry. That won’t happen again.”

“That so?” She eyes me curiously.

“You’re going to be at every game from now on, Lo.”

“Big talk, Slick.” Harlow leans closer now, standing on her tiptoes to bring her face closer to mine. “Don’t forget that you only have me through the season, though.”

I chuckle. “Baby, we both know that isn’t true.”

Her eyes go wide. “What does that mean, Knox?” Unease washes over her. I can see she’s trying not to get her hopes up after the last time.

I press my forehead against hers. “That means I’m not letting you go again, Harlow. I’m keeping you.”

“How do you plan on keeping me?” she asks, breath hitching in her throat. “What- what are you saying here?”

“I’m going to start by saying I hope you don’t have plans for tomorrow night.” I push her hair behind her ears, now getting a better view of those ocean eyes that have etched a permanent place in my heart.

“You guys don’t have a game, so I’m free.”

“Perfect,” I say, smiling wide. “I’m taking you on a date tomorrow night, then. A real date. Just us, Harlow. No cameras, no show.”

Her smile is blinding. “You want to take me on a date?”

“As long as you say yes.”

She quickly presses her lips against mine, kissing me softly and tenderly. Pulling back, she says, “I would love that, Knox. Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.”

I kiss her again as I hear Lucia speak. “About fucking time!”

We both laugh. “Seems like our friends are eavesdropping.”

“In their defense, we’re standing right beside them.”

“Alright, Knox,” Rory says, grabbing Harlow by the shoulders. “Lucia and I are stealing your girlfriend. I think it’s time for a girl’s night.”

“Yes!” Lucia shouts. “Perfect idea, Ror.”

Harlow laughs. “I guess I have plans for tonight now.”

“Go have fun, Lo.” I kiss her one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

The girls say their goodbyes before they all but usher Harlow out of the hallway, eager for their impromptu girl’s night. I have a feeling I’m going to be the main topic of discussion tonight.

“Only took him four and a half months,” Lane pipes in, “but he finally made his fucking move.”

“I don’t think four and a half months is fair,” I state. “This wasn’t real in the beginning.”

Cole claps a hand on my shoulder. “But it’s real now.”

“Very real.” I smile again. I went from a man who never smiled to one who can’t stop smiling. But how could I not smile when I think of Harlow, the epitome of sunshine and happiness?

“Just don’t hurt her again. We may be friends, but I will kick your ass if I need to.”

“I’ve got four inches and thirty pounds on you, Pierce. You couldn’t kick my ass if you tried.”

The clubhouse door opens now, and Josh strides out after his shower. “Did I miss the meeting memo?” he asks, gesturing at us crowding around each other. “Is this an intervention or something? Knox’s smile is kinda freaking me out.”

“Dick,” I mutter, shaking my head.

“What’s got you all happy right now, Fort?”

I mull it over momentarily, thinking about how to phrase it before I go all in.

“I have a date with my girlfriend tomorrow night.”