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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TWO MONTHS LATER

KAMRYN

“ W ho got wet first?” Cheetah asks while trying to hold in his laughter as we sit naked in his living room fort, eating dark chocolate-covered pineapples, our new favorite treat. It’s our compromise since I got him to admit he hates the fondue restaurant that I love. He said if he wanted to cook, he’d stay home and do it himself. Given that we both like pineapples and I like dark chocolate, we made our own fondue treats for our middle-of-the-night forts.

I smile as I lick my fingers clean of the chocolate. “Bridget. I felt a little bad for her. She was so embarrassed.”

Cheetah is well into his season. He’s having a great year. His speed is better than it’s been in a few years, and he leads the league in stolen bases. I go to as many games as I can. I get the honor of his seventh-inning stretch dances every few weeks, but we’re waiting a little longer to do our choreographed dance so that it’s perfected.

After much begging, Ms. Rylee agreed to be our teacher for this specific dance. We had to promise no more mid-session orgasms. It hasn’t been easy. For some reason, the dance lessons get us both worked up.

Our Anacondas team practices are well underway, and our season is about to start. The team looks good, and because Ripley gave birth early, she hopes she’ll be ready for opening day. We initially assumed we wouldn’t have her until mid-season, if at all.

She moved back to town with Quincy and their daughter, Kaya, who has red hair and blue eyes just like her mom. Everyone fawns all over her. Everyone except me.

June moved back with them so she can help care for Kaya and train Ripley. I love having Mama June in town. She’s a constant source of amusement. I’m headed over to Quincy’s house later this week for a girls’ day by the pool while the guys head out of town for a road trip.

When I’m not with Bailey or at softball, I’m with Cheetah. I wish it was more often, but I can tell that my sister’s defenses are breaking when it comes to Tanner Montgomery, so I try not to leave her side very often.

They practically stare at each other with googly eyes at Harper’s games. It’s only a matter of time before she starts fucking him again. I think it’s time for me to educate her on the real rules of casual sex, though I’m not doing a good job of it myself these days.

The beginning of our practices is my favorite time of year because they mean one thing. Rookie hazing.

As it turns out, the guys do it too, but they’re totally different from us. Cheetah and I are trading hazing war stories in the comforting confines of his nudist fort after an evening of crazy fucking, something we’ve been doing a lot since his return from Spring Training.

Cheetah nods. “Which one is Bridget?”

“The tall brunette. She plays first base for us.”

“Oh right.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe you make the rookies sit naked on running washing machines and wait to see who gets wet first. How can you tell if they’re wet, other than the obvious touch test?”

I smile. “Paper towels. You can see them start to saturate. It’s classic,” I giggle.

“Did you have to do it your rookie year?” he asks.

I nod. “Yep. I was wet before they even turned on the machines and proudly admitted as much.”

He chuckles. “Was it seeing the other women naked?”

I wiggle my eyebrows. “Sure was.”

“We do something similar. We make the guys stand naked and watch weird porn to see who gets hard first. Like bestiality or some crazy shit like that.”

I giggle. “Classic. What else?”

He twists his lips. “There’s the always-present elephant walk.”

“Obviously.” That’s when the rookies all have to walk in a circle for a certain amount of time, holding each other’s dicks. That’s a longtime legend, and everyone knows it’s done.

His eyes widen with excitement. “We did a new one this year in Florida. We dumped several jars of rainbow jimmies on the ground. Then we covered all the rookies’ hands in maple syrup and told them they had to sort the jimmies by color.” He lets out a laugh. “It took them all fucking night.”

“Ooh, that’s a good one. Maybe we’ll use that. Give me another.”

“Hmm. They have to attend their first practice of the season with a potato in their asses. Not all the way in but sitting nestled between their cheeks. All the veterans walk around spanking them and watch them wince.”

I scrunch my face. “Ouch. It must be hard to play with a potato in their ass.”

The corners of his mouth raise in amusement. “Some handle it better than others.”

I let out a laugh. “I bet.”

“Oh, you’ll like this one. We tell the guys it’s an ice cream speed-eating contest. They each have to gobble down a full gallon. When it’s over, we tell them that we first melted the gallons, jerked off into them, and then refroze them. We don’t actually do that, but they think we do.” He starts hysterically laughing. “Most of them puke.” He grabs his stomach in laughter. “Shit, it’s so funny when you see their faces as realization hits them.”

“Oh my god. Okay, guys are way worse than girls.”

We finish the last of our chocolate-covered pineapples and lay down. Middle-of-the-night fort time has quickly become my favorite thing in the world. We talk and laugh for hours. It’s a level of intimacy I’ve never shared with another person, Bailey included. Cheetah knows all my secrets, and he isn’t running the other way. Just the opposite. We’re getting closer and closer every day. It both terrifies and excites me.

Tonight is the semi-final game for Harper’s softball team. If we win, the championship is in a few days.

Admittedly, I’ve had fun doing this with my sister…once she stopped trying to censor me. I’ve always been afraid of kids because I don’t know how to talk to them and can’t relate to them, so I simply started talking to them like adults, and they seem to like it.

Bailey fielded a few parent complaints about it at the beginning, but I’ve learned that softball parents care about one thing. Winning. And we do a shit ton of that, so the complaints ended pretty quickly.

As I had predicted on the first day of practice, Sapphire, the future ass-shaker, couldn’t hack it at shortstop. We moved Andie over, and she’s done a great job. In my opinion, Harper is still the slightly better option, but she’s obsessed with my sister and wants to play the same position as her. Andie is a little bigger and stronger than Harper, so it’s not all bad. She’s by far the best shortstop in the league.

Tanner pokes his head into the dugout, and I narrow my eyes at him. “If you’re here to stare at my sister’s ass, she’s not wearing tight shorts today.”

He subtly gives me the finger while scratching his nose as he hands me a water bottle. “Harper left this in the car. Can you give it to her?”

I shake my head. “Don’t enable her forgetfulness. If she forgets her water, she shouldn’t get any. That’s the only way to teach her a lesson.”

He rolls his eyes. “Please let me take in your pearls of wisdom from your years of parenting. She’s eight, and it’s over eighty degrees today. Her getting dehydrated isn’t the lesson I care to teach.”

“You’re a shit father.”

“You’re simply a little shit. I can’t believe none of these parents have called the cops on you with how you talk to the girls.”

Yep, there’s no love lost between Tanner and me. I don’t like the way he treated my sister, and I’ve been extremely vocal about it. In return, I very clearly and happily get on his nerves.

I place my hand on my hips. “Parents like winning teams. We’re a well-oiled machine. You have to admit we’re good coaches.”

He raises one of his thick, annoyingly sexy eyebrows. “ Bailey is a good coach. You’re riding her coattails. You’ve probably done it your whole life.”

I cross my arms, and he sighs in defeat as he admits, “Fine, you happen to be decent at coaching. It’s kind of shocking, given your lack of interpersonal skills.”

“Did you throw up a little in your mouth when you said that?”

He nods. “A lot actually.”

Bailey walks into the dugout and pulls the back of my shirt. “ Back to your corners, kids. I swear, you two are less mature than the players on this team.”

Tanner mumbles, “She started it.”

I’m about to say something back when the girls all enter the dugout. Harper looks at Tanner. “Why are you here, Daddy?”

I give a big, fake smile. “Yes, Daddy , you shouldn’t be in here. No parents allowed in the dugout.”

He scowls at me before smiling at Harper. “You forgot your water, bug. I thought you might be thirsty.”

“Why do you call her bug?” I ask. “Did she play with bugs when she was younger?”

He shakes his head. “When she was born, she was all eyes. They covered half her face. Fallon and I joked that she looked like a bug, and I’ve called her that ever since.”

I shrug. “It’s babyish. Don’t call her that. I’m sure it embarrasses her.”

Harper crosses her arms. “Yeah, Daddy, don’t call me bug anymore. It’s babyish like Kam said.”

Tanner pinches the bridge of his nose. “God help me. I’m going back to the stands.”

He walks away and I pull Harper aside. “You know what all daddies hate being called?”

“What?”

“Dad. It drives them nuts. It means you’re all grown up. Start calling him Dad until he stops calling you bug. That will teach him.”

She smiles as she nods enthusiastically. “Good idea. I will.”

I inwardly laugh, remembering how much our father hated the brief period of time we called him Dad. I love fucking with Tanner Montgomery. It’s my new favorite hobby.

My sister shakes her head as she mumbles to me, “You’re the biggest shit-stirrer of all time.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a compliment.”

I shrug. “Sounded like one to me. ”

The game is finally underway, and we’re about to take the field. I have a highly specific individual handshake with each girl on the team. They didn’t think I could remember all twelve, but I showed them.

We win handily and are on to the championship game. As always, Harper puts on both an offensive and defensive display, the likes of which no one her age can match. I love her love of the game. Her mind is always in motion like mine was at her age.

She’s officially the first kid I’ve ever liked. Hmm…maybe Andie too.

CHEETAH

“If she can take getting a tattoo, she can definitely take it up the backdoor,” Daylen mutters as he complains about the woman he hooked up with last night.

I chuckle as I throw my cards on Tanner’s poker table and announce, “I fold. I think I might head out for the night.”

Daylen wiggles his eyebrows as he holds his cards. “Is that code for banging Kam? She’s definitely into backdoor action. She likes the freaky shit, no doubt. You can see it in her eyes. She’s got those crazy eyes.” He raises his hands in the air like he’s preaching. “When doth have crazy eyes, doth is a freak in the sheets. I think that was written in the Bible. The First Sluttippians, verse sixty-nine.”

I give him the finger. “Your proverbs are about as useful as a knitted condom.”

He laughs loudly while Tanner simply shakes his head. “You’re still with that batch of crazy? I don’t know how you stand her. All I want to do is muzzle her. ”

My jaw tics. I hate it when he trashes Kam. I know they don’t get along, but he knows I care about her.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say something, but I don’t want to put a damper on an otherwise fun evening.

He looks at his watch. “Maybe we should call it a night. I have an early morning meeting with Sulley O’Shea.”

I notice Vance shift uncomfortably in his seat before Tanner continues, “I’m hoping to sign her even though I still don’t have anyone to lead my damn women’s division. I can’t have the biggest star on the planet come to play in Philly and not sign her as my client, but I really don’t have the bandwidth.”

I shrug. “Hire someone.”

“It’s easier said than done. I won’t hire just anyone. It’s a big dick job. I want a female attorney who understands sports at a high level, who also happens to not take shit from anyone. It’s a lot harder to find than you’d think.”

“Have you interviewed anyone?” I ask.

He nods. “Over a dozen women. None were right for the job, and I won’t settle. I met one the other night who spent the whole time asking me about Vance. I told her he’s impotent and to steer clear.”

Vance doesn’t even flinch. He’s a million miles away. I wave my fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Vance.”

He snaps his head up. “Sorry, what was that? Did you say it was important?”

Tanner shakes his head. “I said you’re impotent just to see if you were paying attention. Why did you wince when I said Sulley O’Shea’s name? Is she going to be a problem? I don’t need a problem client. No amount of money is worth that.”

Vance visibly swallows. “I haven’t spoken to her in years. We grew up in the same town. I was friends with her older brother, Finn. ”

Something passes between Vance, Tanner, and Daylen. Clearly they have some sort of secret that I’m not in on.

Tanner slowly nods. “I didn’t realize the connection.” He gives Vance a look to suggest that they’ll talk about it later.

I think I need to lighten the mood. I look at Daylen, who just buzzed his hair short. He has a different hairstyle all the time. Sometimes it’s long and sometimes it’s short. It grows bizarrely fast. “Nice haircut, Forrest Gump. Did you lose weight with it? You did grow a little dad bod this off-season. Losing weight on the top could only help your slow ass.”

I’m fucking with him. The guy doesn’t have an ounce of body fat. He’s built like a brick house.

He gives me his trademark crooked smile. He knows what I’m doing. “Actually, I lost fifteen pounds, ten from the haircut.”

“Where did the other five come from?”

“I got circumcised.”

We all laugh hysterically. Daylen is always full of funny jokes. I love the guy.

I knock on Gemma’s office door and look at her. I used to think there was no better woman on this planet than Gemma DePaul. While I’ll always have deep affection for her as my friend, I know now that I was just waiting for Kam to come along. She’s my perfect match. That won’t prevent me from fucking with Trey though. I let out a whistle. “Hey, sexy. You ready for lunch?”

She smiles as she looks up from her computer. “Can you give me five minutes? I need to get this email out before we leave. ”

I nod. “Sure. Is your hot boss in today? Maybe I can get some lunchtime action like her husband.”

“Good luck with that. Yes, she’s here today.”

“I’m gonna go say hi to her. Come get me when you’re ready.”

She wordlessly nods as I walk away and head toward Darian Knight’s office and knock on her door. She looks up from her computer and smiles much like Gemma did. I swear they could be mother and daughter. “Cruz! What a nice surprise. Are you ladies lunching today?”

I let out a laugh. “We are. Then we’re getting bikini waxes.”

“Is that how you keep your speed? By being aerodynamic?”

My eyes widen. “No, but now that you say it, maybe I should consider waxing for real.”

She lets out a laugh before inviting me in. I slowly walk around her office and look at the dozen or so picture frames scattered throughout her office. “Wow. You have a big family.”

“I do. My three daughters are all married with kids, and Jackson’s three sons are all married with kids. Our blended family is enormous. You should see the size of my dining room table.”

I pinch my eyebrows together. “I didn’t know Jackson wasn’t the original Mr. Darian.”

She somberly nods toward a photo of a blond man smiling with three little girls. “That was my first husband, Scott Lawrence. He passed about a decade ago.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“It’s okay. A lot of people don’t know.”

I point to one of the little kids in the photo. One who looks very familiar. “Is that Reagan?”

She smiles. “It is. She was a pistol then and she’s a pistol now. My girls are all adults and in their thirties, but they all have the exact same personalities they had as kids. It’s amazing. You don’t have kids yet, do you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t.”

“Maybe one day.”

I twist my lips. “I think I always assumed I wanted kids because it’s what’s expected, but the woman I’m seeing doesn’t want kids.”

“What do you want?”

I’m considering how to answer that when Gemma pokes her head in. “Knock, knock. Don’t steal my lunch date, Darian.”

“He’s a cutie. If Jackson wasn’t coming by in a few minutes I’d definitely steal this one.”

Gemma grabs my arm and mumbles, “Trust me, we want to get away from this office for the next hour. It’s going to get…loud.”

Darian laughs as we say our goodbyes and head to lunch. All of four seconds after we sit down at the restaurant, she asks, “How’s it going with Kam?”

I smile. “Good. Really good.”

“Are you an official couple?”

I think for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it. She doesn’t like the word commitment. She prefers flingationship.”

“What the hell is that?”

“Basically friends with benefits. It was supposed to be open, but neither of us are seeing anyone else. At least I’m not.”

“Is that what you want?”

I think for a moment. “I wouldn’t mind us being more, but she’s always been clear that it’s not what she wants. I respect her wishes.”

Her green eyes soften. “What about your wishes, Cruz? What you want should matter as much as what she wants.” She tilts her head to the side. “You can’t do all the giving. That’s not how relationships work. It’s supposed to be give-and-take on both sides. I know you’re a pleaser by nature, but if she’s not bending for you like you are for her, maybe it’s not meant to be.”

My head is spinning as I consider her words. “But I love her.”

“Does she love you?”

I shrug. “She would never admit that even if she did.”

She leans back in her chair and sighs. “I know you’re already in deep with her. And I really like her for you. A lot. But you need to think about your needs and make sure they’re being met. It can’t only be about hers.”

I shake my head. “It’s only been a few months. I don’t think it’s right to put pressure on her when she’s never been anything but upfront with me.”

She takes my hand. “You’re a grown man. Probably my second favorite grown man on the planet.” She smiles. “Don’t tell my besties I said that. I’ll deny it.”

Gemma’s two longtime best friends are men. It was a whole fucking thing for Trey when they first started dating. I think it’s cool. Gemma is a guy’s girl through and through.

She continues, “You deserve to have everything you want. When you decide what you want, make sure your partner gives it to you.”

I nod. “You’re right.”

Later that afternoon, I’m at Layton’s penthouse. I suppose it’s now Layton and Arizona’s penthouse.

Layton makes bats in his woodshop. He texted to let me know that he had finished my new one, and I should come pick it up. I’m excited about it. He happens to be very talented.

I run my hand over the smooth contours. “This looks awesome, man. Thank you. I love it.”

He pretends to blow a whistle. “Coach Layton reporting for duty.”

Layton now helps out as a part-time assistant coach for both our team and the Anacondas.

“How’s married life?”

He smiles. “Amazing. Can you keep a secret?”

I nod. “Of course.”

“We’re trying for a baby.”

I practically gasp. “Really? What about her season?”

“We’ve talked about it. We want to have one kid before the Olympics. If she gets pregnant in the next month or two, she’ll be able to play this season and will have the baby well enough ahead of next season to get back into shape for it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the possibility of her being pregnant and the physical demands of catching, but it’s best for her career, and I want to support that. This is stuff male athletes don’t ever have to consider.”

I nod. “You’re right. No one worries about timing and getting back into playing shape. I never thought about it until now.”

“Yep. And we just met with Quincy’s builder.” Quincy built a giant mansion in the suburbs. “We bought the lot next to Quincy, and we’re going to break ground as soon as possible.”

I sit down, in a bit of shock. I was finally used to the fact that Layton is no longer a single man. But now he’s also moving to the suburbs. Everything is changing.

I can’t help but shake my head. “I can’t say I ever saw you as a minivan dad in the ’burbs.”

He chuckles. “No minivan…yet. I’m ma rried. We’re starting a family. I want land for our kids to play on. You can’t get that in the city. Isn’t that what everyone wants?”

I hold out my hand for him and say, “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you,” but my mind is a million miles away. Is that what everyone wants?

Is it what I want?