Page 31

THIRTY-ONE

PARKER

I must have dreamed it.

The couch under the window was empty, but I swear I’d woken up in the night and Scout had been asleep on it. It was the only thing from this entire twenty-four hours that would have made me feel better. That and the morphine I was hooked up to.

Because this stuff was fucking incredible.

I also had a brief recollection of the surgeon coming in this morning to tell me how lucky I was I still had two balls, along with the ability to have children. Assuming I was ever allowed to have sex again, which would only happen once the intense throbbing in my groin stopped underneath the enormous diaper I appeared to be wearing.

My head dropped back against the pillow, and I tried my hardest to remember what had happened after Ace pitched, but maybe it was best that I couldn’t. It was bad enough that I’d woken up with a surgeon peering over me telling me she’d fixed my junk. I could kind of do with her returning, however, so she could fill me in on the more salient points, like what to do when I needed to take a piss.

Or walk.

And it was probably out of her area of responsibility, but maybe she could also help me fix things with Scout. Because after using the bathroom, and figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other without causing myself excruciating pain, Scout was the priority. I had to fix everything I’d fucked up yesterday, before I’d fucked myself up.

Scout was the number one thing on my list once I was out of here. When I got out of here.

A bubble of panic rose in my chest and popped.

Oh shit, what if I never got out of here?

Coach had said being traded was a likelihood if I couldn’t make a decision about my career by the end of the day. End of the day, yesterday. I’d missed my deadline to fix everything. What if this was my punishment and I had to stay here for weeks? Until I fully recovered.

Was this how Coach would trade me? Would he use this injury as an excuse to bolster the team, and the next time I crouched at the plate would be in Seattle? I didn’t want to go to Seattle. I wasn’t built for rain. Scout wouldn’t like the rain. What was I saying? Scout wouldn’t come to Seattle. The long distance wouldn’t work. We’d break up.

This was bad. Really bad.

The machine monitoring my heartbeat had begun beeping in double time. But I needed to get out of here. I could withstand a little throbbing in my groin, because I needed to find Scout. I needed to find Coach. I needed…

Arrrrggghhhh.

“Mr. King. Get back into bed. What are you doing?” The nurse rushed over to me, gripping my arm as I attempted to move my left leg back into bed, but honestly the pain shooting through me was crippling to the point where it pierced my brain, and I could do nothing but fall back. “You need to stay in bed and stay still. Tsssk. What were you trying to do? Tsssk.”

I caught sight of her name tag—Deirdre—while she continued scolding me under her breath. I thought it probably wasn’t wise to tell her I’d planned to find the girl who may or may not be my girlfriend and beg her to forgive my stupid ass until she definitely was my girlfriend. Oh, and also beg for my job.

Deirdre shut off the heart rate monitor and took my blood pressure. From the soft huff she let out, I assumed that meant it was okay. At least the beeping had stopped.

“Okay,” Deirdre said. “You stay here now. Don’t be trying anything stupid again. You heard the doctor this morning, you can get out of bed this afternoon once your bandages have been changed and we hook you up to a portable IV.”

I don’t remember him saying any such thing, but for the first time, I noticed the small tubes I was attached to, not just the one in the back of my hand.

“Could I get some more pain meds, please?” I croaked, wincing from the expectation that even talking might hurt.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she grumbled, plumping up my pillow and tucking the sheet around me like she thought it would keep me in. “But only if you stay in bed this time. You’ll pull out all your drips if you’re not careful.”

I’d hand over my firstborn if she could stop this throbbing in my balls. That’s if I ever worked up the courage to have sex again. From the way I felt, just taking a piss would be akin to climbing Everest.

“I promise.”

She huffed loudly, giving me the distinct impression she didn’t believe me. She didn’t need to worry about me moving. I wouldn’t move again even if I wanted to, the pain was incapacitating. I was almost too scared to breathe.

I wouldn’t dare tell her I was kind of uncomfortable with the way she’d pushed the pillow behind me, and I didn’t think she’d appreciate me calling after her.

“There he is.”

My eyes flew open to find Lux, Tanner, and Ace walking in. Ace pushed past the other two, marching over to the bed, and pulled me into a hug before I knew what was happening.

“I’m so sorry, Park.” His voice cracked. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, you’re all good.” I wrapped my arms around him as best I could without tugging on the tubes, or moving my body in any way . “It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.”

He stepped back, wiping a hand over his eyes. “I’m still sorry.”

“Don’t be, it would have been an awesome ball if I’d caught it.” I grinned. “But while you’re feeling like you owe me something, could you move my pillow, please?”

Tanner fell onto the couch and rearranged the cushion under his head. “You kind of did catch the ball.”

His chest shook as he tried to hold in his laugh. Lux didn’t bother holding it in, even Ace looked a little happier than he had been two minutes ago.

“How long am I going to have to put up with jokes about my balls?” I asked, my mouth twitching with a smile.

Lux scratched along his jaw, his head tilted. “I’d say at least until you’re back on the field, and then maybe for another couple of weeks.”

“Cool cool, just so I know what to prepare for.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked, opening his backpack and pulling out a container, which he handed me along with a fork. “Thought you might like some pancakes.”

I glanced down at the stack, covered in maple syrup and raspberries. My favorite.

For a second I couldn’t speak, my throat was too thick. These drugs were messing with my brain. I was either going crazy or on the verge of tears. Or feeling deliriously happy and grateful that I had the best friends in the world, like right this second.

“You gave me a smiley face.”

“Special occasion.” He grinned.

I forked a mouthful of pancakes in, immediately deciding they were the best thing I’d ever tasted. “Deesarewelygoob.”

Ace poured out a glass of water and passed it to me. “How are you feeling?”

I took a large gulp, I could get used to being waited on like this. “I’m feeling okay, except I tried to get out of bed earlier and won’t be doing that again in a hurry.”

“Painful?”

“Never experienced anything like it,” I replied as a thought occurred to me. “Oh, hey, did we win?”

Ace grinned. “We sure did. And we’re gonna win again today.”

“That’s good news at least. Don’t want to have almost lost my balls for nothing.” My eyes sliced over to the TV. “I guess I’ll be watching here.”

“Have you seen the doctor? When are you getting out?”

I shrugged, taking another bite. “Don’t know. She came by this morning, but only to tell me the surgery went well. I’ll ask when I see her later, but it’s going to be a few days, I think.”

“Coach said you’re gonna be on the injured list for sixty days.”

I turned to Tanner, brows furrowed. “You saw him?”

He nodded. “Yeah, he was here last night.”

“Coach was?”

“Yep. Him, Shepherd, Lowe Slater, Payton, Hol, Radley…”

He paused. I waited to see if he was going to say Scout, but there was only silence. Maybe I had imagined her on the couch. Even before I felt the panic rising in my chest, the beeping on the monitor quickened. I shoved another mouthful of pancakes in, hoping to focus my brain on eating instead of how I would get Scout back.

“Oh, and Scout, plus one of the team docs and your assistant coach.”

“Scout?” Pancake sprayed everywhere as I blurted her name. Ace got up and passed me a paper towel. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, she was the first here. She was waiting when we got here, and she stayed.”

“She stayed?” I blurted again, this time without the pancake. I hadn’t imagined it, she really had been here. But that begged another question. “Then where is she now?”

No one had the answer to that, however, and I slumped back.

“She told Coach, by the way,” said Tanner from behind the copy of GQ he’d found on the table.

I perked up again. “She told Coach what?”

“That it was her who’d asked you to keep them a secret and you shouldn’t be punished for it. If anyone should be punished, it should be her. She did it in front of Shepherd too.”

“What? What did they say?”

“Coach said he thinks this was enough punishment. I guess you got benched without being officially benched.”

“Huh.” I glanced around, half expecting to see her sitting there. But no. The same thing happened when I went to find my phone, because I couldn’t find it, I didn’t have it here, so I couldn’t even check to find out where she was. “Do you guys have my stuff?”

They all shook their heads.

“It’ll still be in your locker, I’ll ask Pablo to pack it up and bike it over here this morning,” added Ace.

“Thanks, man.” I smiled at him. “And if you see Scout, will you ask her to come back?”

“Sure.” He nodded, just as a soft knock sounded on the door.

“You can ask me yourself if you’d like.”

And there she was, standing in the doorway, holding a large backpack. She looked so perfect I could almost be convinced I’d dreamed her up. My heart thudded again, and I couldn’t hold back the smile that threatened to split my face.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she replied, her eyelashes batting as she took in the guys. “Hey, guys.”

Ace jumped up from the end of the bed. “Hey, Scout, we were just leaving.”

Tanner peered over the top of GQ . “We were?”

“Yep,” replied Lux, knocking Tanner’s feet to the floor. “Let’s go, Tan.”

Tanner put down the magazine and stood up, all with very little grumbling. “Okay, guess we’ll see you later, big guy. I’ll dedicate my first home run to you.”

“You better. I’ll be watching.” I laughed. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“Bye, dude, Bye, Scout.”

“See you later.” Her eyes followed the three of them. My eyes followed her until the door closed and it was just the two of us. She turned around to find me looking at her. “Was it something I said?”

“Maybe.” I chuckled before my smile dropped a little. “I thought I dreamed you sleeping on my couch.”

“You didn’t.” She pushed up the sleeves of her pale blue sweater and sat at the end of the bed. Too far away, in my opinion.

“Why did you leave?”

“I went to meet Holiday. And then I went to the club to pick up your things. I thought you’d want your phone.” She bit down on her smile, and from the angle she was sitting, her entire body was backlit by the sun pouring through the windows. The ever-escaping strands of blonde highlighted her face like she was wearing a halo.

She was my angel.

We both turned as the monitor started beeping faster. Goddamn machine giving away all my feelings. Lacing my fingers with hers, I pulled her in closer. From a night sleeping in here, she should be tired, but she’d never looked prettier.

“Thank you.”

I don’t know if we were waiting for the machine to slow down, but as we stayed there, our gazes locked, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m so sorry about yesterday.” Our voices chorused. “No, I’m sorry. No, me?—”

I paused, holding my hands up. “Let me go, please. It’s the only time I’ll ever ask to go first.”

Her lips pursed, holding back her smile. “Okay.”

Holding onto her gaze, I took a breath. “I’m sorry I was such an asshole to you yesterday. I never should have shouted, and I never should have made you feel like your job wasn’t as important as mine, or as important to me. It is. You are important to me. Your job, your happiness, your future. All those things are important to me, and I’m so sorry I ever made you think or feel otherwise.”

Blue eyes bored into mine; the longer they held there, the quicker I could feel mine misting over.

“I’m sorry I was such an asshole.” She grinned, holding her hand up before I could object, which I was about to do. “It was an asshole move asking you to lie for me. The interview process was stressing me out and I didn’t realize what I was asking of you. I didn’t know how serious the implications were. But I’ve fixed it, you’re not going to get into trouble.”

“I heard you spoke to Coach. You didn’t have to do that.”

Her thumb moved against the top of my hand, taking care not to touch the drip tube. “I did. I also spoke to Lowe Slater, I told her I didn’t want the job.”

My brow furrowed hard. “You did what?”

“It’s okay, I did it for me as much as you. I want to stay in my current position, I’m not ready to move on from it.”

“Did they even offer it to you?”

She shook her head. “No, I pulled out before. I don’t think it would have been mine, they wouldn’t prolong the process if they wanted me to have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent. I don’t want the added pressure, I want to stay loving the job I have now. And I want to stay with you, if you’ll still have me.”

My brows shot up. “If I’ll still have you? Are you kidding? What about you still having me ?”

“I’ll still have you,” she replied, inching a little closer up the bed. “But no more sneaking around. When you get your phone, you’ll find an email from HR with the form to sign.”

“Does that mean we can go back to our morning coffees?”

“I’ll do you one better, sometimes we can drive in together and I won’t make you drop me outside the gates.”

My hand eased out of hers and found her thigh. “Wow, Davison, I have to say, that’s a real turn-on for me.”

“Yeah?” She leaned in.

“Yeah,” I mumbled against her lips, just as I realized what a huge mistake I was making. “ARRRGH. FUCK.”

I doubt Scout had ever moved quicker in her life. If I wasn’t writhing in pain, I’d be laughing at her sitting on the floor where she’d landed.

“Oh my god, Parker. Are you okay?” she cried, just as the door burst open again and I was once more the recipient of Deirdre’s disapproving glare.

“What are you doing? Why are you on the floor?” Deirdre barked at Scout, marching past her and over to the bed. “Mr. King, you have just had surgery. No hanky-panky. What did you think would happen?”

I was concentrating too hard on wishing away the pain to provide a cohesive answer. Plus, I hadn’t been thinking about anything other than Scout, and the feel of her lips on mine.

Nope. No. Do not think about that.

“Young lady, I suggest you sit over there.” Deirdre pointed to the couch and left the room with a louder tsssk than she had last time.

“Are you okay?” Scout whispered, as though speaking at any kind of volume might set me off again.

“Yeah,” I groaned, “but I should probably take this opportunity to warn you I can’t have sex for at least six to eight weeks.”

“I think I can manage that. We’ll play Twister instead.”

I groaned louder, my eyes squeezed shut.

“Okay, maybe not Twister. Monopoly, or we can learn to bake. Or watch movies and eat pizza.”

“Pizza. I can eat pizza, and while I’m being honest, I should also tell you that I think I’m falling in love with you.” I waited a second, then eased one eye open. “You don’t look surprised.”

“I’m not.”

“I’m that obvious?”

“No.” She bit down on her cheek, sucking it in, as she moved to perch on the end of the bed again. “I just know how loveable I am. Plus, the surgeon said you were blabbing about how much you loved me.”

I let out another groan. “Oh man. How am I so uncool with you?”

“It’s okay, I think I’m falling in love with you, too, Parker King.”

My eyes flicked to hers, bright blue and sparkling bright. Her entire face was lit with happiness, reminding me of the first time I’d laid eyes on her waiting outside the stadium with the box of apples. I could still feel how strong I’d jolted, and the memory of it hit me square in the chest and began moving lower.

I pointed to the couch. This was going to be a long eight weeks. “Scout, I love you, but please go and sit over there. And tell me why you met Holiday.”

“She offered me a job.” She grinned.