I want to keep walking—actually, I want to disappear into dust like I was never here in the first place—but it’s like my Converse are super-glued to the stairs.
“What if I don’t?”
Janessa turns, her box braids slipping over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t even know where that question came from.
“What if I don’t leave?”
I must have been body snatched. Either that or aliens impregnated me with their offspring and now they’re taking over. And apparently, those squiggly babies areticked.The heat pricking my cheeks is definitely not from embarrassment. I straighten my spine, tilting my chin up like I’m the kind of person who fights for myself instead of always accommodating others.
“What’s the plan if I don’t leave?”
Because here’s another thing about my groom-to-be. Healways has a backup plan. If I’m supposed to come over and I’m not feeling well, he’ll send store-bought soup while asking me to FaceTime. If he’s supposed to do an interview and it gets moved, he’ll schedule a different one with a more prominent outlet in itsplace. Aaron always has a second and then third plan, probably because he always has to think ahead to the next pitch.
“Kenzie.”
I hold up a hand. “Just answer the question.”
Janessa’s shoulders collapse with a weary exhale. “He wants the ring back.”
This time, my “What?” is bellowed. Several spectators look over, and one even takes her phone out, but I can’t bring myself to care. My soul is tired of always being chosen last, of begging for crumbs, of being asked to go home.
I turn on my heels, pounding down the stairs like I’m a trained athlete when, really, my only exercise is the daily walk I take while listening to audiobooks. Janessa calls after me, but I’m already almost at my seat. At the last second, I veer right and toward the corner of the dugout where there’s a gap in the netting. With superhuman strength I didn’t know I possessed—thanks, alien babies—I launch myself atop it. A collective gasp goes out from the surrounding area as I stomp on the top of the dugout.
“Aaron! I deserve more than to be dumped by your assistant while ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ plays in the background. Come out and do it yourself.”
The cameraman runs from where they were firing t-shirt cannons as half of the team files onto the field.
“We can discuss this later,” Aaron says, his expression even—peacefulalmost.
“No. We’re discussing this—”
I stomp my foot again, but it doesn’t hit the steady concrete. Instead, my forceful kick cuts through the air as I lose my balance and tumble over the dugout’s edge. The bright stadium lights momentarily blind me as I freefall for two terrifying seconds. Then I hit something solid that smells faintly of the laundry room upstairs.
A laugh bubbles from my throat when I realize I’ve landed in Trevor’s arms.
“Kenzie.”
Trevor grins at me like I’m a wayward nymph he has to watch over. It must be exhausting, always helping me out, but boy am I grateful for his quick reflexes tonight. I’m definitely baking Trevor that triple-chocolate cake he likes so much as a thank-you later.
“Nice catch,” I say before wiggling free to give Aaron a piece of my mind.
Chapter 2
Trevor
Iwatch the slow-mo playback again, trying not to shiver in the ice bath in my home gym. The catch from last night’s game is the only thing the analysts onDiamond Breakdownhave been talking about this morning. I’ve even toggled betweenThe Early InningsandMorning on the Mound,and it’s all the same. Men in suits comment on my hands, reflexes, and athleticism. That’s pretty typical, but this time, it’s because I kept my roommate from breaking her neck when she teetered off the top of the dugout.
I should be grateful they’re saying something positive about me instead of speculating when I’ll finally retire. I’ve heard the terms ‘team veteran’ and ‘grizzled legend’ more times than I can count. At thirty-six, I’m the oldest player on the team.Even though my knees sound like pepper grinders when I squat into position, I still hold some of the best stats in the National League. And that’s with coming back from that nasty ulna break four years ago when a rookie Pioneers player barreled into me. Still, my contract is up after this season, so everyone is speculating about my future with the Waves.
“Just another great catch by veteran Trevor Chapman,” Alan McRae says through a growing grin. “What a way to end a homestand series.”
He then goes to game stats from our first six games of the season—three narrow wins against the Titans before crushing the Wolves.
“It was certainly an eventful game,” Jessy Riggins adds. “That woman was lucky he was there.”
“That womanis allegedly Aaron Lawson’s fiancée,” Rick Humphrey adds.
