“You too, sis. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Yeah, you will.”
She hung up and I closed my eyes for a second. My first thought scared the shit out of me. Why would I think about Fiona after a family crisis?Jesus.Last night was fucking with me and it was best if I let it go. I shook my head, continued my workout and didn’t count down the minutes until I had to leave for the game. I wasnotanxious to see Fiona.
Chapter Twenty-One
Fiona
Someonewas in a mood. I sucked in my bottom lip as I wrote out the list of kids starting that game, sneaking glances over at Gideon and his tense shoulders. It had been two days since I’d left him after our intense hookup. Two days with an awkward sexual tension that was burning me up. I continued to watch him, a blush taking over my neck when my gaze went to his mouth.God, he can use his tongue.
“CFD. Why is Coach Titan disgruntled?”
I shook my head and hoped I didn’t look embarrassed. I needed to control my thoughts.
“Disgruntled? You sound like a curmudgeon,” I replied to Garth. He tilted his head and I snorted. “You can’t use disgruntled andnotknow that curmudgeon is another word for grumpy old guy.”
“Curmudgeon. I like it. Thanks for the new word, CFD.”
“I do what I can,” I said and snuck another glance at Gideon.Is today the day to test him and place the kids where I think they’re best? No. I shouldn’t.He didn’t outright say he was pissed I’d just left, but there was a barrier in how he spoke to me now. Plus, our back-and-forth texts about practice plans didn’t have their normal flirty inappropriateness. And that was okay with me. Barriers were good. “Coach Titan does look a little disgruntled, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. I looked up all his stats last night and spent time memorizing them, but when I told him, he made this grunt and that was all.” Garth blew out a long breath of air and his shoulders sagged. I reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze.Gideon’s being an asshole again.
“I know he appreciates it, kid. He’s having a bad day, so cut him some slack. This is a lesson—enjoy being a youth. Adulting is hard.”
“Taxes and stuff, right?”
“You got it.”
He gave me a nod and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds before jogging back out to the field for warmups. I wrote the B team line-up since we were facing a weaker team and tore off the carbon copy to give to the umpire. I flicked Gideon on the arm when I walked by him, and ignored his pointed stare. He would absolutely be hearing about how he’d hurt Garth. I’d thought we’d made progress since the game where he’d lost his shit—but apparently not.
The opposing coach stood at home plate, shooting the shit with the umpire, and they both stopped talking when I approached. I gave them both a big smile and held out my hand. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”
“Hello to you, dear. How are you?” The coach slid off his sunglasses and gave me a long look. He had a salt-and-pepper thing going on and it worked well with his features. His lingering stare didn’t quite bother me, and I waited for him to shake my hand. He did, but he cupped it with both of his, like I was fragile.Weird.
“I’m great. Here’s our line-up. Do you have yours ready?” I asked.
“Not yet. I’ll have our book lady bring it over to you. Where are you sitting, doll?”
Doll? Ugh.I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I’d despised thedollcomments I’d gotten at IHOP and this nice-looking guy had just plummeted in my book. “I’ll be on the base line. Coaching. You can hand it to me there.”
His expression faltered for a second before he put the glasses back on. “How’d you get roped into coaching baseball? You filling in for somebody today?”
“Nope. I’m one of the coaches.” I crossed my arms and met the gaze of the umpire. He looked uncomfortable as hell and I narrowed my eyes at him. He wasn’t about to leave this riveting conversation.
“Interesting. Can’t seem to see how. You certainly didn’t play the sport. It’s a man’s sport, sweetheart.” He gave me a snarky smile and smugness radiated off him.
The guy was a total sexist and I wanted to punch him. I twisted the end of my ponytail and pretended to pop my gum. “Areyou,like, filling in for someone or are you, like, the real coach? I mean, if we’re going to talk down to people, I want in on the fun.”
His jaw tightened and he turned his entire body toward the umpire, cutting me out of the conversation. I clenched my hands into fists. “Thanks, fellas.”
I did my best to keep my temper under control and went back to the dugout. I rubbed my temples as my blood boiled.The nerve of that fucking guy.
“Fiona, what’s going on?” Gideon came into view and gave me a long look—the first time he’d acknowledged me since we got there an hour ago. Just add it to my list of guys being dicks. “What happened at home plate? Their coach is glaring over here.”
“He’s a sexist. I’m fuming right now,” I replied and tried to stop my legs from bouncing up and down. “I need to walk or something.”
“Explain what happened.” He followed me out of the gate and onto the grass where the boys were throwing. “Your face is all blotchy and red. It’s concerning.”
