“I did.” I grinned, yawning and hugging myself. “It was one of the best and you’re one of those reasons. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, his voice getting low again. “I would ask to stay in here, but with Aaron…it’d probably be a terrible idea.”
The tight feeling came back and I stretched my arms behind me, hoping it would relieve it, but it didn’t. It just drew his attention to my boobs. “It would be awful. You’d pretend to sleep in the morning, letting me do the walk of shame, but it’d be my room and it would be horrible.”
He laughed, but the light wasn’t there in his eyes. “Good night, Kenzie.”
“Night.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a bone-crushing hug. It would be easy to lose myself in his muscles and safety, the way he cradled my head and understood me, so I broke the contact and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He left, giving me one more look before leaving me alone in my room. I fell into my bed, ready for twelve hours of sleep. But it didn’t come right away. A nagging, unsettling feeling kept taking root in my chest and I had no fucking idea what to do about it.
Why is Tanner breaking his rules with me?
Chapter Sixteen
Tanner
Off-days midweek were rare and while most guys were excited to have a day to do whatever the hell they wanted, the freedom bothered me. Coach wanted us to rest before leaving for a six-day road trip for summer ball. The thought of being on the road, staying in hotels and celebrating wins, was my shit. I loved it. It was a preview of what life in the Majors would be, but this time, a foreign sense of anxiety loomed over me. Maybe it was the phone call with my birth father, or worrying about my mom. Either way, it had me going to the gym for a lightrun to occupy my time.
“Yo, T!”
I glanced at Carter, fighting a laugh when I saw him and two other players also at the gym.Glad we all have work-life balance.“Hey, Carter.”
“Why are you at the gym?”
“Dude, why are you?” I fired back, standing taller when Felix rounded the corner. He waved, unaware of my urge to punch his face. Carter hit my shoulder, like we were best buds, and called Felixto join our little chat.
“We don’t own cars, really only know guys on the baseball team and thispunkhas the goddamn nerve to brag about getting Kenzie’s number. I’d be furious if he wasn’t my roommate.”
“Wait—what the fuck did you say?”
“We don’t own—”
“No. You have Kenzie Hill’s number?” I asked, the desperate need to work out harder coursing through me. I cracked my knuckles and waited on edge for him to respond. When Felix nodded, I gritted my teeth. “Lose it.”
“She offered it to me, man. Hilly can talk to me if he wants, but I’m not a bad guy.” He gave me a bemused look and motioned to Carter. “I’m doing a quick rep on the machine and heading to the smoothie station.”
“Cool, dude, see you soon.” Carter gave me a weird look, a little too much comprehension on his face for my liking. But I didn’t give him a chance to talk.
“I gotta head back. See your dumbass face on the bus tomorrow.”
“We’re friends, Tanner. You and I.”
I ignored him, but I did have a slight smile on my face when I left the gym. The three-mile jog helped the boredom, but it did not help my anger at Felix or the new rush of adrenaline to my muscles. How did that kid have her number when he’d known her for five minutes?
Why don’t I have it?
Because when I’m around her, I forget to ask.Well, that could be rectified, and sooner rather than later. I walked back to the house at a faster pace, showered and threw on jeans, a red shirt and my favorite hat. It would’ve been rude to barge into her room, so I knocked. Hell, I could be polite if I wanted.
No answer.
I knocked again, getting annoyed. It wasn’t even noon, less than twelve hours from me being inside her—where would she be?
You could text her if you had her number, idiot.
Thanks for the helpful tip, brain.
