“Yup. They’re a fucking hoot. Lorelei has a dare with one of her friends of who can get the most dates from Tinder this month, but only using pick-up lines that reference America. Like,baby are you a national treasure, because you look like the constitution.My favorite though—baby, I’ll make you see stars and stripes.Rachel and I are contemplating joining the competition. Winner gets an American-themed basket and while that doesn’t sound great, I like winning things.”
I tried smiling, but all I could focus on was her going on dates, letting other guys touch her, kiss her, hear her sounds and make her happy.Shit, did we forget to turn on the air?“Is it hot in here?”
“Nope. I’m cold,” Aaron replied, scrutinizing his sister. “You’re not going to do that dumb shit, right? That’s…I mean, it’s funny, but not for my sister.”
“Aaron. You did all the drugs, didallthe girls and you’re trying to tell me what to do? Nah. No thank you.”
“But it’s different.”
“Why? Because I’m a girl? I can like sex, bro. Don’t be sexist. It’s a double-standard.”
Oh my god, I hated this conversation so fucking much. Sweat pooled on my forehead and I got up to get a glass of water. What was happening? I should be pumped, ready to return to the field and get back on the grind of reaching my goal. I should not be fucking thinking about Kenzie and especially not about her having sex with other dudes.
The cup fell from my hand and spilled water on the floor. “Shit.”
I used a washcloth to pick up the moisture and leaned against the counter as though it would help me find my bearings and tell me how to stop acting like this. Just because we were having a party, it didn’t mean I couldn’t sneak into her room after it was over.Yes! That’s it.We could still be together one, maybe two final times before I reported back. It fit the timeline and would complete her list. I knew how she felt about that list.
Relaxed and content with my decision, I walked back out and Aaron was gone. “Where’s your bro?”
“IHOP. He’s meeting Greta there for their bimonthly pancake obsession. You know how they are.” She set her phone down and gave me a funny smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I think so.” I joined her on the couch, immediately putting my arm around her so she could rest her head on my shoulder. “I don’t want to do that shit your brother was harping on me about. I’d rather spend my night with you.”
She relaxed against me and lifted her face up to mine. She kissed the spot right where my cheek met my lips. “Aaron won’t let you get out of it.”
“I fucking know.” I sighed, hating the pinching feeling around my heart. “We didn’t talk about it, but tonight is…”
“Our last night. I know.” She sat up, a seductive smile forming on her lips. “They’ll be gone at least an hour. We could make sure to knock off one from my list. You up for it?”
“God, if I ever say no to that question, know something’s wrong.”
She took my hand and the two of us ran up the stairs, laughing. She pulled me into her room, shoving my back against the door and giving me the sexiest look I had ever seen on her. “Just when I think I can’t get enough of you. You’re the handsomest guy I’ve ever had the pleasure of being with. Let me show you how much…”
She showed me all right. Holy shit.
We knocked off one more time for her list and all that remained was one final time—the last chance I had to explore her. So when she kicked me out of her room, I tried not to panic. We still hadn’t talked about it. Not one word about what would happen when I woke up the next day. I wasn’t sure I could…that was what I told myself when she popped in to say goodbye, declaring she’d be out for the night.
* * * *
Zade passed me my second beer, his fourth, while a handful of our teammates howled with laughter at something Aaron said later that night. It was great—nine of us chilling together somewhere other than the field, and I should have been relishing the entire thing. My teammates had bought me beer and wanted to hang out to celebrate me getting to go back on the field.How cool is that?
I needed to stop acting like a dick. “Thanks, Z.”
“Dude, you seem down. Why aren’t you bouncing off the walls with excitement? You get to be back at it tomorrow. Is everything good?”
“Yeah, for sure. Just enjoying the moment.” I scanned the living room and made sure to smile. It probably looked like a wince, but Zade seemed pacified and I sighed in relief. “How do you balance baseball and Callie?”
He snapped his head in my direction, his intelligent eyes alarmed, and he moved closer to me. “Uh, why?”
“Curious.”
“Okay, uh, well, she knows it’ll have to come first. It’s that simple. It also helps she fucking knows the sport and can talk to me about it. Her family are huge baseball groupies—it’s in their blood. I used to worry about her getting in my head, but, shit, it never happened. Honestly, she’s the first person I call when something good or bad happens.”
Kenzie can be that. She can.“Cool.”
“You’re not…seeing anyone, are you?”
“No.”
