“And I have no doubt you say shit just like that to the men you meet while wondering why every date crashes and burns,” he pokes with a snorted laugh.
“How about let’s move on from this conversation? I’m too tired for it.”
“Yeah, you look it.”
I flip him the bird. “And you wonder why you’re still single, Mr. Perfect.”
“That’s all personal choice, baby.”
It’s a lie, but I let it go, shutting my eyes. “Are you crashing here?”
“Yeah.”
Making a noise of acknowledgment, I stretch my legs out and give up on making it to my bed. A soft, heavy blanket falls over me, and I grip the fabric, immediately bringing it up to my chin. Finn’s equally exhausted sigh is the last thing I hear before giving in to the haze of sleep.
3
“Aubrey’s goingto have your ass, Wes. Have you decided if you want burial or cremation?” I ask across the clubhouse.
Shoulders tensing, Wes turns away from his cubby and stares at me. I laugh at the fear that flashes in his eyes as he adjusts his backward cap and tries to shrug it off. It’s too late to hide his reaction now. The guy may be one of the best defensive catchers in the entire league, but Aubrey still scares the shit out of him when she’s mad.
She tends to have that effect on everyone who crosses her path.
“What did he do this time?” our best hitter, Kellan Pike, asks, joining in from his spot on the nearest couch.
The guy beside him, who’s too busy scrolling on his phone to add anything to the discussion, is Asher Vaughn, the broody centre fielder who was just picked up this past off-season. I’m actually surprised he’s even here already. For the last few practices, he’s shown up whenever he’s wanted to, earning a handful of brisk comments from the coaching staff.
I stretch my arm behind my back and grin. “Anyone remember Henry Bates?”
It’s Beck, our best closer, who answers, wincing as he shakes his head at Wes. “Yeah, you deserve it.”
“He begged me to set him up with someone!” Wes argues.
Kellan snorts a laugh, bending his hulking frame forward to lean over his knees. “And your first thought was Aubrey?”
“I figured she could handle him. At least now he can stop bothering me about it.”
“Just tell him to fuck off,” Asher grumbles, standing and glaring at us like our chatter has deeply offended him. “You’re a grown man.”
“Testy today, Ash?” Beck drawls, staring him head-on with unyielding green eyes.
Of the two guys, I’d have put my money on Asher. Beck is built like a tank, but Asher is big in the “I’m not afraid to gut you open and roll around in your insides” kind of way. I’m the last person who wants that guy swinging at me. I’d be swallowing my teeth before I formed a fist.
Asher jabs Beck with a brutal glare. “No. I just don’t come to work to fucking gossip.”
“The clubhouse is big enough for all of us,” Kellan says, falling into the responsible, parenting role that we usually reserve for Jett.
Jett Ellington is a single dad to a darling eight-year-old girl named Sara and is another one of my closest friends. His absence thus far is probably for the best, though. He’d have already had Ash stumbling out of the clubhouse with a disapproving growl, and considering we haven’t even made it onto the field yet, I don’t see how that’s going to help matters.
We’re only three weeks into the season so far, but the bond we have as teammates clearly isn’t one that Asher has experienced before. He hasn’t exactly opened up and shared that with us, but it’s obvious to see. The guy is closed off in a waythat stems from always being a lone wolf. We don’t have many of those on the Havoc.
Without answering any of us, Asher straightens his shoulders and stalks away. I frown but keep my mouth shut. Wes’ confused stare finds mine, and I shrug, letting it go. It’s not the time for this battle.
Working out a pinch in my shoulder, I swing my arm a bit and say, “Back to the matter at hand. Wes deserves everything that Aubrey is going to do to him.”
“It was her or my cousin’s sister’s roommate,” he mutters.
Beck barks a laugh. “And you chose Aubrey?”
