“She’s single, he’s single! It seemed logical at the time!”
“You clearly don’t know the definition of logic,” Kellan says.
“Well, while Wes is preparing his will, does anyone want a perfectly good, well-used catcher’s glove? I’ll be generous and start the bidding at four thousand dollars,” I say, grabbing my gear from my cubby.
Beck does the same beside me. “And risk touching the inside of it? Not a chance in hell.”
“Okay, first of all, that’s rude. And second, it gets cleaned,” Wes says, already ready to go.
The noise in here has picked up a bit these last few minutes as more players file in to grab their things, ready to get to work. I pride myself on knowing every single player and coach but do wish I had more time to get to know them all better. Still, I think he says a lot about our team dynamic that we don’t all have to be best friends to play so damn well together.
I set my sunglasses on the brim of my hat and start for the exit, flipping to face them as I go. “By who?”
“The same people who would clean yours if there was anything left of ittoclean,” he returns with a huff.
Lifting my slightly battered glove in front of me, I look between it and the guys now heading in the same direction. “Sheworks just fine, thank you. Plus, I’ve got better things to spend my money on.”
“Like what? Porn subscriptions?” Kellan deadpans.
Wes laughs too loudly, earning himself a glare from me. “What? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Finn. Everyone watches porn.”
“Talk for yourself. I prefer actual women,” Beck says, reaching a hand out to turn me forward before I can smack into a wall.
I make a noise in the back of my throat. “Yeah, I think the entire population of Vancouver knows that.”
“I should have let you hit your face on the wall,” he grunts in reply.
Jett’s voice joins the mix a beat later, announcing his arrival. “Hurry up! Christ, you lot are worse than Sara when she’s getting ready for school. Less chatting and more moving.”
He’s waiting for us in the tunnel, a looming force that should make the rest of us settle down and dig in. Key word beingshould. Instead, I flash a wide smile and slap his arm, pushing him to walk beside us.
“I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” I say.
The energy in the tunnel grows a bit tense, and I know without looking back that Asher’s following close behind us. Jett spares a quick look over his shoulder and frowns before facing forward again. I shake my head before he can ask his question.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s just a bit prickly today. We’ll work it out during practice.”
He nods. “Maybe we need to get him out with the guys sometimes.”
“If you can get him to agree to it, sure.”
“You’re the team’s fucking puppy. You ask him.”
I choke on a laugh. “And you’re our pseudo-dad. I’m pretty sure this falls under your jurisdiction.”
“Fine,” he mutters sharply. “I’lltryto figure it out.”
Hands clap our backs before Kellan shoves his head between ours, the sun beating into our fronts. “Just make sure there’s somewhere for Wes to hide in case Aubrey comes, too.”
“Why?” Jett asks, frowning.
Kellan hums. “Oh, where do I begin?”
“Who said we were inviting women?” Wes asks, joining us. He lowers his voice and adds, “By the way, I’m pretty sure Asher’s been listening to you this whole time.”
“Aubrey’s at everything, regardless of whether we invite other women,” Beck says, his tone hiding nothing about how dumb he thinks the initial question was.
We step onto the field, and I take one long look around, feeling that familiar click inside of me. Suddenly, nothing else matters but baseball. I tighten my fingers in my glove and pull free of the group, my focus snapping to the pitching coach.
