Her eyes widened from behind her knees.
“You’re married, Clarke Kent?”
I made room for Pink in the seat next to me. I knew I was taking a risk by sharing my sordid past with the biggest gossip on the bus, but they were all bound to find out anyway.
“I saidsupposedto be. I called off the wedding a month ago when I found out he was sleeping with our wedding planner.”
“Woah.” Dani groaned.
“Yup.”
“That’s . . .”
“Surprising?” I finished for her. “Irresponsible? Heavy?”
“Brave,” Pink said, matter-of-fact.
I turned to face him. Apparently, Soren wasn’t the only Roaster full of surprises.
“Thank you, Jared.”
“I just call it like I see it.” He winked before passing Dani her bottle. “Drink up, buttercup."
I'd been watching the bond develop between Pink and Dani for some time now. At first, I thought Soren and I might notbe the only ones having an interoffice fling. But the more I saw them together, the more I realized that their relationship wasn't flirtatious or romantic in the least. More like brother and sister.
"By the way, what's up with your friend Nessa?"
I smiled coyly. That was another reason I knew Pink's relationship with Dani was platonic. He was smitten with Nessa.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Jared."
"She totally blew me off at the club the other night. Andthen . . ."He paused for dramatic effect. "She rejected my friend request on Facebook."
"I hate to break it to you, Jared, but I don't think you're her type."
His face fell. "But I'm everyone's type."
"Sure you are, stud," Dani said around a giggle.
"Whatever," he grumbled. "Oh, coach said we’re stopping in ten minutes.”
“Why?” we both asked.
According to the schedule we’d all received from Coach Ward’s assistant, there were only two planned stops during the ride to Spring Training, and the first was still two hours away. Still, it’d be nice to stretch our legs. And Dani, more than anyone, could use the break.
Pink shrugged. “Beats me. Ask coach.”
I scanned the bus for the man in question, but he was slumped over in his seat, facing the front. When my focus shifted right, I nearly combusted on the spot.
Soren was staring directly at me. And oh lord, he was wearing his hat backwards again. I couldn’t help but wonder how he might react if I asked him to eat me out again, this time wearing his hat.And only his hat.
Judging by the wicked smile that spread across his face, he had a vague idea about what I was thinking.
And suddenly, making an early pit stop didn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.
Soren
Like most athletes, I’d learned early on in my career that discipline was just as important as talent. You could have all the raw talent in the world, pitch the ball a hundred miles per hour, hit it out of the park anytime, but unless you had the discipline to harness that energy and develop those skills, you’d never make it to the show.
