He didn’t have a thing for the friend taking care of hiskid, a thing that haunted his dreams along with his every waking hour.
I’d been lucky that the guys hadn’t needed my help this game, as my mind was still on Stella, beautiful first thing in the morning even before I’d noticed her perfect breasts spilling out of her tank top, egging on all the fantasies of her I shouldn’t be having but seemed to compound every damn day.
We were still us, mostly, but a tension was pulsing between us that had almost come to a head this morning. I’d caught how she was looking at me and how her breath hitched when I’d come closer. This wasn’t one-sided, but knowing that only made it worse.
It was hard enough not to drown in all that beauty I’d been too stupid to see before and now didn’t want to look anywhere else.
I couldn’t think of a way out of this, other than saying fuck it all and going for it. It was still a bad idea, still wrong, still inconvenient as fuck.
My feelings had gone from a confusing awareness of her to a pure fucking yearning that was here to stay whether I liked it or not.
But I likedher. Too much. I’d run home every night this week for more time with Stella, wanting those extra minutes or even seconds with her.
She was too close yet so far away.
The hallway leading to the locker rooms was where families and friends came to see the players and staff after the game. The staff usually chose random fans out of the crowd for photo ops with the team and would bring them back to meet the players. I’d told Stella to meet me here, but I couldn’t find her or Bennie in the dissipatingcrowd.
“Daddy, you won again!”
Bennie appeared out of nowhere, charging at me with Stella laughing behind her.
“Well, I didn’t win. They did,” I said, lifting her up and setting her on my hip.
“Yeah, but you rearrange their bones so they can play. That’s why you’re arealdoctor.” She dug her finger into my chest.
“Thanks, Ben,” I said, laughing as I kissed her cheek. “Did you have a good time with Stella?”
“Yes, she did. Although I got dumped for Taylor.” Stella tickled Bennie’s side.
Taylor was with her sister and Silas, talking to Nate after his last shot with a fan. He looped his arm around Taylor’s shoulders, giving her neck a gentle tug, and I could make out the blush creeping up her teenage cheeks. This guy put every female in a twenty-foot radius under a spell, although Stella had seemed immune so far.
Thank God.
“Hey, Bennie,” Adrian crooned, putting one hand behind his back. “I have something for you.”
“What is it?” Bennie’s eyes lit up as she kicked her feet against my hips.
“Easy, Ben,” I said, grabbing her foot before she nailed me right in the groin.
“This is a ball from today’s game. Chris held on to it from the last strikeout, so I wanted to give it to you.”
“It’s, like, a real baseball,” Bennie whispered, her jaw slack as she plucked it from Adrian’s palm. Her hands were tiny against the stitching as she wrapped them around it like a crystal ball.
“Yep, and it’s all yours.”
“Thank you!”
I set her down when she squirmed in my arms.
Adrian bent to give her a hug when she raced toward him.
“What are you doing with my girl, Adrian?”
Nate came up to them, his arms crossed.
“Look! Adrian gave me the ball from the game today!” She held it up, still clutching it in both her hands.
“It’s about time you had some competition.” Adrian knelt on the floor next to Bennie.
