Paulie leans back against the divider of one of the cubbies and crosses his arms. “He was a homophobic asshole. Talked a lot of shit in our locker room. And then put my brother in the hospital. Simply because he’s a gay man.”
“We don’t tolerate that shit. It’s not just the skipper,” I say. “We’re not afraid to put someone in their place if needed.”
There may have been a bit of warning in my voice. But Jed’s not here anymore, and he was our dark knight in a way. Our Batman. Paulie too. But he doesn’t need to carrythat alone with Jed gone. I’ll be right by his side shutting that shit down.
Trent laughs awkwardly, his shoulders curling in. He tugs on the bill of his cap. “Yeah, definitely no issues with that here. Totally cool with the gay and the bi and the stuff. All for it. The more queer the better.”
I cock my head. Um. What?
His face is tomato-red again. “I-I just mean I’m totally fine with it. No trouble from me.”
Easton takes pity on the poor kid, who clearly wants to shove his cleat in his mouth. “Let’s head down to the field for BP. How do you hit, Trent?”
“I swing both ways.” His face goes even redder. “I mean, I’m a switch. H-hitter. I only swing one way for other things. Not that you asked. I’m going to shut up now.”
It takes everything in me not to burst out laughing, but I don’t want to torture the kid any more than he’s doing himself. His swing also explains his call-up a bit more. Managers always get hard over a switch.
“Damn, Winters. You have some competition for most anxious now,” I say, lips twitching.
“Nice to meet a fellow word-vomiter,” East says to Trent, his lips hooking up.
The guy’s shoulders relax slightly.
“Let’s go see you in action, Trent. Plus, taking some cracks off the bat will ease a bit of the nervousness that’s pouring off you.”
I’m definitely curious to see him play. A fifteenth-rounder jumping up? This will be good.
We head down to the field. I’m still running on fumes, but something about this kid gives me a lift. Puts a little spark back in me—like maybe we can still claw out a winwith all the roster chaos going on. And I think he might fit in well with our crew. I’m looking forward to getting to know him.
FORTY-SIX
SHANE
A muted ringing surrounds me.I roll over. It grows louder. My eyes pop open, my phone’s ringtone echoing through my bedroom. I clumsily reach for it, still half asleep. My vision focuses on the incoming call.JJ.
I quickly accept the video call, and his face fills the screen. And so does the top of his shirtless torso. My stomach flips over. “Hey.”
His soft voice drifts through my speaker. “Hey, Sunshine.”
Fuck. I miss him.
“Looks like you’re finally up.”
I check the time in the corner. Yikes. It’s past ten.
“Guess I slept in.” I shoot him a sheepish smile.
We’ve got another night game tonight. Looks like my body is taking advantage of the later start. My mom’s flying out tonight too. Speaking of, I think I hear her voice coming from the kitchen. She’s been popping in every day and cooking for us. Our freezer isstocked.
“You needed it. Hopefully, you can get a few good nights in to recharge.”
“How are you holding up?” I take in his features. His eyes are bright, his jaw soft. No bags under his eyes. He looks better.
“I’m doing all right. Last night was a little easier, but kind of worse once I got back here.”
My fingers tighten on the phone. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call.”
He shakes his head. “None of that. I chatted with Shelbs for a bit. I don’t want you killing yourself. I was nervous enough with you driving back to Providence on no sleep yesterday morning.”
