Page 32 of Bad Run

The opposing team’s player’s speed is no match for the rocket fired from my teammate. The ball hits my glove with a pop before the runner’s foot hits the bag. The umpire calls him out, ending the inning.

The crowd cheers as my teammates and I celebrate our victory against the Chicago Grizzlies. We destroyed them 16–1 tonight. Cameron, Nico, and I cranked out a home run each, and combined with how the rest of my teammates made some amazing hits, we were unstoppable.

After a round of on-field interviews with the sponsoring sports broadcasting channel, I make my way to the locker room. I enjoy doing live after-the-game interviews. Unlike the press room interviews, these are short and sweet.

I walk into a buzzing locker room. Music is blaring, and the guys are laughing and dancing around. All my teammates are riding high after our win.

“That was fucking awesome, my guys!” Reed is boasting, as he should. He had an incredible game, starting with a phenomenal diving catch during the top of the third inning. His amazing play will be on baseball highlight reels forever.

I take the seat in front of my locker and half listen to my close friends—Reed, Blake, Heath, Cam, and Nico—chat about the game as I search out the woman I have no business looking for.

My heart pinches in my chest the moment I lay eyes on her. Gwen is standing in the corner of the locker room, with her phone out, taking a video of our backup catcher, Lucas Snell, as she asks him questions.

Fucking Snell.

He says something that makes Gwen laugh, and I bristle at their closeness. Cam was right; that motherfucker wants Gwen. The idea of her and him together makes me sick with jealousy. She isn’t mine. Which I made abundantly clear to her, so I have no right to feel any kind of way about her dating.

But I do.

Aside from doing the PR stuff she wanted me to do, I haven’t spoken to Gwen in weeks. Not since I was in her office. And she was absolutely right; I was hard.

As a fucking rock.

I have never in my life wanted a woman more than I want her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and she asserted herself, refusing to tolerate my rudeness and disrespect.

At night, when I replay that moment in my head, instead of walking out of her office I imagine pushing her up against the wall and kissing her, then swiping the box of donuts and camera equipment off the desk so I can lay her on top and feast on her pussy before bending her over and showing her exactly how fucking hard she makes me.

“You’re staring again,” Cam whispers to me, pulling me out from under Gwen’s spell. I frown at Cam, and he chuckles, shaking his head at me. “Deny it all you want; I know something happened between you two. Want to tell me about it?”

The truth is on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it back. “No, because nothing happened.”

Maybe if I say it enough, it will turn into the truth.

“Want to hear my theory?” Cam asks.

“Sure, Einstein. What have you conjured up in that gigantic head of yours?” I lean over, untie my cleats, and chuck them into the bottom of my locker.

“I think you two hooked up. Don’t know when, but I’m guessing before the season.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Cam claps his hands with a chuckle.

“I’m not answering your asinine question.” Ignoring my friend, I untuck then unbutton my shirt, pulling it off and chucking it in the laundry.

“Ignore me all you want, but I know I’m right.” Cam grabs his phone and starts typing. If I know him, and I do, he’s texting his wife. The lucky bastard.

“After that game, I need to burn off some energy,” McKay shouts. He’s really amped now. He strips off his uniform and gets ready to take a shower. “Dinner at STK and a booth at Catch 22?”

“That’s code for ‘Reed wants to get laid,’” Blake jokes.

“Who’s coming with me?” Reed turns to me. “Taylor?”

I don’t know why, but my eyes dart to Gwen across the locker room. She’s so damn beautiful, and everyone sees it too. Snell is long gone, only to be replaced by the junior physical trainer, Dougie. The two of them chat and laugh about who knows what.

A piece of me wants to march over there, throw Gwen over my shoulder, and carry her out of here so I can keep her all to myself. But I can’t.

She’s the owner’s daughter.