Page 166 of Stolen Bases

“Never. I won’t be another man in her life who walks away. She’s too special. I should have talked to you about my feelings for her. Man to man.” I grip the collar of my shirt and pull it off.

“What the fuck, Miller? Keep your clothes on.” His eyes widen at the bloody bandage on my chest.

“It’s fine,” I assure him. I peel back the tape and show him my tattoo. “This is how much she means to me.”

Second pass as Nico stares at his sister’s name permanently written on my skin. “Damn. That’s fresh. When did you get that?”

“This morning. I’m just waiting for her to come home so I can show her how serious I am. I’m going to ask her to move in. Then, I’m going to marry her.”

He scowls and crosses his arms. “Are you asking or telling?”

“Asking because she respects you and you raised her. Telling because I’m going to marry her, whether you approve or not.”

He smirks. “I hope so since you have her name tattooed over your heart. That’s some bold shit right there.”

“It was my brother’s idea.”

Nico nods in approval. “Respect.”

“Thanks.” I hold out my hand, and for the first time in over a decade, Nico shakes it.

A booming round of applause, complete with catcalls and whistles, goes off in the locker room. Nico and I look around to find the team hiding near the bathroom, watching us.

“Aw, fuck,” Nico grumbles.

“Fucking finally.” Lance jumps onto the benches and starts doing a dance. “I see a trophy in our future.”

I can’t help myself. I grab Romero under his ass and lift him up. Reed and Lance jog over and help me hold Romero over our heads. We send him crowd surfing around the locker room at the hands of all our teammates.

“Put me down, you fuckers!”

“We will,” I shout over the hoots and hollers. “But when you joined the team, you were a grumpy dick, and we didn’t get the chance to initiate you to the team.”

“That’s right.” Lance rubs his hand together. He hops off the bench and grabs Nico. “Time to rectify the situation.”

Reed covers his mouth and shouts, “To the shower, boys.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Nico yells, trying to wiggle free. But he’s no match for a group of overly enthusiastic ball players on a mission.

We drop Romero’s ass in the freezing cold shower and run out laughing. He comes out charging for us, soaking wet and laughing, snapping at us with a rolled-up towel.

Someone turns up some music, and Reed dances like he’s Magic Mike, making us all crack up. The mood in the room is vibing. As I look around the room at the smiling faces of my team, I can’t help thinking Reed’s right. Maybe this is our year.

Nico catches my line of sight, and he taps his chest.

I place my hand over my heart and nod at him. He doesn’t have to worry. I’ll get Talia to come home somehow. Then I’m never letting her go again.

forty

Talia

I trudge up thestairs to the kitchen, and grab a cheese stick and a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator before heading to my room. My bed is calling me.

I’m completely exhausted from my shift at the hospital. Dr. Winters has been working me to the bone, but in the best way possible. This week, she tested us on a case, and I passed easily when I caught the irregularity in the patients’ lab results. I feel like she sees my potential and has given me tips when diagnosing patients, verbally guiding me through procedures while I perform them independently.

At the end of my rotation, I can easily see myself staying on staff at the hospital to work with her. To be honest, if I had met her sooner, I probably would have become a doctor and followed in her footsteps.

She’s that amazing.

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