Page 32 of Big Dix

My phone chimes with an incoming message, and I grab it from my bag.

Dad

Atti, I need you to be at the farm this weekend. Some supplies are coming in, and Mom and I are heading over to Asheville for a weekend getaway for our anniversary. Mom booked it as a surprise. Sorry, it would be two more weeks before they could deliver if I canceled the shipment. We can’t wait two weeks. If you have plans, I can see if your sister can come out. Let me know.

Great. Just perfect. There goes any hope of having some time with Evelyn this weekend. If I go out to the farm, a million other things will need to be taken care of, and I’ll have to drive out after practice on Friday night. My Dad, bless his heart, takes care of the day-to-day stuff on the farm for me now since my schedule is so crazy until the off-season.

I stay here, in the city, at a house I bought that is close to the stadium, but the farm… that’s my home. I’m going to live there full-time after I retire. The first purchase I made after the draft, it’s close to Mom and Dad, and the acreage is terrific. I’ve been working on the house the last few years to update it, but the barn is done, and it is everything I’ve ever wanted.

“So, did you hook up with that chick from the party yet, Evelyn? Was she as good a lay as she looks?”

What’d he say?I tuck my phone back into the front pocket of my bag, and my blood begins to simmer. Just knowing, for a fact, what he is thinking aboutmy Evelynright now makes me want to punch him in his too-perfect fucking nose. Immediately, I’m transported back to the party, with him seconds away from kissing her.Asshole.

“No, I did not hook up with her.” I raise a brow in his direction, just waiting for him to say the dumb shit that I know he’s going to say.

Trent is a decent guy, but he is a hit-it-and-quit-it type. And I know what he’s thinking because I used to have those same thoughts. I used to be that guy right along beside him. Then Annie happened. One day, some girl is going to break his heart, and his entire world will shift. He’ll realize that a different girl every night gets old. There’s more to women than a warm place to park your cock. Trent hasn’t had that realization yet.

“Man, that’s a shame. Did I tell you? I found out where she works.”

What. The. Fuck.

Trent turns to dig in his bag while he continues, “Yeah, I met up with Michels and his wife, Evette, for dinner last night, and we were talking about the food at the party, like how good it was and shit. Evette said she knows the caterers; said she likes to go to Evelyn’s bakery for breakfast on the weekends. So, of course, I asked for more information.”

“You asked around about her?” I try to temper the jealousy I’m feeling. It’s not my place to lay any sort of claim on Evelyn. Hell, we haven’t even had a date yet. Not really. Just the incident and we are calling and messaging each other. We’re barely anything at this point. I don’t know that we will ever beanything.

Do I want us to be something?I think I do. Huh.

“Yeah. man. You know what the name of her bakery is?” He doesn’t give me time to answer; his laughter cuts me off. “Everything Is Better With Cream. I’ll give her some cream.” Trent turns to me, shoots me a wink, and smiles. “Well, if you aren’t going to hit it, mind if I do? Shit or get off the pot as they say. I’m getting impatient.”

“Stay away from her, Trent. Got it? Do not say her name, don’t think it. She doesn’t exist in your world.”

He blinks slow, raises his hands in the air. “Look, Dixon, I was just joking. My bad, bro.”

This weird-ass need to protect Evelyn and frustration with myself and the way my practices seem to be going has me raking a shaky hand through my hair.

“Trent, I’m sorry about that.” I straighten my shirt, grab my gym bag, and head for the door.

There’s only one thing, one woman on my mind, and for what I’m thinking, a phone call isn’t going to cut it.

The bellover the door chimes as I stroll inside, and the scent of a day’s hard work greets my nose. Fresh bread, sugar, cinnamon all smells so good. I’m starving, but not for food.

“Sorry, we’re closed.” Her voice trickles to me from somewhere in the back.

If they are closed, why isn’t the front door locked?Anyone could walk in. Anything could happen. I turn the lock and flip their sign over toClosed.

“Evelyn?” Silence greets me. I repeat her name, a bit louder, “Evelyn.” Something metal clangs in the kitchen.

A few seconds later, a wide-eyed Evelyn emerges from the back of the bakery. “Atticus? What are you doing here? Everything okay?”

I don’t even know why I came here. I mean, I do, but I didn’t put much thought into what I would do after I got here. This need, this longing, this ache keeps building inside of me. And…

“Fuck it.” I stride across the floor, dodging tables and chairs in my way toward her. All rational thought has left my mind at this point where she is concerned.

“Yeah, sweetheart, everything is good, now.” I slide a chair out of my way, and seconds later, I’m right in front of her. “Couldn’t wait to see you any longer, is all.”

“Oh, that is so sweet—”

Before she can finish the thought, I wrap my hands around her waist and press my lips onto hers. Bliss. Pure fucking bliss erupts in my brain and another place I’m not fully ready to accept. I move my hand to tangle in her half-up hair and pull her body in tighter against mine.

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