Page 20 of The Strike Zone

I bit down on my smile as Marnie hid a similar expression. Drew Crawley was a legendary New York hockey player and married to Jupiter’s sister. It wasn’t the first time Jupiter had used the social channels to give Drew shit, it wouldn’t be the last. And it always got picked up by the sports press, so I didn’t care.

“Have an awesome day, guys.” Jupiter walked off, slinging his arm around Marnie and muttering, “That was fun.”

“That was amazing,” Cyrus cried as soon as Jupiter was out of earshot.

“It was. Well done. That’s the kind of stuff we need, content that keeps rolling and more people visiting the channels.”

The pair of them nodded eagerly.

“Who’d you think will be next?”

“Could be anyone,” I replied, frantically rubbing my arms again to ward off the cold, and taking one step closer to the shelter of the building. “Okay, guys, you seem set up, I’m heading inside to work. Come and find me when you’re done, then we’ll edit the footage and get it scheduled to post.”

“It’s Parker King.”

I spun back around. “What?”

“Parker King, Lux Weston, Ace Watson, and Tanner Simpson,” Joey replied, his gaze locked on something over my shoulder.

I almost didn’t want to look, but the temptation was too much. I turned 90 degrees, and sure enough, the four of them were walking toward us.

Out of nowhere, my core clenched.

I hadn’t seen Parker up close for a couple of days, not since he ran after me in the corridors on Opening Day. When we stood staring at each other, neither of us able to form a full sentence. I’d been all but glued to the spot, gazing into his bright green eyes, before Coach Chase interrupted about HR’s dating form.

I’d run back upstairs so fast it had taken me a minute to catch my breath.

Watching him now, running his fingers through still-damp hair, I was almost tempted to sprint up to HR and get the form myself.

Better relationship choices, Scout.

Walking next to the other three only emphasized the size of him. Thewidthof him.

While shorter than the rest of the guys, he was still well over six feet. Where the others strode toward us with long legs, Parker looked powerful. Thick thighs from hours spent squatting behind the plate, strong enough to hold him in position for every game.

His tee had ridden up a couple of inches, showing off a stretch of tanned skin at the base of a hefty set of abs. I was so focused on it, that I didn’t notice Parker had paused his step, and when I finally looked up, I found him staring at me.

The clenching doubled down.

My gaze hastily shifted, only to see a wide grin spread across Ace’s face. It was the grin Jupiter had worn—dripping in trouble and mischief. Tanner nudged Parker in the ribs, wearing a similar grin. Only Lux remained expressionless, though as they got closer, I could see a faint smile twitching on his lip.

“Hi, Scout,” Tanner and Ace chorused.

“Hey.” I waved back, no doubt looking as awkward as I felt, my eyes darting everywhere but at Parker.

“Now, what have we got here?” Lux asked, staring at the board. “Who did I last speak to? Um, my girlfriend.”

“What about you, Parker?” crowed Ace, in a way that told me he already knew the answer.

“My mom.” Parker rolled his eyes and scowled at Ace. “You can shut your mouth, not like you don’t call your mom every morning too.”

“Not denying that, bro.” He rubbed his hand over Parker’s hair, only for it to be smacked away. “There’s nothing wrong with being a mama’s boy. Right, Scout?”

I shook my head, trying to figure out what was going on, because beats me. “No, I think it’s cute.”

Whatever I’d said resulted in the identical smiles of Ace, Lux, and Tanner to grow. Parker, however, pulled at his neckline, which was distinctly pinker than it had been a minute ago. Was heblushing?

“Scout thinks you’re cute.” Ace laughed, nudging Parker hard with his shoulder. “Was there anything you wanted to say in return?”

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