Page 167 of The Plan

I act like I don’t notice and head back inside. As soon as I walk in, I freeze. “I was gone for two minutes.”

“Get the fuck off of my hair!” Sire tries to get out of Lis’s hold and ends up grabbing her hair in return. He pulls it so damn hard it looks like he breaks her neck.

“Okay, okay!” They both let go, and Lis gets up with a smirk playing on her lips. She goes to walk off but kicks Sire first. Just as she runs off, he trips her, and she falls on her face.

I try to hold back a laugh, but Sire and August are hysterical. Hazel gets up from August’s lap and glances at Lis on the floor. She shakes her head at her, but there’s a small grin on her lips.

“I want to go.” She taps August as I pass her.

“If you don’t want to hang out with me anymore, just say that, Hazel.” I sit back down, and Sire lays back on me. Hazel looks at me, rolls her eyes, and turns back to her boyfriend.

“Get up.” He rises at her command, and she looks back over at me. “I do want to hang out with you, but these two”—She nods at Lis and Sire—“drained my social battery.”

She walks over and kisses me goodbye on the cheek. I feel Sire quickly raise his head, and he looks between the two of us. “Did you just fucking kiss her?”

Hazel answers before I can. “Yup.” Sire looks back over at me as she walks off. August laughs at us and leans over to hug us both goodbye. Sire tries to push him off from us but struggles with the way he’s laying on me. August squeezes us all together once more before pulling away to hug Lis and Athena.

“She was joking, right?” I look back down at Sire, and he looks like he really wants to know. I can’t help but laugh.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sire

Ilet my eyes fallshut as Vid presses her lips to my forehead. When I open them, she’s already watching me with a beautiful smile on her face. I smile up at her from the bed, admiring how pretty she looks so early in the morning.

“Go back to sleep.” She tells me quietly, but I rub the tiredness from my eyes, and I shake my head as I sit up in bed.

“Wait for me. I want to drive you to work.” I get out of bed, and when I glance back at her, she’s still watching me. “What is it?” She only shakes her head softly before pulling me in for a hug.

I hesitate for a second, then wrap my arms around her. When she looks up at me, she’s just smiling. “I love you.”

I feel a smile stretch on my face and kiss the top of her head. “I loveyou.”

She pulls away and says she’s going to walk Athena. I get ready fast so she isn’t late to work on her first day back after being off. I walk into the kitchen when I’m ready, but Vid isn’t back with Athena yet.

I quickly make her some coffee but turn at the sound of my phone ringing. When I reach it, I realize it’s Vidia’s phone.

It’s her mom, but I just let it ring. I go in search of Vid’s work cup, but then her phone starts ringing again. I glance back at it, and it’s her mom again. I keep my eyes on her phone, thinking if I should just answer and figure, what’s the worst that can happen.

“Hola, mi niña preciosa.”

I smile to myself because I one hundred percent understand that. “Hola, Ms. Gomez, Vidia just went downstairs.”

“Oh…” She’s quiet on the other end for a beat, and I open my mouth to say something, but she beats me to it. “I was just going to ask V about you. I’ve been getting phone calls about your fight.”

I let my eyes fall shut and run a hand through my hair. I think all of her baseball associates know I’m dating her daughter, and they all also saw the fight. Of course people are calling her to talk shit.

“What did you want to ask her about me?” I ask shyly, only because I have no idea what else to say.

She fires back immediately. “Why do you think it’s okay to put your career on the line for the sake of your ego? This is baseball, not hockey, and we don’t punch our opponents.”

I look up but remember Vid isn’t here to save me. “I don’t think it’s okay…”

“Well, was it worth it?”

I know my answer, but I hesitate because I don’t know what answer she wants to hear. I settle for the truth. “Absolutely.”

She is quiet for a few seconds. Then, “Good.” My head snaps down to the phone. “Violence is never okay, so if you're going to hit someone, ithasto be worth losing something you love.”

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