Page 13 of Scoring in Cedarwood

“I miss having a home base. I spent a lot of time alone or with the team. The guys are great, but right now I’m still an outsider. They’ve got their family here and friends. I’m still finding my way.” Tanner swiveled on his seat. “ Devlin can probably get you passes, too.”

“I have a ticket, but don’t you have family? Your father doesn’t visit?” Dane asked. He wasn’t close to his father, but living across the country from each other made being tight almost impossible. Plus, his father had his second family. Dane was a throwback to his father’s first marriage and not as important as the new one.

Tanner shook his head and toyed with Dane’s fork. “My father loves baseball, but he works a lot and still lives in Indiana. On top of that, he’s had heart problems and a quadruple bypass surgery a couple years ago. He’s still paying the bills from that and I doubt he’d make the trip. As for my mother, she lost control when I was sixteen. I haven’t talked to her in nearly ten years.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He couldn’t imagine being in Tanner’s shoes. He hadn’t talked to his parents in ages, but he trusted they were okay.

Tanner shrugged. “After they split, she became someone else. She drank a lot, never worked, had a new guy every couple weeks… It wasn’t a good place to have a kid. She’d threaten to send me to Dad’s if I misbehaved. A child shouldn’t have to live like that.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Dane murmured. Tanner’s situation must’ve reinforced his decision to live a nomadic life. No need for ties if he never knew how long he’d be kept around.

Tanner rapped his knuckles on the counter. “You got me to open up. That doesn’t happen unless I’m talking to an owner I’m trying to impress.” He bumped Dane’s knee with his own. “Devlin doesn’t know about my mom.”

Electricity shot through Dane’s body. He wanted to collide with Tanner again. He patted Tanner’s hand and took away the fork. The sizzles increased. He suppressed a groan. Being so close to Tanner was dangerous, but hot. “I’ll consider myself lucky then.” Had his voice gotten lower? The temperature in the room must’ve spiked.Damn.He needed to shuck a layer of clothing.

“You are lucky.” Tanner didn’t pull away for another moment.

Does he feel the electricity, too?

“I should hit the sack. I’ve got another round of practices before the big game on Saturday.” Tanner hesitated. “If you can make it, I’d appreciate having a fan there.”

“You’ll have lots of fans. Everyone loves you,” Dane said. “You’re Foxy.”

“Maybe, but you seem to see the real me.” Tanner smiled then left his stool and ducked out of the room.

Dane sighed. He had to be rusty at knowing the signals, but he could’ve sworn Tanner had flirted with him. The food, conversation, touches…holy shit. If they hadn’t been flirting, then he was clueless.

He closed the paper box. He had to check his schedule—he’d be on call this weekend. He couldn’t shirk his duties at the office, but maybe he wouldn’t be needed all that much during the game. He wanted to see Tanner, not on the app, but in action.

Tanner strolled to his room and couldn’t hide the smile. He’d gotten the doctor to converse with him. Sure, he’d done most of the talking, but so what? He’d spent time with Dane. Maybe he’d even convince Dane to attend the game. One step at a time.

Chapter Four

The next afternoon, Tanner changed out of his sweaty practice uniform. He stood in front of his locker, his muscles aching. He’d done two hours of batting practice and three of outfield drills. He still loved the game, but would rather be playing in an actual contest, not going through the motions.

Zeppelin Starr, the current darling of the Wildcats, edged in beside Tanner.

“Hi.” Tanner pulled a towel from his locker, then grabbed his shampoo. “Good game?”

“It wasn’t bad.” Zeppelin elbowed Tanner. “We’ll be better when you’re on the field. I heard you’re working hard. I’m surprised they didn’t have you observing the game.”

“I wanted to, but Coach figured I’d be better with more practice,” Tanner said. “We’ve been contracted to do our best and go for wins, so I’m trying to fulfill my role on the team. You have to put in work to get results.”

“Do you take breaks?” Zeppelin asked. “Or are you all work?”

“Depends on who happens to be asking.” If Dane wanted to explore their off-hours together, he’d be all in.

“What if I’m asking?” Zeppelin followed Tanner to the showers. While Tanner stripped out of his boxer briefs, Zeppelin shucked his clothes, too. He stepped into the stall next to Tanner. “What would you say?”

“I’d be surprised.” Was Zeppelin coming on to him? He fiddled with the faucet handle and stepped under the spray. The heat soothed his muscles and the noise gave him a moment to compose his thoughts. He wasn’t interested in Zeppelin. Maybe he had alternative tastes, but he tended to gravitate toward older men. Zeppelin was younger than him by two years.

“Why would you be shocked? You’re hot. I’m hot. If we go out together and get seen around town…we could show Cedarwood our baseball team is fabulous and filled with sexy guys.” Zeppelin lathered his washcloth. “We’d bring positive attention to the town and our team. We all win.”

“Ah.” He nodded. Zeppelin wasn’t flirting—he was talking business. Boring. “We get people excited about the Wildcats, eh?”

“Yeah. Go to a bar, hang out with the locals and get pictures taken.” Zeppelin elbowed him again and splashed Tanner. “And if we happen to leave together, I know a great club near Cleveland that asks no questions.”

“What do you have in mind?” Tanner asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to club with Zeppelin, but a guy could have options.

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