Page 9 of Caught Looking

“Something happens, you come to me. If that fucker fucks with her, we fuck with him together.”

“Absolutely. But she handled him on her own just fine. All I’m doing is giving her some armor.”

Rhett grunted. “We can’t tell the team it’s fake. The more people who know, the more likely it will be that someone slips up. If this fucker gets wind that you two aren’t real, he’ll move in.”

“Agreed. But that means you have to tell them you’re cool with me dating your cousin.”

Rhett growled again. “Fine. Follow me.” He stormed back out, down the hall, and slammed into the locker room. “Attention!” Rhett might be a man of few words, but he used them effectively. And loudly.

I came to a stop beside him and folded my arms over my chest, waiting for the show to start.

“Fuckers!” he yelled louder. The locker room fell silent.

Wes even dropped a shoe, jaw hanging open. His gaze shot to mine and an eyebrow cocked.

I shrugged, grinning. This was fun.

“I’ve got an announcement!” Rhett kept yelling, making sure he had everyone’s undivided attention before lowering his voice to a normal level. “Butler is dating Annalise. I’m cool with it. If I’m not murdering him, neither are you. Understand?” He stared the room down, his gaze scanning down one set of lockers and up the other. No one said a word. “That’s all.”

The room erupted in noise. Questions were yelled our way; jokes already being tossed around like candy. I leaned closer to Rhett. “Annalise is going tolove itwhen I inform her you told the entire team yougave me permissionto date her.”

He shot me a glare. “It’s fake, isn’t it? Maybe you don’t even talk to her.”

I laughed. “But how will I fake date her if I’m not around her?” Fuck, I was poking the bear, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Don’t you have home runs to practice hitting?” He dismissed me.

I laughed all the way back to my locker to grab my batting gloves. Wes was waiting. “I thought you said you weren’t dating his cousin?”

“No, I said I wasn’tfuckingher.” I shot him another warning glance.

Wes gawked at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Look, it’s complicated. So we’re being careful. I like her. We want to see if there’s something here. And we can’t do that if Rhett murders me before we even kiss.”

“You haven’t kissed?” Wes said way too loudly, eyes bugging. “Are you sick or something?” He tried to touch my forehead.

I batted his hand away. “No I’m not fucking sick. Were you careful with Carrie?” Fuck, if anyone understood what I was doing or why, it would be Wes. If I needed to loop someone in, it would be him.

Wes blinked, understanding slowly dawning on his Instagram-famous face. “Youlikeher.”

“I do.” And that was the damn truth.

His grin was just as slow. “No wonder you got all pissy when I asked if you fucked her.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder and gave it a shake. “You really are turning over a new leaf.”

I fully admitted I had lost my way, coming to spring training drunk off my ass, out of shape, ready to retire. But Wes got me moving and took me on his morning runs. Not long after that I let him drag me to the gym. Now he wanted me to come to some yoga class he said was amazing for his hips. He’d had the front row seat to my transformation. He just didn’t know that it was Annalise that inspired it all. Not that a woman was a solution to the problem I let another woman create.

But damn did she kick my ass and wake me up.

And maybe I was just that kind of guy. I didn’t just like women, Ilovedthem. And for the last few years I exercised that love the only way my bruised ego would allow, by plowing through them, using them, constantly trying to calm this feeling inside me that threatened to overwhelm me and sweep me away.

But it all caught up with me in the end. I burned out. And faced with the reality of everything I’d done, how I’d reacted, what it had cost me, I didn’t know who I was anymore.

Which was how I wound up drowning my sorrows in bottles and bottles of whiskey. Our team manager, Isaac Anson, was an old college friend of mine. So instead of kicking me off the team, Isaac told me to find a new purpose in life because my old one sucked.

He wasn’t wrong.

And now here I was, not quite who I wanted to be yet, but on the way there. And just because I wasn’t all healed and perfect didn’t mean I would let a good thing go. Nope. I was selfish after all. Maybe Annalise deserved to date someone better than me. Fuck, shedefinitelydeserved someone better, but I was going after her anyway. If she didn’t want me, well, good on her. At least I could walk away knowing I’d swung for the fences.

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