Page 73 of Pitcher Us
“Beck! Shut the fuck up. Stop looking at my girl like that and fucking listen!”
“Your girl?”
Callie runs her hands over her face and mutters, “We’re screwed.”
“No, we’re not.” I take her hand and pull her closer before turning back to Beck. “Look, we've been secretly seeing each other for a few weeks, but we’ve been dancing around this attraction since the trade. So we’re not just fucking around. This is serious, Beck.”
Beck shrugs and crosses his arms. “If this is serious, then why are you keeping it a secret? Just because of Adam—wait, nooo. You two aren’t allowed to date.”
And just like that the bubble of hope I had pops.
“So, that’s an actual rule?” Callie asks just barely above a whisper. Damn it.
“Yeah.” Beck nods. “We had a couple of players over my years here who wouldn’t leave the staff alone. It got really messy—from both sides, really. Almost all of the players were traded and some were sent back to assignment. There were two girls who were let go but others just left. After all that shit, the rule was strictly enforced. Olsson might be the new GM but he was still a coach through all that mess. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was still his rule.”
“Fuck.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. What the fuck are we going to do?
A punch comes to my other shoulder and Beck looks angrily at me. “Why the fuck did you answer the door anyway?”
“The fuck was that for? I didn’t do it on purpose. I was working off little to no sleep.”
“Will!” Callie slaps at my other arm and while she looks upset still, her cheeks are rosy.
God, I’m on fire this morning. Not only have I put her in this situation, now I’m afraid she feels like she’s going to have to make a decision. Fuck knows I can’t.
“Callie, I’m sorry, I?—”
“Now, hold on.” Beck interrupts. “First, might I say I’m rather impressed. All night stamina.” Beck lightly claps.
“For fuck’s sake,” Callie mutters.
“Second, you assholes are not about to break up in front of me. I’m a fucking romantic!”
I raise an eyebrow. “You? Really?”
Beck shrugs. “For other people. I’m happy where I’m at, but damn it, now that I know about this…I fucking ship it.”
What the actual fuck is happening right now?
Beck looks at Callie and takes a step toward her. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I'm a little heartbroken I wasn’t even considered, Callie Bear. I mean, just think about?—”
“Okay.” I step in between them. “That’s enough. Was the whole ‘my girlfriend’ part not clear?”
Callie chuckles and wraps her arms around my waist. “Relax. Beck, you look like you could be my brother, it was never on the table for me.”
Putting my arm around her, I kiss her head with a laugh while Beck digests that rejection.
“Okay, I’m just going to push through that.” Beck shakes his head. “My original point is that all of the other instances were issues because it always led to huge drama. If you can show that it won’t be a problem for you two, then maybe, he’ll let it go.”
“But we still run the risk of both of us losing our jobs, right?” Callie whispers.
“Yeah, if you want to look at it that way.” Beck shrugs. “Or you could look at it as a way to make it work.”
Callie looks up at me with the question I know she’s afraid to ask.
“We’ll make it work.” I kiss her forehead.
“Hey! Did you guys get a Polaroid camera?” Beck asks, pointing at the nightstand where not only the camera is, but thepicturesare too.
