Page 96 of Coach Me
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“You all seriously bet on this?”
“Obviously. I needed one more month of you holding out. Actually, I thought you’d need more time to win over Lucie…she’s all happy. You’re kind of an asshole sometimes.” Beck tosses his bat around mindlessly. “Even though I feel like it’s unfair now. I knew Anderson would be fine with it, but I didn’t expect him to give his fucking stamp of approval.”
Adam gives an arroganthmph. “I may have casually reminded him of how obvious he was in the beginning. Worked like a damn charm. I expect cash from you and Tripp.”
Beck scoffs. “Dude, you fucking cheater.”
“What the fuck, you guys?” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Does Will know you all bet on his sister? He may not care about me, but?—”
Adam laughs again. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you the money if you go tell Will that we made a bet about you hooking up with his sister, and it’s over now.”
Yeah, no, not doing that.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m okay with Callie and Will, but I don’t ask fucking questions.” Adam puts his helmet on his head. “I’m gonna go hit a few. Daines—cash only.”
Beck waves him off, then claps my shoulder. “The one and only time I’m happy I’ve lost a bet. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I don’t plan to.” I can’t. Iwon’t.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Lucie
It felt too weird not being at the stadium. I’m going to finish up these turtles for Miles in your office.
Are you in my office now?
Yeah, is that okay? I can go to Callie’s if you need me to.
Don’t you dare.
I start to walk to the dugout so I can go meet her, but then Beck calls for me.
“Hey, Dex, the pitching machine keeps getting jammed. Why don’t you come out of retirement for a minute and throw some?”
My knee-jerk reaction is no, but then I think about Lucie watching me from my office. I was her favorite player, right?
“Alright, hold on,” I holler back to Beck.
Fucker probably thought I’d say no, but I pull my phone back out.
Bring my chair over by the window if you want to see your favorite player throw some pitches.
Chapter 33
Lucie
Well, today just keeps getting better and better. I knew coming to the stadium early was a good idea.
My smile at Dex’s text about him throwing some balls was downright cheesy. If he wants to keep playing, I want him to be able to pursue that. Even if it’s selfish on my end because I really like watching this man throw some baseballs.
Even if it’s just hitting practice, and I can tell he’s not actively trying to strike people out—well, except for Beck, Adam, and Tripp. I’m not exactly sure what happened there, but Dex throws hard every time they step up to the plate. It’s been quite comical.
By the time I’m finishing the final touches on the first crochet turtle, Dex starts rolling his left shoulder. I reach for the second kit and start on it as he continues throwing.
I could actually be getting the hang of this. Will it be a hobby I continue? Probably not, but I think Miles will love it—and that’s all that matters.
