Page 65 of The Battery
I watched him like an owl spying through branches. Any new emotion from Leo was a gift. I saw him now as vulnerable. Opening up.
“I want to take care of you,” he said in a quiet, careful voice, as if saying the words aloud would spook the timidity of his desire.
“Because you feel responsible for my circumstance?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “Because Iwantto, Cody.”
“Hey,” I said to grab his attention. I held out my hand and he sat back down beside me to hold it. “You can still do that. I’m not saying you can’t help me through this. I just don’t need to be under your roof for that.”
I saw the mental calculation. He needed control in all things. A grunt escaped him, his lips pursed.
“I’m not some damsel,” I said to reinforce my point.
He pushed his tongue into his cheek, his eyes sliding sideways. He hadn’t expected this to be an argument. “Your recovery will be quicker if you’re with me, even if it’s temporary. I can help with the physical therapy. The mental therapy. This won’t be a walk in the park if we’re getting you back on the field by postseason.”
Inside, I rocked back in shock. He really wasn’t letting this go. Part of me wanted to relent and agree. The other, fueled by boldness from the drug eradicating my inhibitions, wanted to plow forward with a disagreement. It wasn’t a leap to know which part would win.
“I’m not moving in, Leo. Especially when I don’t even know what this is or where it’s leading to.” I gestured between us.
“I’m committed to building a relationship with you,” he answered almost immediately. Holy hell but this man was unpredictable. “I’m not asking you to share my bed. I’m asking you to literally be nearby so I can help with recovery. We canpauseotherthings. That’s fine. My focus is getting you back into fighting shape, ASAP.”
It was like arguing with a wall. I believed him, of course. If he said he would hold back on being physically intimate while I recovered, I believed him. We had both held to that before.
He sensed my sudden weakness.
“I have four spare bedrooms. Two of them have their own bathrooms. I can get a room fully furnished by tomorrow. I even talked to the equipment manager already and he can get things set up in my yard to begin training as soon as you’re cleared.”
“I don’t need to be rescued.”
“Who said anything about being rescued? I’ll charge you room and board if you want.” He shifted on the bed in his excitement. He had me cornered. “There’s a full gym in the basement. I can talk to my chef to meet your dietary needs. And obviously I won’t be there half the time. You can watch the games from home and we can talk through your objective perspective. Then you can start attending the games and traveling with us. Nobody wants you to miss out, Cody. I talked to them all. That hit aside, your closing skills were incredible. Just incredible.”
Excitement flashed in his eyes. He leaned in.
“I’m—listen, I’m…” My voice trailed off. Snickered. The drugs in my system weren’t helping me win this argument. I allowed a fantasy to inject itself into my mind’s eye. A world in which Leo helped me recover without pushing a carefully guarded boundary. Actually making it to postseason.
Leo didn’t break. Did he ever need to? His voice remained quiet, eyes insistent as I reached the conclusion he had already made. All he needed was a simple three-letter word.
“Leo…” I said instead and looked away. It was suddenly too much.
He grabbed my hand. “C’mon, Cody. If anyone can get you back on track, it’s me.”
I turned and tried my best to point at him. The sudden movement hurt my chest and I winced. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“No candlelight dinners.”
That half grin of his. As if my head weren’t swimming enough.
His smile faltered as his brow furrowed. He said, “Also, there’s something else we should talk about.”
“Oh?” A sudden spike of fear lanced through my belly. My mind rushed through every possible unknown. “Like what?”
He leveled a stare at me. “Cody, how many mothers do you have? Because so far, I’ve metfiveof them.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Cody
