Page 33 of Crew
Davenport chuckled. “He would’ve made the same joke if he hadbeen here.”
The others laughed too, and Neal shrugged. “You’re right.”
After a few more fist bumps and back slaps, I laced up my cleats and grabbed my glove. As I headed into the tunnel, I heard footsteps behind me.
Turning my head, I watched Stratton jog to catch up to me. He kept his voice low even though no one else was nearby. “You know what I said about being glad you’re sticking around wasn’t just about the team.”
“It’s because you like watching me strip out of my uniform every night, isn’t it?” I flashed him a huge grin.
“Pretty much.” He smirked.
I snorted. “Is that all I am to you? Eye candy?”
“That’s definitely not all, but the other benefits are things I can’t mention right now if I don’t want to walk onto the field hard as hell.”
I laughed, happy to see his playful side return after the week he’d had. “Maybe you can take advantage of those benefits later tonight at the hotel.”
“Counting on it.” He winked and then walked past me toward the field.
Knowing he and I wouldn’t have to stop doing whatever it was that we were doing anytime soon only added to the relief I felt getting to stick around Denver.
And I wondered if maybe it could be the start of something more with Stratton.
13
CREW
The past ninedays had been emotional hell.
The uncertainty about whether I was the father or not was hard, and the unknown was something I’d always stressed about. While I was waiting to see what colleges wanted me, the anticipation nearly killed me. Same with being drafted into the majors. That same emotion was what I’d been feeling every day as I waited for the lab to tell me if I was the father.
I’d barely slept. Barely ate. Baseball was supposed to be my distraction—the place where I put everything into being the best ballplayer I could be—but even on the field, my head wasn’t completely there. I’d been having off games, thinking about my shit when I was behind the plate or up to bat. Maybe not every second, but it was consuming me, to say the least.
Singleton had been there through all of it, providingdistractions, though none of them lasted long enough to ease my mind. Once we were done fucking, I was back in my head, thinking about how my condo might be filled with baby stuff soon. Or thinking about how themother was in California and wondering how we’d make co-parenting work. Would I only see the kid in the offseason? I hated the thought because growing up, I’d longed to have my father around to play catch or come to my games. I’d wanted him to be present in my life and not just a once-a-day call to check in.
Singleton and I had just gotten back from a light workout at the ball field, trying to keep loose even on our day off. He was stretched out on my couch, scrolling through Netflix and trying to decide what to put on. “Nothing’s really jumping out at me.”
I handed him a beer and sat next to him on the couch. “Maybe if you didn’t take so long watching every trailer, you could have picked something by now.”
He shot me a look, lips twitching like he was trying to hold back a smile. “You got a better suggestion? How else am I supposed to know if we’d be interested?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but choose something already.”
He huffed and kept scrolling, finally stopping on a movie and clicking the watch button without looking at the trailer. “Fine. This one looks good. You can’t blame me if you end up hating it.”
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t bother arguing. He’d already put the remote down and flopped back, clearly settling in.
“You ordering lunch or am I?” I asked.
In the month or so we’d been messing around, we’d somehow perfected a routine neither of us planned on. Singleton would show up at my place after practice or a game. He’d kick off his shoes and get comfy on my couch. Crazy enough, I found myself enjoying the way he seemed at ease in my space, and honestly, I didn’t mind being with him all the time.
I wasn’t supposed to be getting so comfortable with him. I wasn’t supposed to be looking forward to him walking through the door with that grin of his, like he’d already claimed a piece of me without asking. Yet here we were, ordering food, cracking open beers, laughing about nothing, our clothes often forgotten on the floor. Each time I turned around, I was reminded of the secret we were keeping. That no one—no one—knew what was really going on betweenus.
My feelings for Singleton were beginning to feel different now. He was officially on the team, so we didn’t have a ticking clock to worry about. The fact that he was here to stay had started to change how I looked at him, and I couldn’t help but feel like everything between us was on the verge of being more than just a secret. And maybe I was ready for it to not be so hush-hush.
It was only slightly different on the road. After a long day on the field, we’d retreat to my hotel room. We were careful about keeping it under wraps, even though the line between what we were doing and what we were pretending to do was starting to blur. It wasn’t only sexual anymore, at least for me.
“Your turn,” Singleton replied about lunch.
