In an instant, her spine went straight, her shoulders pulled back, and her gaze landed on me. I could tell it was in response to Gage’s insult, and it warmed me to think that even while avoiding me after our spur-of-the-moment, middle-of-the-night sexcapade, she would still defend me until her dying breath.
“I wouldn’t call a three-year career in the Majors, running a better pitching average than most who’d been on the mound for five times as long, a ‘one-hit wonder.’ And who did you say you were?” She knew exactly who Gage was—every woman did, regardless of their knowledge of the sport, but I loved how she played that off anyhow.
Gage glanced back at me, a smirk toying on his lips before setting his attention back on the spitfire in front of him. “That wasn’t a dig at his career, sweetheart. It was a dig at his batting average. One hit wonder…get it?” When her cheeks tinted pink, the smile on his lips widened. “And I’m Gage Nix. Legendary third-baseman for the Titans.”
“Legendary?” Ellie cocked a brow at him, but I could see the humor tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Last time I checked, you had to be known for something really good—or really bad—to be considered a legend. And I wouldn’t call your stats either one.”
“Funny…it sounded like, based on your obsession with my stats, you’re aware of exactly who I am. Which validates my claim of being a legend, despite my game on the field. So you must’ve heard about me from my reputation with the ladies. And if that’s the case, then…how about dinner tonight? Just me and you, a bottle of Dom, beneath the moon and the stars in the back of my pickup.”
“As tempting as that offer is, I’m going to have to pass.”
“Let me guess…you have to wash your hair?”
“No. I just have no interest in contracting the herp.”
“Don’t worry…I haven’t had a flare up in a while.”
“Which means you’re due for one soon, right?”
I lost it. I could no longer contain my laughter and let it go in roaring rolls of amusement. Their banter was too much, and coupled with their blank stares and serious comebacks, I was a goner.
Once the laughter died down, Ellie turned to me with bright eyes and her reaction toward me showing heavy hesitation, as if she wasn’t sure how to act around me. “I wasn’t aware you had company, Coby. I’m sorry. I would’ve stayed out longer if you had told me you were expecting someone.”
“Don’t worry about it. I was just as surprised when he showed up.”
“You make it sound like I was uninvited.” Gage’s offended tone came across genuine—even though it wasn’t.
“Yeah…because you weren’t.”
“Maybe not, but I came bearing gifts.” He held up a can of beer and took a swig. Then he turned to Ellie. “You don’t have to leave. We’re just shootin’ the shit. You should stay and relax, hang out.”
She glanced between the two of us, contemplating the offer. With a piercing glower at Gage, she said, “Just as long as this one keeps his hands to himself.”
“Deal,” I stated at the same time Gage responded with, “Can’t make any promises, sweetness.” I was two seconds away from shutting him up with my fist. But at least it made her giggle, and after worrying about us all day, it proved to be exactly what I needed.
“Fine, but I have to go put these bags away.” She held up a few packages from the mall.
“I’ll help you.” I stood and started to move around the couch, ignoring the odd glance she shot me over her shoulder. Then again, I guess it was odd that I’d offered to help her put her clothes away.
As soon as we made it to her room, I closed the door behind me, not wanting Gage to overhear our conversation.
“Don’t be weird, Coby.”
“Me? Weird?” I placed my hand over my chest in a show of feigned insult.
“Yes. Why would you leave your friend out there all alone to come in here?”
I dropped the act, as well as my shoulders, and took a step closer to her, hoping she could read the sincerity in my expression. “Are we okay?”
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Her lack of attention bothered me, but I wasn’t sure how to handle it. We’d never been like this before. Even after the last time, four years ago, it wasn’t this awkward between us. Now, as we stood in her room with the door closed, the first time being around each other after last night, she turned her back to me and proceeded to pull clothes she didn’t need out of a bag and place them on the bed.
“Look at me, please.” When she peered at me over her shoulder, it was clear this was worse than I had originally thought. “Ellie…”
Finally, she turned around and caught me off guard with her soft eyes. “Don’t do this, Coby. Let’s not make a big deal about last night, okay?”
“You want to pretend it didn’t happen?”
Her shoulders sagged when she released a rushed exhale, her eyes downcast. “No. Of course not. But I don’t care to analyze it, either. You’re my best friend, and everyone understands how sex complicates even the strongest relationships. I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I’m tired of wondering what it means. Because it shouldn’t mean anything. I’d hate for things to change between us, yet I know they will. I guess I keep thinking if we don’t acknowledge it, it’ll go away and not come between us.”
I moved forward and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into my chest. “I don’t want anything to change, either, El. I just need to make sure we’re all right. I can’t explain why it happened. It wasn’t my intent. I guess I got wrapped up in the intensity of the moment.”
“We both did,” she muttered into my shirt.
“So…we had sex. Big deal. You’re still my best friend, and I wouldn’t change a thing about us…not for anything. Got it? Just please, tell me we’re fine. Tell me you didn’t stay out all day buying hideous shirts because you were avoiding me.”
She jerked back, but the second she caught my expression, her lips tipped into an earth-shattering grin. “They’re not hideous. They were on the clearance rack.”
“Yeah…because no one else bought them.”
She slapped my chest and went back to the clothes on her bed. “We’re okay, Coby. I promise. But yes, I stayed out all day to avoid you, because I was scared of what would happen when you woke up. We’re not eighteen anymore. We didn’t choose to have sex so we could shed our innocence before heading out into the real world. We’re both adults, which made last night different from before.”
“I’m sorry.”
She turned on her heel and knitted her brow. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t just you. I was in that bed, too. You didn’t force me to do anything, and I was just as much a willing participant as you were. There’s nothing to be sorry for. We just have to be more careful. What we did is a slippery slope, and I love you too much to risk the friendship we have.”
“I agree.”
A smile brightened her face, and the way it illuminated her eyes told me it was genuine. “Good. Now get back out there before your friend touches anything. I’m not sure Lysol is strong enough to disinfect chlamydia.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “He’s not that bad. You really should come out and spend some time with us. He’s actually a pretty funny guy once you pick up on his humor. I think you’d really like him.”
“You trying to set me up with Gage Nix, Kyler?”
“Hell no.” I shook my head, trying to wipe away the image she just provided. “Never. Just thought it’d be fun to spend time with you and him together. I’m trying to blend my worlds now that I’m left with just one.”
“Fine. Let me put this stuff away, and I’ll be out.”
“Hey…E.T.” I held up one finger and waited for the ease only her touch could bring.
“Phone home,” she said and connected her fingertip to mine.
I jutted my chin at her and then left the room.
Gage was still on the couch when I made it back to the living room. When I approached, he lifted his gaze from
his phone and smiled. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just had something I needed to talk to her about.”
“The ESPN deal?” he prodded.
“No. And don’t bring that up in front of her. I haven’t said anything to anyone, and I’d like to keep it quiet until I make my decision. Ellie doesn’t need to find out. Promise me you won’t say anything.”
He seemed confused, but he nodded anyway. “Of course. But why are you keeping it from her? I thought she was your best friend? Don’t you tell her everything while you guys sit around and braid each other’s hair and whatnot?”
I raised my middle finger in his direction. “She’ll be super supportive of it, and it’ll make me feel like I have to accept it.”
“So what’s the problem? Aren’t you going to take it?”
“I’m not sure yet. I told you that already. I have to think about it.”
“Seriously, fucker. What’s there to think about?”
“I have a lot to figure out now that baseball isn’t in my future. Four years ago, I chose ball over school, fully aware it could be short term. But I did it anyway because after I got the offer to play for the Titans, I figured it would last for at least ten years. And it clearly didn’t. So the last thing I want to do is accept another offer that could be just as short lived, if not shorter, and be left right here in another few years. I’m not looking for something to get me to the next spot. I’d prefer something more permanent. And I’m not sure being a commentator is that.”
He nodded, appearing to understand. “Just promise me you won’t let anyone else make up your mind for you. Do what you feel is right. Got it? I love you like a brother, but it’s always been obvious baseball didn’t fill your heart.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You loved the sport, but I think you loved it more for the family it gave you than the actual act of playing. Don’t get me wrong, you gave it your all. Everyone could see that. Hell, you were in it enough to keep your mouth shut about an injury, knowing if you did or said anything about it, it could all be taken away. I have no doubt you gave us one hundred percent of you. But where your heart’s concerned, it didn’t fill it. The team did. Your brothers did. Being part of something fulfilled you…not the game. Maybe your arm was a blessing in disguise. Maybe now it’s time you find where your heart lies.”
I hadn’t thought of it like that before. Something was missing once I’d left the field, but I hadn’t pinpointed what it was until just now, listening to wise advice from the person I least expected it from.
Before I could respond, Ellie came out to join us, a can of beer in her hand. As she came around the couch, she popped the top at the same time Gage said, “There’s the sex kitten.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said: there’s the Mexican.”
She stared blankly at me for a second, then at Gage. “You do know I’m not Mexican, right?”
“Oh, I’m sorry…was that not politically correct?”
“Dude, I have red hair and freckles.”
“Don’t stereotype. That’s not cool.” We all shared a laugh before Gage turned serious again. “If I promise to double bag my batter, would you reconsider that date?”
“There’s not enough money in the world.” It was obvious Ellie had to fight against her smile.
“Is it because I called you a Mexican? If so, I think that might be racist. Not sure, though.”
“I refuse to date another baseball player.”
Gage pulled out his phone and held it up to his ear, faking a call for her benefit. “Is this the Denver Broncos? Hi, this is Gage Nix, I’d like to switch sports. Yeah…there’s a fine-ass female who says she won’t date me because I’m not manly enough, so I figured I’d give football a try. I hear women dig men who roll around with one another trying to grab balls.”
“You’re insufferable.” She took a mouthful of beer and then winced as she swallowed.
“Just wait ’til you see me in the back of my pickup.”
It seemed this was what I’d been missing—laughter. Ellie had given me plenty of it, but it had been done under the guise of getting me out of my funk. And as I’d learned, you couldn’t get out of it when it hovered over you like an ominous rain cloud. But here, spending time with two people I enjoyed being around, it was like a weight had been lifted.
I only had about ten million more pounds to go.
Chapter 11
Ellie
Gage seemed to have become a permanent fixture at our house—when he wasn’t traveling. The team was typically on the road for at least five days at a time, but he was here so often I felt like we should rent him a room. He more than likely would’ve taken us up on the offer considering he’d already made himself right at home. I even noticed he’d put up two autographed pictures of himself in the guest bedroom he’d taken over. I was just waiting to find his jock strap in the bathroom and his jersey in my panty drawer.
“Do you not have a home?” It was nine in the morning, and there he sat with his feet propped up on the coffee table like he lived here.
“Go to your home. Don’t you like your home?” Coby’s impression of Adam Sandler trying to coax a golf ball into a hole left me giggling. It was too bad he couldn’t turn his ability to have an entire conversation comprised of movie dialogue into his next career…not that Happy Gilmore would earn him top dollar in any market.
“What is home?” Gage asked as though he were in deep thought.
“Now you’re a philosopher? It’s a place of residence you pay for,” I quipped. “Which, in case you’re still confused, isn’t here.” I didn’t really mind him being around, it was just fun to rile him up—spin him into a verbal frenzy.
“So is this your place of residence?”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “What kind of question is that?”
“Oh, I was just wondering because you said you have to pay to live in this mystical place called home. Did you start shelling out the Benjamins, or do you and Coby have some kind of bartering system where you trade room and board for wicky-wicky?” He slid his hand back and forth like a DJ scratching a record on a turntable, his brows dancing to the imaginary beat. If I were to guess, he had some seventies porn song in his head.
Before I could respond, Coby backhanded him across the chest. “Dude, too far.”
“In all seriousness, LeeLee, what do you have going on tonight?” Gage’s abrupt nickname caught me off guard.
“Am I a stripper?”
He looked me up and down with those bedroom eyes I’m sure had successfully convinced lots of women to strip naked, and then one side of his mouth tipped. “You definitely could be. But why are you asking me? Wouldn’t you know if you regularly did the naked tango?”
“Do you speak and then forget what you say? You called me LeeLee. Where the heck did that name come from? It sounds like a stripper’s name.”
“What should I call you?”
“Gee, I don’t know…how about Ellie?”
“Well, Kyler gets to call you E.T., and I didn’t figure you’d appreciate me calling you Gremlin. Not to mention, LeeLee is kinda like your name. But since you hate it, I guess I should keep calling you that. It suits you. Just roll around in some glitter and get a pair of those fancy shoes with the fishbowl in the heel, and you’ll be good to go.”
“Sure thing, Gay. I’ll get right on it.”
He gaped at me, unable to speak. I’d officially rendered Gage Nix speechless, which deserved a pat on the back. Or a trophy. “Gay? Did you just call me gay? I have nothing against two men loving each other, but I—”
“You really are dense.”
“Damn, you’re full of piss and vinegar today, aren’t you? Is it because you’re upset I’m leaving? Is that it? The thought of me going back on the road is too much to bear? I get it. You’ll miss me, sugar. Everyone does.”
I could only shake my head, refusing to keep this line of conversation going. Gage could literally
run with anything I threw at him. Granted, by the end—even though there was never such thing when it came to him—he’d take me on half a million bunny trails, and somewhere along the way, we’d lose sight of the original topic.
“You’re coming to my going-away party, right?”
“Is that what you’re calling eviction now?”
“I thought an eviction is when you’re kicked out of where you’re living?”
“It is. You said you’re going away, so I…” I huffed and closed my eyes. “Never mind.”
“Well, don’t you worry your pretty little head, senorita. No one’s kicking me out. I’ll be back. But just knowing you’ll miss me this much makes me feel better.”
“Better about what?”
“That you won’t go falling in love while I’m gone.”
“Yeah…you really shouldn’t worry about that one.”
“Does that mean you’re coming to my party?”
“Depends…how long will you be away?”
“It’s a temporary stint. I’m sure you’ll be lost without me for ten days, but don’t worry, I stole your number from Coby’s phone so we can keep in touch. So how about it, sweet cheeks? Drinks and dancing in your living room around ten? Clothing’s optional.”
I watched the grin play on Coby’s lips, trying to discern whether he was annoyed or entertained by our exchange. It seemed the only time I really saw him alive these days was when Gage was around stirring the pot. It was no secret he missed the team, and somehow, Gage’s presence kept that alive for him.
“Probably not. Ten days isn’t worth celebrating. If you were going to be gone for ten years, then yeah. I’d hire a DJ for that.”
“I’d never leave you for that long. You wouldn’t be able to handle it. Plus, we won’t need a DJ. I have all kinds of baby-making music on my playlist that’s sure to get you in the mood.”
“Does that playlist come with roofies? Because that’d be the only way you could get me in the mood.”
“We’ll see.”
Coby just shook his head and smiled.
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