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I’m yankedout of a restless sleep by the sound of pounding against my hotel door. I jump to my feet and search the unfamiliar room for something to arm myself with, thinking a crazed fan has found my room, when I hear, “Open this door you son of a bitch before I kick it down!”
Carter?
A glance at the clock reveals it’s four in the morning. I’m in Houston for a series with the Gulf Seabirds. Carter’s not in season, but he still shouldn’t be here.
Still dazed by sleep, I walk to the door, undo the chain, and open it for my best friend. My head snaps back when I’m greeted with a fist to the face.
“Fuck!” I stumble, clutching my nose. Liquid seeps between my fingers. I look at my best friend through watery eyes and a stinging face and shout, “What the fuck, Carter?”
He slams the door shut behind him and stomps into my room, furious. “That’s exactly what I want to know, Corey. What the fuck were you thinking going after my little sister?”
Shit
I never let myself think how Carter would react when he found out about me and Carlee. If I did, it might’ve convinced me to stay away. And I didn’t want that. Selfish, I know. But it is what it is.
If I’m being honest, I thought I had a lot more time before Carlee told her brother about us.
Looks like I was wrong.
I go to the bathroom and grab a hand towel, wincing when I press it against my bleeding nose. I don’t think it’s broken, but I’m going to have a nasty bruise.
Carter stomps in after me. “Answer me, Corey.”
“I will just as soon as I get my face to stop bleeding,” I growl back. Carter has every right to be pissed at me, and I won’t hold the strike against him, but it’s the only one he gets. I won’t hesitate to defend myself. Not even from well-deserved punches.
“How long have you been screwing around with my sister?”
Christ, this is not what I thought I’d be dealing with today…
“What did she tell you?” I need to know the specifics. I don’t want to risk giving away extra information if I don’t have to…
“Nothing about you,” he snarls, “but when she called our parents to tell them she’d beenfired,” he emphasizes the word with a sneer. “And after remembering the photo of you standing over her ex, I put two and two together. You ruined her life, you piece of shit.”
“Wait…” The hand holding the towel falls to my side. “Carlee was fired?” When the hell did that happen?
“What did you think the Lonestars would do when they found out you were dating?” He snaps angrily.
I let his temper roll off me as I focus on figuring out what’s going on. “But they don’t know we are. Dating, I mean.” Not to mention, it’s been two weeks since the incident with Carlee’s ex. Why would the team wait this long to take action? Better yet,why would they take action in the first place? It’s not her fault I punched the guy.
“You must be stupid if you think they were going to let the no-fraternization policy slide just because you’re their starting pitcher.”
“Wait.” All remnants of lingering sleep are cleared from my mind. “What do you mean? What no-fraternization policy?”
“Come on, man. Don’t be an idiot. All teams have a no-fraternization policy between staff and players. You’ve got to know that.”
Except I don’t.
I barely remember my contract negotiations with the Loons all those years ago. I was too overwhelmed by the fact I’d accomplished my dreams. I let Gary handle all the details. If a no-fraternization policy was mentioned, I didn’t hear it. And I certainly don’t remember the Lonestars mentioning it following the trade.
Is that why Carlee wanted to keep our relationship a secret? Did she know about the rule and willingly go against it to be with me?
My stomach twists with unease. I push past Carter and begin scouring the floor around the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for a fucking shirt.” I lift the pillows that I’d tossed off while sleeping and find a white t-shirt crumbled underneath. I pull it over my head. “What are you even doing here, Carter? Don’t you have twins to look after?”
“They’re with my parents.”
