Arlo kisses the tears off my cheeks. “No more casual,” he whispers. “You’re ours. We’re yours.”
Fox presses a kiss to the back of my neck. “Always have been.”
I curl tighter between them, their scents wrapped around me like a promise, and for the first time in weeks I let myself believe it.
This is real.
And it’s only the beginning.
fox
Thelockerroomsmellslike sweat, turf, and frustration. I’m sitting on the bench lacing my cleats when Jamal drops the bomb.
“Coach got the estimate back. Stadium repairs are gonna run almost twenty grand if we want the lights and the stands fixed before next season.”
Theo lets out a low whistle from the next locker. “Twentygrand? We’re fucked.”
I keep my head down, the muscles in my jaw pulling tight. The team’s been whispering about this for weeks, but hearing the number out loud makes it real. We graduate in May. After that, the program is on thin ice. No stadium fixes means no funding, no recruits, and eventually no team. The thing that’s held all of us together for four years could be gone before the ink on our diplomas is even dry.
Jamal leans against the lockers. “Coach isn’t asking us to fix it. But he’s also not hiding how bad it is. He wants the program to survive after we’re gone.”
Someone mutters, “We could do a car wash or some shit.”
“Car wash ain’t raising twenty grand,” Theo says.
I stand up, glove in hand. “What about the auction?”
The room goes quiet for half a second, then erupts.
“Five of us sign up,” I say, voice flat. “Spring Alpha Auction is pretty soon. We pool the bids. Even if we each pull three or four grand, that’s a start.”
Jamal stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “People rarely bid over four grand total, Fox. Especially because I know you and at least one other of the guys wouldn’t dare offer more than a dinner date.” I open my mouth to protest but he just glares at me. “Parker would have your ass if anyone touched you. You really think we’re gonna get enough?”
“It’s all we got,” I tell them, unsure of any other options. None of us are made of money and the monthly Alpha auctions are specifically for this type of thing. However, I’m not sure any of the teams needed to raise much more than funds for jerseys or new equipment.
No one argues. The silence stretches until Coach’s whistle cuts through the hallway, calling us out for scrimmage.
We hit the field and I step up behind the plate, mask on, trying to focus on the game. Arlo’s on the mound. Every time he winds up, my eyes lock on him, sweat darkening his shirt, that easy grin when he strikes someone out.Mine.
Practice eventually molds into a scrimmage, coach throwing us randomly on different teams. I appreciate the warm up for the games later this semester, but for some reason, my heart isn’t in it.
Jamal hits a sharp grounder up the middle. Arlo fields it clean and flips it to second. Parker makes the play, but Jamal barrelsin late, sliding hard. His shoulder clips her thigh as she throws to first.
I blink a few times before a snarl rips from my throat and I stalk toward the bag, ripping my mask off.
“Watch the fucking slide, Jamal.”
He holds up both hands. “My bad, man.”
Arlo jogs over, glove under his arm, and steps between us. “Easy, Fox.”
But I’m already reaching for him. I grab the front of his jersey, yank him in, and kiss him right there on the infield. My hand finds his throat like it always does, thumb pressing just enough to show off my claim. He makes a surprised sound against my mouth, then melts into it, kissing me back like he’s been waiting for this all day.
The team catcalls. Someone whistles. Coach’s voice booms across the diamond. “What the fuck, Martinez?!”
I pull back just enough to rest my forehead against Arlo’s. He’s breathing hard, eyes dark, lips curved in that half-smirk that always undoes me. “Later,” he murmurs against my mouth. “Promise.”
We finish the scrimmage, but my head still isn’t in it. All I can think about is the auction. Signing up means standing on that stage, letting strangers bid on a night with me. It could save the team, the exact thing that brought Parker, Arlo, and me together in the first place. But it could also blow everything up. If Parker finds out before we’re ready, if she thinks I’m choosing the team over her, overus…
