I don’t know if I can do it.
We’re heading toward the showers when Parker jogs up beside me, cheeks flushed from the sun. She falls into step without asking, shoulder brushing mine.
“You okay?” she asks quietly.
I glance down at her. Those big eyes are full of concern, peach-vanilla scent wrapping around me like a hug. For a second the knot in my chest loosens.
“Yeah,” I say. “Just thinking.”
She stops walking, catches my wrist, and tugs me to a halt. “Well stop that.”
Before I can answer she rises up on her toes and kisses me. It’s soft at first, then deeper, her hand sliding up to rest on my chest. I groan into her mouth, one arm banding around her waist, the other finding the back of her neck out of pure habit.
When we break apart she’s smiling, a little breathless. “Better?”
I rest my forehead against hers, breathing her in. “Yeah. I can get behind that.”
She laughs softly and steals one more quick kiss before pulling back. “Good. Now go shower so you don’t smell like turf and bad decisions.”
I watch her jog toward the girls’ side of the locker room, and feel the weight on my chest shift a little more.
The auction might save the team.
But Parker, Arlo, and this thing we’re building? That’s what I’m really scared of losing.
11 - arlo
Anotherweekofpurebliss and I’m pretty sure I’ve never been happier in my life.
Every night Parker ends up in our bed, sometimes at my apartment, sometimes Fox’s, sometimes her tiny dorm nest that now permanently smells like the three of us. After practice, we’re all over each other in the locker room hallways, stealing kisses behind the equipment shed, hands sliding under jerseys when no one’s looking. The teasing has gotten worse. I can’t help it. Every time Parker blushes that pretty shade of red, I want to see how much darker I can make it.
She’s happier though.Reallyhappy. Her scent stays sweet and sunny all day now, peach and warm vanilla drifting wherever she goes, and it makes my chest feel too full every single time.
Right now, she’s curled up in my lap on one of the stone benches in the courtyard between the athletic buildings, legsdraped sideways across mine, head tucked under my chin. I press a slow kiss to her temple, then another, just because I can.
She hums happily, fingers tracing idle patterns on my chest through my shirt. “Where’s Fox?” she asks, voice soft and content.
I shrug, lips brushing her hair. “He might be helping some of the guys with the Spring Auction stuff. Coach had a meeting or something.”
Her nose scrunches up in that adorable way that always makes me want to kiss it. “I wonder who’s walking this weekend.”
I don’t answer right away. I’m too busy enjoying this, her in my lap in broad daylight, no hiding, no pretending it’s still casual. I already know exactly where I want to put my bite when the time comes, right on the soft spot where her neck meets her shoulder, so everyone can see it every time she wears her jersey.
Parker’s phone buzzes on the bench beside us and she reaches for it lazily, unlocks the screen, and goes still.
Her scent changes in an instant, sweet peach souring into something sharp. She sits up straighter, scrolling fast, eyes widening.
“Why would Fox be on that list?” Her voice cracks. “Why… did this last week not mean anything?”
I frown. “What are you talking about, baby?”
She shoves the phone at me, the Spring Alpha Auction roster open on the screen, Fox’s name right there in bold.
Martinez, Fox – Catcher.
I stare at it, my heart dropping into my stomach. “What the fuck…”
Parker slides off my lap and grabs her bag, eyes already glassy. “I have to go.” Her fingers fly across the screen as she calls Fox. It rings once, twice, then voicemail. She mutters, “You piece of shit,” under her breath and starts stalking off across the courtyard.
