Fox walks out to the mound during the next water break, glove under his arm, and stops right in front of me. His cedarwood-leather scent mixes with mine and Parker’s until the whole infield feels like it belongs to us.
“How long do you think it’ll take to convince her last night wasn’t just one night?” he asks, voice low. He leans in a little, his lips inches away from my jaw. I resist the urge to melt into him because I would absolutely not stop at a quick kiss.
I laugh under my breath and adjust my cap. “You’re the one who’s been pining over her since sophomore year, man. Don’t act like I’m the only one who wants more.”
Fox’s jaw tightens, but there’s no real heat in it. He rubs the back of his neck, a heavy sigh falling from his lips. “I was trying not to spook her. She didn’t grow up with shit. Gets nervous about anything that feels too good to be true. Figured if we pushed too hard, she’d bolt.”
I bump my glove against his chest. “Well, she didn’t. She took both of us like she was made for it. You saw how she lit up this morning when we fed her pancakes.”
His eyes flick toward right field, where Parker is shading her eyes against the sun. “Yeah. I saw.”
Coach’s whistle cuts through the air. “Wolfe! Martinez! Less gossiping, more baseball! Ellis—get your head in the game!”
Parker straightens like she’s been caught. Her scent spikes again, a fresh burst of vanilla-citrus that makes my mouth water. I wink at her as Fox walks back to the plate, and she bites her lip, trying not to smile.
The rest of practice is torture in the best way.
Every time Parker makes a play, I make sure to yell something just loud enough for her to hear.
“Nice ass on that dive, baby!”
“Looking real good out there, Parker—keep bending over like that and I’m gonna need a cold shower.”
The guys eat it up. Jamal and our first baseman Theo, start cat-calling too, but they keep it light. They’ve seen the three of us orbiting each other for months; this is just the first time we’re not pretending anymore.
Parker blushes harder with every tease, but she fires back too, throwing a ball at my shin after one particularly filthy comment and shouting, “Focus on the strike zone, Arlo, not my ass!”
Fox catches the next pitch and stands up, shaking his head at me. “You’re gonna get us all benched.”
“Worth it,” I call back.
Coach finally has enough after Parker fields a pop fly in right field, and I wolf-whistle loud enough for the whole diamond to hear. He storms over, clipboard in hand, face red under his cap.
“Wolfe! Martinez! Ellis! My office. The rest of you, water break.Now.”
Parker’s eyes go wide. Fox just sighs like he expected this. I’m still grinning when we jog off the field.
In the dugout, I bump shoulders with Fox while Parker grabs her water bottle a few feet away. Her cheeks are flushed, thighs pressed together like she’s trying to hide how much my teasing affected her, her scent thick in the air with peach and slick and pure want.
Fox leans in close enough that only I can hear. “We’re not letting her think it was one night. Not after the way she came apart for us.”
“Agreed,” I murmur, eyes locked on Parker as she takes a long drink. “We just gotta show her we’re serious.”
Fox’s hand brushes my lower back for half a second. “Doesn’t mean we can’t tease her a little more at practice tomorrow.”
I laugh softly. “Deal.”
Coach’s voice booms from the tunnel. “Wolfe, Martinez, Ellis—now!”
parker
Mystomachdrops.Theentire team is staring as I follow Arlo and Fox off the field, my thighs still sticky from how much I’ve been leaking since Arlo started running his mouth. My scent is everywhere, and I know the guys can definitely smell it.
Coach shuts the door behind us and folds his arms, looking more tired than angry. “I don’t care what the three of you are doing off the field. But we’ve got a mixed team and a whole damn infield full of Alphas out there. Parker, you cannot be walking around smelling like that in the middle of practice. Dial it back.”
My face burns so hot I’m surprised it doesn’t catch fire. “Coach, I—”
He holds up a hand and looks between Arlo and Fox. “You two claiming her as your Omega or what? Because if you are, fine. Handle it off the diamond. If you’re not, then stop teasing her.”
