I punched him in the arm. “Because like you said, there are rumors. You dick.”
Kev grimaced. “Shit, sorry.”
“Tell them to mind their own. We live in the same building; we run into each other. What am I supposed to do, ignore her?”
Kev rubbed his shoulder where I’d socked him. “That would be a dick move.”
“Exactly.”
“My lips are sealed.”
I snorted.
“Josh, Kev! The bench is warm enough, get your asses out there!” the coach bellowed from the side of the field. I jumped up from my seat and headed to the base. A single step onto the field and my vision tunneled into one thing. The game.
The sound of the crowd chanting through the stadium rang out. I stood slightly off second base, waiting for Giles to inch off it enough to tag him out. Bingham was at bat and everyone was on edge. The guy had doubled his batting average this year. He was one of the best in the league and no one wanted him to slug one out of the park. The score was 3-2 for us, but Bingham had the chance to tie it up if he hit it just right, or worse, if he knocked it out of the park like he did in the top of the third.
Carlos squatted behind the plate and Benny dug his foot into the pitcher’s mound while the coach rifled off signals to him. Benny checked over his shoulder to see if Giles was far enough off base to tag him. He wasn’t. He was keeping it close, knowing he wasn’t about to fuck up the chance to get ahead of us, but I could tell by the way he was shifting left to right he freaking wanted to.
I was pulling off my jersey after the game when Carlos smacked me in the back with his towel.
“Man, you were on fire today! You finally get some?” Carlos teased.
“No,” I scoffed. “Just came to play.” I noticed Kev smirking when I turned around. “What?”
“No late-night action?”
I glared at him, not liking what he was insinuating. “No.”
“How’s the dating life?” Jake added, leaning against the locker next to mine. I rolled my eyes while Jake and Milos debated their own thoughts for my love life, Carlos eyed me. He had no idea how close I was to winning his fucking bet.
“Maybe you met someone who puts pez in your step.” Milos chuckled.
“Pez? You mean pep.” I shook my head.
“What’s the difference?” Milos genuinely asked.
“Pez is a candy.” Jake chuckled.
Milos shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
“Can’t I just be in a good mood?” I groaned, grabbing my shower stuff from my locker. Wanting to escape these idiots.
“Yeah,” Jake replied, although his tone made it clear he was suspicious. “I am all the time. Especially when I get to see the family or I get a night out with Millie.” He winked. What they had was something rare and special.
“Maybe I’m just high from winning,” I rebuked.
“Or maybe you’re getting some,” Kev whispered. I glared at him, hoping he’d read my mind and shut it.
“Whatever the reason, you had better do it again,” Carlos encouraged. “Today was your best game this year. I think you brought your average up two points.”
Rolling my eyes, I stripped off the rest of my gear and headed into the showers. The guy’s riding my ass about being in a good mood was irritating me. The problem was thathadbeen my best game. I hit two singles, caught a damn near impossible fly ball, and my shoulder hadn’t felt this good in a month.
“Time is still ticking,” Carlos warned as he came into the shower area whistling. “You have a week to tell us who the lucky girl is if you don’t want to forfeit the bet.” I turned off the taps and slung a towel around my waist.
“I’m aware.” I had given a few nuggets of information.April and I were toeing a line at work. Sure, the guys were the ones who suggested her, so it was legit, but there was also a boundary between us that we needed to keep clear.
“You’ve been awfully tight lipped about this so-called new girl.”
