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“I am his assistant,” I repeat, and she bites back a smile.

“There’s no other reason?”

I shake my head, briefly thinking of how I’ve limited myself to watching only ten minutes of footage a day of Austin, which includes social media videos, game analysis, and slo-mo thirst traps I found on a Reddit thread dedicated to Austin Ashwood.

“Nope.” Then I go right back to the text thread.

Noah looks great. He’s a little small now but if he wants to keep playing, he’s going to be unstoppable once he hits his growth spurt.

If he throws like this now, he’ll be hitting big numbers on his fastball in five or six years.

That’s what his coaches keep saying, but I think that’s a lot of pressure on him.

Isn’t it?

Yeah. Which is why I said IF he wants to keep playing.

I’m typing before I’ve even thought of it.

Did you ever want to quit?

Every day.

That doesn’t seem right.

The King of Baseball doesn’t raise quitters.

I don’t know what to say to that, so I avoid it entirely.

I was thinking about you.

Your condo, I mean.

You in your condo.

Not like that.

That was innuendo.

WAS NOT

I MEANT TO SAY IT WAS NOT INNUENDO

mary mother of god

My phone buzzes in my hand with an incoming call from Austin, and I answer immediately. “You don’t like talking on the phone. Why are you calling me?”

“Because I was worried you’d have steam coming out of your ears soon if you didn’t stop.”

I dip my chin and close my eyes, his voice like a blanket I want to sink into. A slight accent that draws out his words, the timbre scratching an itch I didn’t know I had.

“I meant I was thinking about how you’ve been living in your condo for a couple months now, but it’s still like you just moved in.”

“I unpacked everything.”

I open my eyes and coast my gaze around the field at the cheering, noting Noah’s team has the bases loaded. I tell Austin, “I think you might like living there, living in Philadelphia, more if you made it like a home and not a place you’re stopping in for the night.”

“But I am, though. I’m only home for a few nights at a time. What’s the point of decorating?”