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“We’re on the home stretch now. Only a little more than a week till I’m home. Spring training ends Tuesday, then we have two days off before the season opener on Friday.”
“You’re home all weekend, right?” She screwed up her face. “I don’t know how you keep your schedule straight, home, away, my god.”
He chuckled. “I’m gonna make a ball fan out of you yet.”
“You can try.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Oh, just a heads up. I’m doing another session on Brandon’s tattoo when you get home next week.”
Any jealousy he’d felt about the other man was gone. There was nothing there. “Cool. It’s gonna look amazing when it’s done.”
She raised one eyebrow. “So, you’re totally good there?”
“Yeah, I think I am. We talked today. I think I get it now. He respects you a lot.”
A warm smile spread across Kia’s face. “I’m glad. The feelings are mutual. He’s a good guy. I think we could be friends.”
“Mmm,” he grunted. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t 100% there yet. He trusted her, hell honestly, he trusted Brandon as well. His thoughts bashed into him like a battering ram. If he trusted them both, then there was no issue with them. So what was his problem? “Cool.”
Kia smirked. “Cool?”
“Yeah, I think so. I haven’t hung out with him too much. He’s pretty quiet, kind of moody honestly.” Brandon had stepped up today, approaching him, talking. Not everyone would have done that. “He was cool today, so yeah, maybe we could all hang out.” But what about the next guy who looked at her? Could he be as calm then? Guess time would tell. But he sure as hell had learned his lesson not to have that conversation in public.
“Look at you being all grownup,” Kia joked.
“I know it’s wild.” He winked at her through the screen. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen you and your friends with Max. I know what I’m signing on for.”
“Ha-ha. On that note, I’ll let you go so you can grab him from next door.”
“I’ll say goodnight to him for you.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow and do a bedtime story with him.”
“Sounds good. Night.”
He hung up the call and flopped back on the bed, his entire body splayed out on the mattress. Exhaustion swept through him as all the fear he’d been holding onto finally seeped away. That call could have gone a completely different way. If it had, he didn’t know what he would have done. Thank god, he didn’t have to find out.
He raised his arms above his head to stretch out the residual tension in his muscles and caught a whiff of himself. Shit, there was a reason he didn’t usually skip the showers after a day at training camp. Between the morning weights, practice, then game, he was a little ripe. Pushing himself off the mattress, he kicked off his sweaty uniform and padded naked to the bathroom. He could already feel the hot water washing the last of the day off his body and down the drain.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
DespitewhatJeffhadsaid, the media didn’t die down. They seemed to have amped up over the last week. Austin, the asshole, was taking full advantage of his thirty seconds of fame. He was talking to anyone who listened. No one seemed to care that his version of the truth and reality were night and day. His social media had blown up. From what she’d heard from Vika, he’d quit his job at the garage because he seemed to think he was going to be some influencer or some shit. Idiot.
Kia spotted her sister on the bench at the park as she sat watching the girls play some elaborate skipping game while Alex played in the sand nearby.
“Can I go play with Alex?” Max asked.
“Of course.” She dropped his hand, and Max bolted toward his cousin.
Kia sauntered toward her sister. Vika held out an iced coffee drink to her as she approached. “Oh, you are a goddess. Thank you.” She stretched out her arm and accepted the icy beverage. Taking a long sip, she closed her eyes as the sweet caffeine coursed through her system.
She glanced toward the playground where Max and his cousin sat on the ground, then dropped onto the bench beside her sister. “How was your day?”
Vika shrugged one shoulder. “Coulda been better. Layla’s been dealing with some girl drama at school, so there were lots of tears.”
Kia glanced over at her niece. The girl had grown several inches in the past couple of months, making her look like she was all legs. The preteen and teen years were rough. You couldn’t pay her enough to go back and do all that over again. “She’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out.”
“I sure hope so. It’s hard to watch.” Vika dropped her head onto Kia’s shoulder. “How was your day? Better?”
