Scoring Position (Daytona Fury #2)

Ace

THIRTY-ONE

LARK

“I don’t get it,” I mumble to myself, checking Ace’s student portal for the millionth time. It’s been over a week since we found out he passed his exam, but the final grade for the course is still pending, as is his graduation status. I’ve been enrolled at the university for years, and it’s never taken this long. I averaged everything out and he ended the semester with a B-minus, so I’m not sure what could be holding the process up.

I close my laptop, standing and walking around my living room. Ace is on a week-long road trip, and I miss him like crazy. We’re halfway through, but it’s been dragging by, and I officially hate it. This is the longest we’ve been away from each other since we met, seeing that I traveled with him during the semester. I have no idea what to do with myself after I hit the gym each morning while he’s away, so I come home and binge-clean, waiting for him to call or text—or for his games to come on TV just so I can see that face I love so much. Prior to tutoring him, I spent all my free time at home, studying and enjoying the peace and quiet of solitude. Now, my life feels so boring and empty when he’s away. I know this is all part of his job, but not seeing him whenever I want is going to take some getting used to.

Just as I’m considering a complete overhaul of my silverware drawer to pass the time, my phone vibrates in the pocket of my hoodie. I fish it out, seeing Hailey’s name on the screen. I haven’t talked to her for a couple of weeks, so I’m sure she wants to be filled in on what I’ve been up to.

“Hey!” I say in greeting. “What’s u?—”

“I’m hiding in the breakroom,” she cuts me off, talking quietly. “I just overheard the dean talking to Ace’s advisor about his Human Sexuality grade. They think he cheated, Lark. They’re starting an investigation.”

I freeze, my blood running ice cold through my veins. “What? He didn’t cheat. I helped him learn the material and studied with him, but he answered every question and wrote every essay on his own.”

“I know. I’m going to try to get more information, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. They’re saying that his grade in this course being so much higher than the ones he’s taken in the past, despite having less time to complete the work, is raising some red flags. I have no idea if they’ll go to the media or not—I just didn’t want you two to be blindsided.”

Anger flows through me as my hands ball into fists at my sides. With the number of photos that have been taken of Ace and me, I’m sure Gail knows I was tutoring him. She’s been trying to get me to back down for over a year, but she never had anything important enough to me that she could use to her advantage. She knows Ace didn’t cheat. This isn’t about him. It’s about me.

“What a fucking bitch,” I mumble, trying my best to keep my rage at bay. The last thing I need to do right now is act before I have time to cool down. That’s exactly what she wants—to catch me while I’m out of sorts so she can get what she’s been after.

“I have to go,” she whispers. “I’ll call you if I hear anything else.”

“Thank you.” I hang up the phone, tossing it onto the couch before leaning forward with my head in my hands. I know I have to make him aware of what’s going on, but I don’t want it to affect his game. They play one more in Boston tonight, then head straight to New York for two in a row. It’ll be better to tell him everything in person so I can reassure him that it’s going to be alright. I won’t let Gail make him out to be anything less than an amazing man who lives his life with honesty and integrity, no matter what he’s doing. If, in the end, that means giving her what she wants—so be it. As much as I’ve been empowered by not letting her bully me anymore, it’s not nearly as important to me as Ace being able to walk across that graduation stage with his head held high. I won’t let anyone take that away from him.

ACE

“What’s that?” Riggs says, looking over my shoulder as we make the short bus ride to the stadium. We’re about to take on the Boston Tide in the last game of the series, and then we’re hopping on a plane to New York later tonight. I hate being away from Lark, so I’ve been trying to stay busy during my free time in hopes that it’ll fly by.

Spoiler alert: It hasn’t.

I called earlier, but she seemed tired, only giving short answers and telling me she had a few chores to get done before the broadcast started. I love that she watches me play when I’m on the road, so we said our goodbyes and promised to talk when I got back to the hotel tonight. I ordered some snacks to be delivered to her house in a bit, so hopefully she feels me with her, even though I’m a thousand miles away.

“Nothing,” I say, shoving my Kindle into the seat, face down.

He raises a suspicious brow. “That looks like a book for grown-ups, Rook. Are you even old enough to have that?” He stands, rounding the seat and plopping down next to me as he continues. “Monroe was reading one last week where a baseball player was absolutely railing the shit out of his girl—although I’m not sure why since she has the real thing.” He shrugs. “Could be worse, though. It could be football.”

I roll my eyes because , like hell, I’m admitting to anything . This guy is a jokester, and I’m not setting myself up for any pranks involving smutty excerpts being taped to my locker. “How’s the shoulder?” I ask, attempting to steer the conversation elsewhere. We’re nearing the end of the regular season, and our bodies are starting to feel the effects. We’ve been trying to conserve his joints by taking it easy on the fastballs, but sometimes it’s necessary.

“Pretty good. I’ve been doing some prehabilitation with my trainer, and I’m feeling a hell of a lot stronger than I normally do at this point in the year. Maybe I’ll see thirty in this league, after all.”

I scoff. “You’ll see forty, Val. I’ll make sure of it.” He looks over at me with a smile, putting his fist up for me to bump. I’d love to still be taking pitches from him over a decade from now. Florida is my home, and I’m beyond lucky to say I’m living my dream so close to where I was raised, especially when the chances of being drafted by the team you grew up cheering for are next to none. I want to retire in front of Fury fans someday, surrounded by my team, Lark and whatever family we’re blessed with.

In less than three months, my life went from being alone and unsure to being excited about the prospect of a future with this team and the woman I love.

As long as she’s mine, absolutely nothing in this world can stop me from having it all.