23. Brooks
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Brooks
“I’ve got a good feeling about tonight,” I tell the guys in the dugout, leaning my weight on my bat that’s pressed into the dirt.
“Why’s that?” Con asks.
I turn, speaking quietly enough that only Conrad and Austin can hear me. “We were with you-know-who last night, so I think we’re going to win.”
“And why does that mean we’re going to magically win?” Austin asks, digging through his bag.
“Remember that game where I hit two homers and two doubles?” They both nod. “Well, right before that game I kissed,” I glance over my shoulder, making sure Grayson isn’t within earshot, “Hadley for the first time. Then I played the best game I've ever had. She’s our good-luck charm.”
They both look at me skeptically but don’t deny it. When Evelyn squeals from where she’s sitting with Hadley, we all turn to look their way.
They’re sitting on the ground next to the bleachers, drawing in the dirt with their fingers. Both are laughing hysterically.
It feels good having her here with us. With Evelyn.
It turns out she definitely is our good-luck charm. Walking up to bat for the last time, I point my bat in Hadley’s direction. “This one’s for you, pretty girl.”
“Did you just say that to my sister?” Grayson growls from behind me in the dugout.
I glance at him over my shoulder. “I was talking to Evelyn.” I was not talking to Evelyn. Not that I wouldn’t hit a homer for her, but… not the point.
Stepping up to the plate, I spare a single glance in her direction. She winks when our eyes lock. Game on, baby girl.
I pass on the first pitch when it almost lands in the dirt, but the second one is a thing of beauty that I slam over the fence in right field. I hear the girls yelling behind me as I round the bases.
Tucker, who was on second base, waits for me at home plate. He jumps on my back, howling like a werewolf on a full moon. I start howling alongside him as we make our way to the dugout.
The rest of the game goes quickly, and soon we’re all hauling our stuff back to the parking lot.
“I guess maybe you’re right about the good luck thing,” Austin mumbles, like admitting I’m right is the very last thing he wants to do. Sweet victory.
“Told you,” I say, grinning at him.
The woman in question comes striding toward us without Evelyn close at her side. My eyes dart around, but I quickly find her talking to Grayson over by the field.
“Good game, studs,” she says.
“Thanks to you,” I tell her.
Her face scrunches up. “I wasn’t even playing.”
“He thinks you’re our good-luck charm,” Conrad tells her. He moves to step in her direction but backs off, realizing where we are.
We didn’t specifically talk about keeping the ‘us’ situation on the down-low for now, but it’s kind of implied at this point because we all know Grayson’s going to lose his shit when he finds out.
“You are our good-luck charm. That means you need to be at all our games.” I step a little closer, but not so close that we’re touching. “But most importantly, we need to fuck you within an inch of your sanity the night before each one.”
She swallows heavily, a blush easing up her cheeks. “I guess maybe I’m the one who’s winning then,” she says, her voice all breathy and sexy.
Why are we in public right now?
“I think we all win with this scenario, baby girl.”
Evelyn sprints over, jumping into her dad’s arms. “Good game, Daddy,” she tells him.
“Thanks, honey,” he tells her, kissing her cheek.
“Can Hadley take me home?” she asks.
“I don’t know what she has planned for the rest of the night, and she doesn’t have a car seat for you in her car.”
Evelyn’s head tilts to the side. “Yeah, she does.”
“What do you mean?” Austin asks, setting her back down on the ground.
“She has a seat for me in her car. It was there when she picked me up from school.”
His eyes snap to Hadley. “You bought a booster seat for her?”
She hesitates but nods.
The thoughts flashing through Austin’s mind are as clear as if they were my own. He wants to pull our beautiful girl into his arms and kiss the crap out of her for doing something so sweet for his other girl.
“Hey, Evelyn,” I hold my hand out for her. “I think I left one of my batting gloves in the dugout. Can you come help me look?”
She slides her hand into mine, skipping alongside me all the way back to the field. We look around for my glove that’s “missing” for a few minutes.
From the dugout, I can’t see much, but I can see a part of Austin’s back near the side of the truck. Kiss her once for me, too, brother.
After giving up the search for the glove, we make our way back over to everyone else. Grayson walks over. He’s talking to me, but all I can think is fuck, fuck, fuck.
Austin hasn’t budged from the position I saw him in earlier, so I can only assume they’re still going at it over there.
Not knowing what else to do, I start making a loud “caw” noise. Grayson looks at me like I’m the biggest dumbass he’s ever met.
Evelyn, on the other hand, thinks I’m awesome and starts cawing along with me. A few more caws and Hadley sneaks around to the opposite side of the truck and away from Austin, who very much looks like he just sucked face with someone.
Luckily, Grayson is too busy staring at my brilliant ass to figure out that his best friend just had his tongue in his little sister’s mouth.
Crisis averted. For now.