Chapter 13 #2
"Deal. I just need to stop by my house and change into some shorts and tennis shoes," I told them. My work attire clearly wasn’t right for the ballfields. Nor were these wedges.
Jackson held out a hand for me. His dimpled smile was back and I all but melted for him.
"Let's go."
Once we were in the guys’ SUV, Cy turned to me from his seat behind the wheel. The way he was serious had me squirming under his gaze.
"There’s nothing else you have to tell us about, is there?"
"I don't think so," I answered honestly. “And I wasn’t trying to keep secrets. It just seemed so petty and inconsequential, then kind of spiraled out of control.”
Cy held me captive in those warm brown eyes, his scent swelling around me as his alpha called to me, imploring me silently to trust in them and our pack.
I barely breathed as he locked me in place. In return I tried to convey that I was trying, that this was hard for me, I’d been let down before.
Finally, he gave me a gentle smile. One that reassured me we’d be fine. Then he was turning to his teammate.
"Griff, let the coaches know we’re going to be there today, please."
There was a grunt from the backseat but I heard him dialing numbers. He was already onto the second call when we arrived at my house.
They waited in the car while I jumped out of the passenger seat and headed in to change. I pulled out one of my many Knockout shirts and changed into some athletic shorts before grabbing my socks and tennis shoes.
After I had those on, I decided that a ponytail and hat would be good for my fair skin in the sun.
I stopped in front of the mirror, adjusting my clothes and hair. A smile formed on my face as I took it all in. The outfit and ponytail were adorable and I looked genuinely happy.
It was a relief to know the assholes in my inbox and who wrote about our business hadn’t shaken me as much as I thought. Or maybe that was the effect of my pack being there for me. Proving they were worth my time.
When I appeared on my front porch whistles and catcalls echoed out of the waiting SUV. My cheeks burned as a huge smile lit up my face.
Damn, they were adorable. They really knew how to make an omega feel good.
They’d rolled down the passenger and back windows so I could see all three of them smiling at me, matching looks of heat on their faces.
"Excuse me, alphas, I have boyfriends and they will kick your ass if they hear you whistling at me like that," I teased as I walked up to the passenger door and opened it, sliding into my seat.
Cy leaned over and buckled me in, not at all subtle as he took a deep breath then ran his cheek over mine, scent-marking me again.
"Damn right we will," Griff said, indignant at just the thought, which only made me laugh harder.
Cy sat back down and pulled away from the curb, making the short drive to the camp.
"If we didn't have practice after camp, we could just walk to the field. Unfortunately, we’ll have to head there straight away," he said, flashing me an apologetic smile.
"I'm excited to see what you guys really do. I get my very own behind the scenes look at your lives," I told them, practically bouncing in my seat.
"Are you going to spy on us in the showers, too?" Cy joked.
"Not if the whole team is in there, that's too many dicks for me," I teased, wrinkling my nose at the thought. Three was more than enough.
"And we don't share," Griff grunted.
"Neither do I," I retorted, raising an eyebrow at him.
"You're the only one for us," Jackson said simply, giving me that smile that always made me return it.
Taryn got her perfect pack and now I had mine. I still couldn't believe my luck. These three alphas were everything I could have asked for.
Cy pulled up in front of the camp, quickly leading me out to the field. The first thing I noticed was how run down they were. I made a mental note to talk to the girls about a fundraiser to fix them up. This would be where Taryn's twins would learn the game and I wanted the best for them.
Their Aunt Dani would even coach them. That thought had me smiling even more.
"What are you thinking about, over there?" Cy asked.
"Coaching the twins here," I admitted. "Coach Dani has a good ring to it, huh?"
"Just the twins?" Griff asked before we all climbed out of the SUV.
"Well, it depends on the other little ones that want to play," I answered with a shrug. Outside of the summer camp I wasn’t even sure if there were any little leagues around here.
"What if they’re ours?" Jackson questioned, not even bothering to hide his excitement at the thought.
Alphas and their constant need to keep us omegas pregnant, I swear.
"Yeah, but the twins will be the first ones old enough. If and when we have kids, you three are babysitting while I coach.”
They just shook their heads at my sassy comment.
"When we have kids," Cy corrected with all the confidence of an alpha. He gave me a look that dared me to argue as he held out a hand for me.
"It’s not babysitting if they’re ours, but I’ll gladly take care of our babies while you coach," Jackson said.
"I'll be an assistant coach and I’ll wear our little one on my back if I need to," Griff added.
"You don’t like kids?" I asked, leaving the ‘do you even want them’ unsaid. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed my temple.
"I like kids okay, but most don't like me. My sisters always make me hold their kids and they cry when they’re in my arms," he admitted. “I’m cursed.”
"It’s different when they’re yours. Though, now I want to see that with my own eyes. I bet the twins will love their Uncle Griff."
He gave me a look, but didn’t argue.
"Okay, do you want me to sit in the stands or the dugout for practice?" I asked, changing the subject now that we were approaching the fields.
"You can help us if you want to. Are you a righty or lefty?" Cy asked.
"Lefty when I play sports, so I doubt I'll be much help," I admitted. Now that we were here all the teasing fell away and I realized I was going to look like an amateur against these men.
I shouldn’t have worried. They didn’t even give it a second thought.
"That's great, you can help the left handers at bat. It's hard for me to help being a righty," Cy said with a little too much excitement. “We’re a perfect match.”
"You are a little too giddy Cy," Jackson said with a snort.
"It feels wrong to hold the bat that way and to be in the other batters’ box. That's why I never became a switch hitter," he confessed.
"I'd love to help if they don't mind a girl coach.”
"I have no doubt that they’ll love you," Jackson told me.
Their confidence in me felt good after the shitty morning I'd had.
Now we just had to see how the kids reacted.