10. Smithy
Chapter 10
Smithy
“What are you doing?” I chuckle as I walk into the living room and find Liliana with her head under the couch and her ass up in the air.
It’s been four days since she slept in bed with me. Every time I see her, I wish we could go back to that night and I’d do things differently. I’d somehow make her mine.
“I dropped my earring and I think it went under the couch, but I can't find it.” I don’t need to be able to see her face to know she has her bottom lip sticking out in a pout. I can hear it in her voice.
“Lil, move.” I gently nudge her aside and get down on my hands and knees to look for it. I’d happily buy her new earrings if this one isn't found.
“I didn’t need your help,” she mumbles under her breath as she folds her arms across her chest.
“Yeah, but Leo, Holden, Covey and Wheeler are on their way over. Your ass was in the air and in that position, your skirt is a lot shorter than you think it is. I'm trying to preserve your innocence.”
“Why isn't Schmidt, Wyatt, or Cord coming?” She settles on the floor next to me with her back against the couch.
I peek up at her and find her brows pinched together. She’s so beautiful and she doesn’t even realize it. Sometimes I wish I could tell her exactly how I feel. That I’ve been in love with her since the moment we met, but I’m not sure she wants a guy like me.
Liliana wants someone soft and gentle. Someone who will watch romance movies and cuddle on the couch, not someone who wants to go out and hang out with friends all the time.
She doesn’t want to get swept into the limelight either. She’s happy living peacefully without most of the world knowing she exists. She can't do that if she dates a professional baseball player.
“Well, Wyatt and Cord found their happily ever afters and now they’re pussy whipped. Schmidt? I don’t know. He’s a man of mystery. No one really knows why he doesn’t hang out much, but he doesn’t. Sometimes I swear he has a secret life we don’t know about.”
“Maybe he’s like Clark Kent,” Liliana sighs like she’s swooning over the idea. I don’t like that one bit. If she’s going to swoon over anyone, I want it to be me.
“Or maybe he’s a serial killer who’s leading a double life to keep people off his scent.”
“Travis!” She swats at my chest, making me grin.
“I swear you’re the only person in the entire world who calls me Travis, babe.” I point my flashlight on my phone towards the back of the couch and see a glint of metal. I quickly grab her earring and hold it out to her.
“And you’re the only person I know who calls anyone with tits babe.” She rolls her eyes as she puts her earring back in.
“What would you rather I call you?” I sit back on my heels and stare at her. Does she not like it when I call her babe?
I started calling women babe because of her. I slipped up and used the term of endearment one night when we were hanging out. She got spooked and I didn’t want her to run. I insisted I call all women babe, and I’ve had to keep up the charade for years now.
“You could call me Liliana or Lil.” She lifts her shoulder in a shrug.
“How about I call you pookie?”
“No!” She throws her head back against the cushion and lets out a loud giggle. I love when she laughs like this.
“Boo-Boo-Bear?” I arch a brow, making her laugh even harder. “Sweet Cheeks?”
“Oh my gosh!”
“What? Your cheeks were practically showing when you were looking for your earring,” I tease her. “And they were definitely sweet to stare at.” I wiggle my brows.
Her cheeks were covered. If they weren’t, I don’t think this conversation would still be platonic. I would’ve thrown her over my shoulder and tossed her onto the center of my bed. I would’ve crawled up her body and begged her to let me touch her the way I’ve been dreaming of.
“If you call me Sweet Cheeks, I'll call you Travis all the time!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” I lunge for her and slip my hands under the hem of her shirt. Tickling her, she squirms in my arms, but I'm not letting her go. “Promise you won't call me Travis all the time!”
“I hate calling you Smithy though,” she shrieks with laughter as she falls to the side so she’s lying on the floor.
I hover over her and stare down at the beautiful woman I’m head over heels for, yet know I have no shot with. My hands are planted on either side of her head with her blonde hair fanned out around her.
“Why do you hate calling me Smithy, Sweets?” I ask in a low murmur.
“I don’t know, everyone calls you that. It doesn’t feel special when you have entire stadiums cheering Smithy.” She blinks up at me with sparkling green eyes. I’ve gotten lost in these eyes more times than I can count and today is no different.
I open my mouth to respond when the front door opens and the guys enter my house without knocking.
“What have we here?” Covey stops next to me and smirks down at us.
“I was torturing Liliana,” I mumble as I sit back on my heels. I know I'm going to get so much shit for this. They’re never going to let me live this down.
No matter how many times I deny it, the guys know I'm in love with my best friend. According to Cord, I suck at hiding it. Wyatt says it’s written all over my face.
“Oh, I'm sure that’s all you were doing.” Covey rolls his eyes as Wheeler comes into the living room. As soon as he sees us, his lips lift into a grin.
“Dang, we came too early. If we had given them a few more minutes, this would’ve been a much better show.” Wheeler shakes his head.
“Nothing was going to happen, Wheeler.” Liliana rolls her eyes as she tugs her shirt back into place. “Smithy and I are just friends. I don’t know how many times we need to tell you this.”
She sits up and shoves me backwards so I'm no longer straddling her legs. She stands to her full height and brushes off her skirt like there’s dirt on her.
I know Liliana. She’s doing this to avoid looking at the guys. As long as she doesn’t make eye contact with them, she won't blush. If she does, her whole face will turn bright red and the guys will tease her relentlessly.
“I think you’re gonna have to keep telling me if I keep walking in on you in compromising positions.” He tilts his head to the side and arches a brow.
“Well, maybe you should stop walking in Smithy’s house without knocking. Then you wouldn’t need to worry about finding us potentially looking like we’re in compromising positions.” She rolls her eyes.
“Hey, Lil. I really liked that article you wrote about Wyatt and Charlie. You did a great job keeping the focus on them and off of Stubbs.” Leo gives Liliana a quick hug before dropping onto the couch.
“Thanks, Leo. My editor wasn’t thrilled with the story, but our readers seemed to really like it.”
“Why wouldn’t he like it? It was really good.” Holden takes a seat next to Leo and shoves a chip in his mouth.
I don’t think I even have chips. Where’d he get that from? It’s after spring training. We typically all watch what we eat and are trying to stay in good shape.
“He wanted dirt no other reporters could find. He thinks Stubbs is the good guy in all of this.” She sighs like it’s ridiculous to see Stubbs as anything except the villain in this situation, and she’d be right.
Stubbs is one of the worst players I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with. He went out of his way to injure Wyatt on purpose, all because he didn’t like how Charlie gave Wyatt attention and not him.
Wyatt has spent all of spring training trying to rehab his knee and our first game is next week. Danny has him scheduled to play during the opening game, but I'm a little worried his knee might not hold out. As catcher, Wyatt will be doing a lot of squatting and that’s going to be tough on his ligaments. I don’t want to see him get hurt and cause any permanent damage.
“I hope no other teams pick that prick up,” Covey grumbles.
“I heard there’s some interest in him. Has Owen filled Stubbs’ position?” Liliana runs her fingers through her hair before splitting the long strands into three sections. She takes her time slowly twisting the pieces until there’s a braid hanging over one shoulder.
“Yeah, I think he starts tomorrow. His name is Jackson McLaren. He’s a friend of mine and Wyatt’s. We’ve been playing ball with him for years.” Leo tugs his phone out of his pocket and begins typing away.
“Isn't his dad friends with Jesse?” I frown as I try to remember how I know the name McLaren.
“Step-dad, but yes. They’re best friends and they’re both surgeons.”
“What kind of surgeon?” Liliana glances at Leo. I swear the woman doesn’t know how to take off the reporter hat and just exist in the world. She asks a ton of questions about everything.
“A gynecologist.” Leo smirks when Lil’s face turns a deep red.
“C’mon, Sweets. How are you getting embarrassed by that?” I chuckle as I tug her into my arms and take a seat on my recliner, taking her with me.
“Because it’s embarrassing,” she hisses under her breath. “You don’t know what it’s like to go to the gynecologist. It’s so awkward.”
“No, but I’ve had to turn my head and cough. That wasn’t a blast either, but I did it without turning red,” Wheeler teases.
“Anyway…” she draws out the word, trying to change the conversation in any way she can. “Will Jackson be shortstop?”
“Yup.” Wheeler rolls his eyes. “We said he was Stubbs’ replacement. What other position would he play?”
“I don’t know. I'm just confirming.” Liliana sticks her bottom lip out in a pout and settles back against my chest.
I don’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her and press a soft kiss to her temple. I wish I could hold her like this all the time, but that will never happen. Every once in a while, I'm able to snag her without any protest though. Those times, I cherish the feeling of her pressed up against my body.
“I should get going,” she murmurs only loud enough for me to hear.
“You don’t have to. I want you to stay,” I whisper against the soft skin of her neck and tighten my hold on her.
“I'm only ruining your time with your friends.” She smiles sadly at me.
“ You are the only friend that matters. You’re my best friend, Sweets. You know that.”
“Still. I’ll call you later. Ok?”
My jaw clenches as I nod. I don’t want her to leave. If anything, I’d rather the guys leave, but when I invited them over, I didn’t know Liliana was going to pop by.
She slowly climbs off my lap, losing her balance at least three times. I keep her from falling flat on her face, knowing even if I'm pissed she’s leaving, I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t stop her from getting hurt. I'm fairly certain the guys would never let her live it down either.
I stand and shove my hands in my pocket. I'm going to be pissy the rest of the night and I know it. I hate when she leaves. I feel like a piece of me goes with her every time. Sooner or later, there’s going to be nothing left.
“You don’t have to leave, Lil.” Leo watches us carefully. He knows exactly how I feel about her and when he glances at me, his thoughts are confirmed as I clench my jaw even harder.
“I know, but you guys came here to hang out with Smithy, not me. Plus, I’d rather not deal with Wheeler trying to see how many times he can get me to blush today.” She glares at Wheeler and his body shakes with silent laughter. We all know that’s exactly what he’d do.
“I’ll walk you out,” I murmur as I place my hand on her lower back and lead her towards the door.
“Bye, guys!” She waves over her shoulder. There’s a chorus of goodbyes from them before they turn towards the TV and flip on the sports channel.
“I don’t want you to go,” I confess as we stand in front of the door, but I block it from being opened.
“I’m sure you’ll see me again in a few days.” She grins.
“So, I can't have you every day?”
“I have a date this weekend. I need to go shopping with Winnie for an outfit. I have no clue what to wear.”
“A date? With who?” I frown down at her, clenching my jaw so hard I’m afraid I might break a tooth.
“I don’t know. It’s a blind date with one of Winnie’s friends. She says we’re perfect for each other.” She lifts her shoulders in a shrug.
“You don’t need to go on a date with a stranger,” I growl.
“I need to get out there and meet men who don’t play professional baseball, Travis. I want to have a family eventually and I can't do that without finding someone I want to spend forever with.”
“What’s wrong with professional baseball players?”
“Nothing, but I don’t want to date your friends.”
I want to scream and tear my hair out. I want to gently hold her face in my hands and ask why I can't be good enough for her? Why can't she find her happily ever after with me? I’d give her anything and everything. I’d make her happy and put her ahead of everything else. I’d give up everything for her.
“Make sure your location is turned on and text me when you get home.”
“I'll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.” A soft smile plays on her lips as she stands on her tippy toes and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.
“I’ll always worry about you and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
She squeezes between me and the door, slipping out without saying another word. I stomp through the living room and straight for my home gym. I need to work out some of this aggression because right now I'm about to call Winnie and curse her out for trying to set up my girl with someone else.
I'm about to demand for this asshole’s address. I’ll pay him a little visit and make sure he’s aware there isn't a future for him with Liliana. I'm the only man who gets to stay at her side, she just doesn’t know it yet.
Slipping on a pair of boxing gloves, I slam my fist into the punching bag over and over again. I expect each impact to take some of the anger away, but it doesn’t. If anything, I'm getting more and more pissed.
Someone steps behind the bag and holds it still. Leo’s face peeks around the bag and he nods his head. He knows exactly what I'm going through. He’s right there with me.
“She’s going on a fucking date!” I roar as I slam my fist into the bag.
“You can't stop her from living her life, Smithy,” he says softly.
“That doesn’t make it hurt less!”
“Nah, it’s never going to stop hurting. You have to either make a move, or let her go completely.”
“She doesn’t want me. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want a baseball player. Am I supposed to give up my entire career to possibly have a shot with her? Give up everything I’ve worked my ass off for?”
“No.”
“Then what do I do?” I punch even harder, knocking Leo back a step.
“You let her go,” Covey whispers from behind me. I spin around with my fists raised and he takes a step back with wide eyes. “Don’t take it out on me. I didn’t do anything.”
“I can't just let her go. She’s the most important person in the world to me.”
“Then grow a pair and tell her how you fucking feel,” Wheeler growls, stepping between Covey and me. He’s bigger and stronger than me. He knows I won't take a swing at him, but I might at Covey.
“And what happens when she turns me down? Then what?”
“Well, it would be pretty freaking easy to walk away then, huh?”
“You’re an asshole,” I hiss.
“Yeah, I am. But I'm not secretly pining after a woman who’s completely clueless that I exist as more than a friend.”
Without another word, I spin around and punch the heavy bag. Leo’s ready this time and leans into the bag. He doesn’t move an inch. He knows the fury pumping through my veins and he’s going to help me get it out without doing something I’ll regret.