Chapter Three
Camille
March
T his winter has been brutal.
Not only has the weather been awful, but my class load has been insane. Working to get two degrees at once is tough, and I need a background in both business and journalism for the job I want.
I’ve always dreamed of becoming a part of a major baseball organization, either working in social media relations or writing behind the scenes.
As long as I can overcome the misogynistic assholes who are standing in my way. I want to break that barrier and smash it into tiny pieces to never be put back together.
I grew up with four older brothers and we all love sports. I was never allowed to play myself because it wasn’t ‘princess-like,’ but that didn’t stop me from falling in love with baseball.
Add in the fact that one of my brothers, Quentin, is a player for the Detroit Panthers baseball team.
Quentin relinquished his role in our family to pursue his dreams, only visiting us on the holidays. It was always a tad awkward whenever he came around since my mother and father don’t exactly agree with his choice, but I’ve always admired him for it.
Because he was able to truly be himself and do what he loves, whereas I never could. Not until I escaped, and now here I am, working on a future that feels good for me .
I’ve reached out to a few major league organizations, but I’ve yet to hear anything back. I could ask my brother for an interview, but I want to be the reason behind my success. Not because it was handed to me, because my parents rule a country, or because my brother is a famous baseball player.
So for now, I work for the school’s newspaper, writing about the women’s teams. I would love to work on the men’s teams as well, but Jimmy, the other sports writer, refuses to give that up.
Men.
“Cami, you good?” Jasmine asks, her highlighter paused mid-air.
“What? Yeah, why?”
“You look like you want to put that pencil through Theo’s hand,” she retorts, and it’s then that I notice how tense my body is.
I take a deep breath, feeling a tad lighter. Jimmy gets me riled up like nobody else.
“Please don’t, Millie Moo. These hands will determine my future.” Theo stares at his hand with love in his eyes. He’ll be the starting quarterback this coming fall and he needs his hands more than ever.
“Sorry.” I chuckle. “I was just thinking about Jimmy. He never lets me write about the men’s teams and it pisses me off.”
“What a prick. Do you want me to go find him and confront him?” Jasmine’s mocha eyes pierce mine, her protective nature coming out. She always goes to bat for the ones she loves, and it makes me love her even more.
“No, it’s fine.” I wave her off, folding my legs beneath me on the chair. We’ve been studying in the library for what feels like hours, and I can barely concentrate anymore. If I fail this midterm, so be it. That’s the point I’m at right now.
“Pft,” Theo snorts, fingers working over the fidget cube in his hand. “I’m going with you, Jas. Elio would lose it if you did that alone.”
Elio is Jasmine’s boyfriend, and seeing the two of them so in love has been bittersweet because although I’m happy for her, I’ve been dreaming of a love like that my whole life.
“There’s no going anywhere. Relax, you two.”
“We love you, that’s all.” Jasmine smiles softly.
“You’re our girl. We got you,” Theo adds, nudging me with his elbow as he winks at me. He’s so naturally charming.
I smile at him as I pull out my phone, seeing a few emails I’ve missed in the last hour. Theo does the same, while Jasmine keeps her head in her book.
“Damn it,” Theo groans, throwing his head back.
“What’s wrong?” Jasmine and I both ask in unison.
“Ryker had to cancel our tattoo appointment tomorrow because of a mandatory baseball meeting. I’ve been looking forward to this for months.”
“So can’t you go without him?” Jasmine cocks her brow, her highlighter perched between her fingers in the air.
Theo laughs, and when he does, it’s the whole body kind of laugh. “No, Jay bay bay. He’s the tattoo artist. He was going to give me my first one! Fucking baseball,” he mutters the last bit.
My heart seems to be beating faster at the mention of his name. It’s been months since I last saw him, but my crush is still as strong as ever. I still can’t forget the way my fingertips buzzed when they touched his arm at the club.
I would probably faint on the spot if he kissed me since I’m already freaking out over a graze of his fingers. Learning about him being a tattoo artist only adds to his appeal .
“How is he a tattoo artist? Isn’t he like twenty-one?” Jasmine asks.
“He’s actually twenty-two and started his apprenticeship as soon as he turned eighteen. Ryker’s insanely talented and quickly grew his clientele,” Theo explains.
I didn’t know he was a tattoo artist, and the new information makes my brain swim with ideas because I’ve been wanting my own tattoo for a while now.
“You big baby, you’ll be fine. Just reschedule it,” she tells him before turning her attention back to her textbook.
Theo rolls his eyes at her, returning his focus to his phone and texting back.
I do the same, looking through the emails on my student account. It’s all the same stuff, course reminders, midterm details. I’m about to close my app when I see the devil’s name there.
Jimmy.
I open the email, partly intrigued, partly nervous to see what it is about.
This is what I mean when I say Jimmy is the worst, but I choose to let go of the first part of his email and focus on the end. He is giving me the men’s baseball team to cover this season.
No. Freaking. Way.
I squeal and shimmy in my seat, excitement pulsing through every inch of my body.
“Whoa, what’s up with you?” Theo asks.
“Jimmy just gave me the men’s baseball team to cover this season. He got a job and has no time for it,” I tell him, but as I say the words, my excitement quickly turns into nerves.
Because guess who I’ll have to see all the time starting next week?
Ryker Lewis.