Chapter 27
Trevor
Istand from behind the plate, arching my sore back. With our narrow win against the Detroit Sluggers, Patrick, our manager, is going to keep us extra long tonight. A disappointed twist settles in my gut. After this crappy game, I wanted to get home to Kenzie as quickly as possible.
It’s been a while since being on the field has left me this drained, both physically and emotionally.
The Sluggers put us through our paces, reminding us why they’re the reigning World Series Champions.
If that hadn’t been enough, the infighting between Aaron and me made the first part of the game miserable.
He completely ignored me while giving away lead after lead.
Then Aaron darn near threw a tantrum when Patrick pulled him in the second inning.
The hush overtaking the crowd during that mound visit had been deafening.
Afterward, Aaron blamed me, making sure to “innocently” shoulder check me when I came in from a strikeout in the bottom of the fourth.
I’m sore, exhausted, and my self-control is teetering on a razor’s edge. Taking a second, I close my eyes to center myself, imagining walking into the house later and finding Kenzie fast asleep on the couch.
Some nights, she’ll stay up and greet me with a post-game snack, but often her early bird internal clock can’t tolerate the late hour.
On those nights, I find her asleep on the couch, like a kid waiting for midnight on New Year’s Eve who couldn’t quite make it.
Often, Banks and Jet are snuggled atop her Paul Rudd blanket while the muted TV strobes colored light over their sleepy faces.
Every time, I take a moment to simply gaze at the three of them, my heart feeling like it’s beating outside my chest. Then I carry Kenzie to bed, her mumbling a few game stats into my shoulder before I give her temple a goodnight kiss. It’s quickly become my favorite post-game routine.
“Trevor!” Mallory calls as I walk toward the dugout, leaning over the half-wall between the field and the stands. “Can you come here? I have a fan I want you to meet.”
I sigh internally but keep a friendly expression on my face.
All I want is to take off my gear and shower so I can get through team commitments.
The quicker I can do all of that, the faster I can get to Kenzie.
Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll get a second text from her saying that she’s staying up tonight, because… I could really use a hug.
I hadn’t realized how incredible it is to nuzzle into Kenzie’s strawberry-scented shampoo and just exhale all of the day’s tension.
Nothing against the single life, but I get now why my married teammates always seem so calm and happy.
They’re supported, physically and emotionally, by the women they love.
“Trevor Chapman, I want you to meet my good friend, Ken,” Mallory says with an exaggerated wink.
A short, older gentleman, still wearing sunglasses though the sun set long ago, fidgets beside my teammate’s wife.
“Good to meet you, sir.” I extend my hand.
He takes it with a determined shake, pumping it twice. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a warrior in your catcher’s gear?”
My brain short circuits for a second because the voice coming from this man’s wrinkled face is undeniably Kenzie’s. But…
The man pulls down his sunglasses, revealing sparkling green eyes.
“Surprise,” she says softly, bearded mouth twitching at the corner.
A boisterous laugh tumbles out of me. “Why are you—”
“Shhh,” Mallory cuts me off, leaning close. “This is not who you think it is because that person is on the banned list. This is Amaya’s granddad, Ken.”
Amaya steps over, slinging her arm around Kenzie’s shoulders as if to corroborate the story.
My happy surprise quickly morphs into prickly annoyance. “Why would that person be on the banned list?”
“Apparently…” Kenzie starts and then lowers the timbre of her voice when a security guard gets near. “Apparently, jumping onto and then falling off of a dugout is frowned upon.”
Oh, yeah. She’s got a point.
“I can fix that,” I say, the smile returning to my mouth. “I’ll make an appeal after we review film tonight.”
Kenzie bites her bottom lip, the action making her fake beard droop a little. “A certain teammate might have also requested I be on it.”
My hand fists my catcher’s mitt as I grind my molars. Of course he did. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
She nods, but it’s timid. Amaya pats Kenzie’s shoulder before she and Mallory step away, giving us privacy. I want nothing more than to slide my fingers over her jaw and bring her lips to mine to reassure her—weird beard be darned.
“The important thing is that I got to see your game. Well, I missed the beginning of it because once security turned me away, I had to change out of my jersey.” Her fingers tug on her flannel shirt with a pout. “I also had to leave my homemade sign.”
“Your sign?”
Kenzie brightens. “It said Chapman is The Man in glitter pen. I also troubleshot other phrases, like What a Catch, Catcher’s Always Right, and Shook Him Off? Bold Choice. But I thought that last one might be too on the nose.”
The corner of my mouth kicks up. “Can I see it later?”
“Sure, it’s in the trunk of Mallory’s car.”
“Is your jersey also in there?”
“Yep.” She pops the P in that word, drawing my attention back to her lips.
I feel a bit like a caveman as I grit out the next question, unable to drag my gaze away. “Whose name is on it?”
I already know the answer, but I need to hear her say it.
“Yours.” Kenzie’s blush draws my focus up, evident even through the wrinkle lines drawn on her face. “I wanted everyone to know that I was yours.”
I barely stifle a groan.
Kenzie’s breathing kicks up in time with my own as pinpricks cascade down my arms. If I don’t touch her in the next—
“Most importantly,” Kenzie pauses, giving me a look that sucks the air from my lungs.
“I’m dressed like this, sneaking into your game, because I wanted you to have someone in the crowd who truly cares about you.
You deserve someone at every one of your games, Trevor.
As long as we’re together, I’d like that to be me. ”
My hand splays over my chest protector as Kenzie’s words hit harder than a fastball. Then I’m acting without thinking. I brace a hand on the wall, pulling Kenzie closer with the other.
“Thank you.” I swallow when my voice cracks. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
I should let her go, but my fingers twitch against the smooth skin beneath her wig’s ponytail.
Kenzie’s gaze skips all over my face as time crawls to a standstill.
I should move, step back, but I’m frozen.
Braver than me—always braver than me—Kenzie smashes the indecision of the moment.
With a quick tug, she pulls her beard down and crashes her lips over mine.
The stadium lights dim into fuzzy oblivion, the noisy crowd zeros out into silence as Kenzie deepens the kiss.
I stink, and my sweaty hair is dripping on her makeup-laden face, but neither of us seems to care.
Her fingers dip into the collar of my chest protector, holding me tight as I palm the back of her head.
The kiss seems to expand the limits of what I thought was possible, what I expected life to be.
I’ve experienced unparalleled success, but having the woman I love and admire choose me, go through all this trouble for me…
it feels like being drafted all over again.
Excitement and boundless effervescence careen through every cell in my body.
It’s not until Mallory’s alarmed voice creeps into my consciousness that either of us take a breath.
“Shoot. This isn’t good.”
“What the heck is going on here?” Aaron’s tone could cut steel.
Kenzie’s lips pop from mine with the most delicious sound, but I can’t enjoy it because half of my team is behind Aaron, expressions varying from surprised to puzzled. To be fair, it looks like I’m locking lips with a seventy-year-old man, so I understand their confusion.
“She’s not supposed to be here.” Aaron points and then looks around for a security member. “Someone escort her out immediately.”
Murmurs of bewilderment echo through the surrounding area as Kenzie readjusts her beard, glancing down to hide her face.
“Her?” Kenzie says in the worst impression of an old man I’ve ever heard. “My pronouns are he/him, thank you very much.”
Amaya tucks Kenzie under her arm again. “Come along, Granddad. Time to go.”
“Best be on our way.” Mallory flanks her from the other side.
When a behemoth of a security guard stops the trio, my pulse slams against my chin. My words are out before I have a chance to consider the consequences.
“Touch her and die.”
I vault the wall, positioning myself between the man and the three women just as two other guards arrive.
A part of me should be thinking about how this looks, how several fans are filming this whole ordeal with their phones, but none of that matters.
All that matters is Kenzie. If someone other than me lays a finger on Kenzie, I will lose it. Plain and simple.
The fury coursing through my veins is incessant as it is foreign. Usually, I’m the one keeping everyone else from getting into an unnecessary brawl, but I’d rather be suspended indefinitely than see Kenzie forced from this stadium again.
“Let’s not do this here,” Kai says, drawing my attention to the fact that he and Tenny have jumped the wall and are now backing me up.
“Yeah,” Tenny adds. “Let’s discuss this in the clubhouse.”
“Fine,” I grunt. “But no one touches her.”
“That’s fair, right, fellas?” Tenny asks with an eyebrow lift. “The young lady—um, gentleman—can head downstairs of his own accord.”
The guards glance at each other before the largest one nods, taking a slight step back.
Once we’re in the clubhouse, Aaron pushes into my space, trying my very last nerve. “What is my ex-fiancée doing kissing you?”
“Why should you care?” I fire back. “You said all women are interchangeable.”
Aaron grunts as Tenny pulls him back by the shoulder.
“Lay off, Lawson,” Tenny adds. “Don’t you have a new fiancée anyway?
“Wait.” Kenzie blinks, wig and beard discarded on a nearby bench, as she turns toward Aaron. “You have a new fiancée?”
“At least this one knows about his stupid scheme.” Tenny shoots daggers at our teammate. “I hope she takes you for every penny you’re worth.”
“She won’t, because she’ll be signing an iron-clad prenup, you imbecile,” Aaron barks, aggressively pulling out of Tenny’s hold.
Kenzie brushes a few loose strands of hair away from her face, confusion slipping into the fake wrinkles around her eyes. “What scheme?”
The room goes eerily silent as everyone looks at me.
The regret climbing up my chest is so caustic I almost check for wounds.
I should have insisted that Kenzie learn this from me before it came out like this, but she’d said she didn’t want to know, and I respected her decision.
Now she’s going to get her heart broken with dozens of witnesses.
“I thought she knew,” Kai whispers.
Then it feels like my heart is smashed to smithereens when Kenzie turns to me with tear-sheened eyes. “Knew what?”