Page 31 of Rain Delay

I look over as their manager makes his way onto the field, the guys all moving to circle around him. Figuring this would be some good background footage, I start filming a few seconds of the little pow-wow before heading over to the dugout, looking back at the footage I just took

“Did you get my good angles?”

I look up to see Liam leaning against the railing of the dugout, smirking at me.

“I think I got some,” I said as I tucked my phone in my back pocket. “Though, the video isn’t about you. So guess you’re going to have to wait and see if you made the cut.”

“I sure hope so; I need the followers,” he insisted. “I see what you’re doing with his shit. Maybe I need to hire you.”

I roll my eyes. “You and I both know that you would love to hire me, but not for the reason I’m actually hired to be here for.”

He tilted his head, the smirk growing into something like he had something witty to say, but just kept it to himself.

“You’re a smart ass. I like that about you,” he said, staring at me for a second longer before glancing at the field. “Wyatt was a fucking idiot to break up with you.”

My chest tightened. The way Liam said that so casually – like Wyatt had talked about me in conversation with his teammates before. I was a topic of conversation in Wyatt’s brain, and that rattled something in me.

My mouth drops, and I suddenly don’t want to look him in the eye. “Yeah, well that was five years ago. Things happen.” I shrug, blowing out a sigh. “I, um, I’m gonna go grab some more footage and then probably grab a bite to eat before the game.” I tell him before I turn on my heel, walking a little too fast past him.

I knew Wyatt and Liam were best friends; it was the idea that I had been mentioned that seemed to shake me up. How much does he know about me? How much do his teammates know about me?

I walk down the dirt a little more before bumping into something solid and stumbling backwards. Before I can fall to my ass, two hands grab me, saving me the embarrassment.

“Whoa, you good?” The voice asks me, and I look up to see Wyatt’s holding me. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” I nod curtly. “Yeah, was just, um, I was just going to get some video before the game.”

“I saw you over by Liam…” his voice sounds concerned. “He didn’t try anything, did he? He knows the rules.”

Rules? There were rules with me?

I shake my head quickly. “God, no. I would’ve shut that down really quick.” I say, huffing out a laugh that sounded a little too forced.

His jaw ticks a little bit as he studies me for a second. “If he ever does anything that makes you uncomfortable, you let me know, okay? He knows you’re off-limits.”

Off limits? Are we claiming people now?

“Yeah, of course,” I answered. “Go get ready for your game,” I told him before moving his hands off of my arms and walking away from him. Maybe I was overthinking, and this was all just an exaggeration in my head. The one downside to being a chronic over-thinker.

I couldn’t pin why I was feeling so flustered. Perhaps it was the way Wyatt got so defensive all of a sudden — Acting as though no one was allowed to talk to me without his permission. Acting as though I was more to him than just a social media manager.

Maybe that’s the problem.

I meant more to him than I was allowing myself to think I would ever be to him again.

That’s the most terrifying part of all of this.

And I wasn’t sure if I was ready to conquer that yet.

Chapter 11

Wyatt

“YOU KNOW WHO REALLY NEEDS A BASEBALL TEAM?” Liam turns from his suitcase and looks at me. “Vegas.”

I look up from my phone at him, interested to hear another one of his stupid ideas. “You just want an excuse to go and party,” I tell him. “The team wouldn’t even be good. It would be an embarrassment for the city, MLB would never do it.”

Liam shrugs. “Listen. We could celebrate our wins on the strip. It would be like a scrimmage, and then we’d party after.”