Chapter 11

Walkingaround the Boston Zoo with Aurora quickly lifted my spirits. I loved spending time with her, and this change of scenery was what I needed to adjust my attitude. I had to stop being so difficult, otherwise I worried that Dr. Anderson would question her abilities. She was great at what she did. I was the problem here. And despite how cranky I'd been, I wouldn't want anyone else here with me. So I was determined to chill and enjoy our time together.

She had drawn her lines, and until she gave me signals that she wanted more, I'd respect that this was a platonic day of fun. I'd done that more times than I could count in high school. I should be used to it.

Rather than wander and look at the other animals, I led Aurora straight to the Puffin Penguin house.

"Even the sign has a baseball on it," she mused, her chin tipped up as she regarded the sign that hung above the door. The image Gianna, Dragon's sister, had designed was of a puffin with a baseball and a penguin with a hockey puck.

I chuckled. "Puff's a Rev, remember?" I pulled the door open and stood back so she could enter the huge space in front of me. The viewing area was large, but the majority of the space in the building was for the animals. Behind the floor-to-ceiling glass was an expanse of water and rocks. It only took a minute to find Puff. He was easy to pick out because of the blue and white friendship bracelet around his leg.

"Is he wearing a beaded bracelet?" Aurora asked beside me.

I chuckled and stepped closer to the glass. "Yup. Dragon wears one that matches. They never take them off."

She tilted her chin and watched me through narrowed eyes like she couldn't decide whether I was messing with her.

With a tap on the glass, I got Puff's attention, and the little guy waddled our way. I hadn't expected to feel so relieved when I set foot in this place, but already, being here with Puff made me feel like I was with the team. When he approached, he tapped on the glass with his beak, imitating me. I stole a glance at Aurora to make sure she was watching. The sweet smile she gave me made my stomach tighten. Damn. The need to impress her, to make her laugh, was all consuming.

Everything about her was consuming me. But her job mattered, and I respected that I couldn't cross her lines. Those lines, though, didn't include making her laugh.

Turning back to the puffin on the other side of the glass, I waved a hand. In response, he bobbed his head from side to side.

Aurora brought her fingers to her lips and giggled. "Are you doing that?"

Holding back a smirk, I shrugged, but then I made a circle in the air with one finger.

Her eyes widened as Puff dove into the water and swam in a complete circle. "Are you making that bird dance?"

"Yeah." I couldn't help but smile at the little guy. "They're really trainable."

She watched him with a softness in her expression I'd never seen, then scanned the rest of the birds before she caught sight of the plaque off to the side of the glass that credited the Revs for Puff's exhibit. "Did you all really donate this?"

"Yeah." I lifted a brow. "Dragon pretty much made us. He's obsessed with Puff Daddy."

Avery, Dragon's girlfriend, appeared behind Aurora then, her hands on her hips. "Are you torturing my bird?"

"No, of course not."

Her response was a huff and a roll of her eyes.

I bit back a smirk. "Big day's coming up soon, right?"

Dragon had been talking nonstop about Puff and his girl and the eggs that were set to hatch soon.

"Yep. We've got less than two weeks now." Avery nodded. "We moved the nest into the back. The dads were getting a little agitated with so many people coming in. Made everyone happier."

"How many babies are there?" Aurora asked, eyeing the birds a little warily. Although she'd smiled and laughed at Puff's antics, her shoulders were pulled up a little, and she kept scanning the rocks and the water like she might be a bit uncomfortable.

"Puff and Puffette have three, and another couple has two. If all goes well, we'll have five new residents soon." Avery turned to me and gave me a sympathetic smile. "How are you feeling? Chris said you were really out of it the other day after the game."

"Yeah." I ducked my head. "I actually don't remember much."

"Oh." She took a small step back and quickly changed the conversation, as if she'd picked up on my unease and understood that I didn't want to talk about it. "Did you guys want to see him? I can get him out."

"Out?" Aurora's eyes widened almost comically, like the idea was insane. "Yeah, no, I'm good."

"You have a thing about birds or something?" I didn't remember that from high school, but we spent most of our time together studying inside, so maybe it never came up.

"I wouldn't call it ‘a thing.'" A cute little line appeared between her brows as she waved at the glass. "I just like them better in there." Then she fought a shudder.

"You're afraid of birds." I laughed, shaking my head.

"I'm not afraid of birds." The way she shifted on her feet and wrung her hands belied that statement. "They're cute. Through the glass or, like, at a distance." She swallowed thickly and frowned. "I don't need to hang out with them near me."

I laughed at the way she practically cringed at those last words. When I caught Avery watching the back-and-forth between us, wearing a very speculative expression, though, I schooled my features.

Shit.

The last thing I needed was for her to assume there was something going on between Aurora and me. If she told her dad, there would be hell to pay. Coach was a stickler for rules.

"Did you guys want to grab lunch?" Avery asked as she continued to scrutinize us.

"I think we're going to walk around the zoo a bit." I shot Aurora a smirk. "It's my allowed exercise for the day."

She rolled her eyes at me but gave Avery a sweet smile and agreed that we'd better continue on.

As we were walking away from Puff's exhibit, I bumped her with my arm. "What do you want to see now? Stay away from the birds, huh?"

"Shut up." She huffed out a chuckle. "And be careful with your shoulder."

"It really feels fine, babe."

She stiffened next to me. Babe probably crossed some of those lines she set up. I was about to apologize when she went on.

"Yeah, because of me. Clearly, I'm the only one of us who's concerned about keeping it that way." She shot me a glower that was hard to take seriously with the way her blond hair bounced as she walked. Now I wasn't sure if she was mad about babe or my shoulder, but I couldn't help but smile.

I should probably feel bad, but her exasperation with me was so damn cute I couldn't help it.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her in close. "Thanks for looking out for me."

With a whack to my stomach, she freed herself from my hold and continued on. We had just stepped up to a sea lion enclosure when one popped up, water sluicing down its head.

Rory sighed, grasping the railing in front of us. "They're so cute."

The animal nodded like he was agreeing with her and flapped one flipper, sending a spray of water into the air.

I chuckled at its antics, but Aurora jumped away from the shower and scooted closer. And damn if I could stop the instinct to wrap my arms around her. Not that my hold could shelter her from the splash, but having her in my arms felt right.

Her soft floral scent hit me as her soft hair brushed my cheek, tempting me to hold her just a second longer and take a breath of her into my lungs. Having her this close made my stomach tighten and my chest feel heavy. Even as she pushed away, I didn't want to let her go.

But she smiled and grabbed my arm, as if she hadn't felt the pull between us too, and dragged me away, leaving the guy to splash a couple who'd just appeared. "I don't want to get soaked. Come on."

All day, her reactions made me laugh. She squealed when the tiger came out and paced along the glass. She giggled at the swinging monkey. Joy lit her face when she hand-fed the giraffes. But she surprised the hell out of me when she suggested we stop to see the snakes and reptiles.

This woman was afraid of birds, but not snakes?

I'd been to the zoo more than a few times, considering my teammate's obsession with both Puff and Avery. However, I'd never had so much fun. Even if this wasn't a date. She might be here with me because she was required to be, but it sure felt like a date. Especially when I bought her a stuffed animal on our way out.

"It's the perfect bird. The kind you don't have to be afraid of." I chuckled as I handed her the fluffy black and white puffin wearing a throwback Revs jersey.

"Thanks." With a sigh, she snuggled the bird against her chest. "I'm never gonna live this down, am I?"

"Nope." I led her toward the exit. "Were you always afraid of birds? I don't remember?—"

"I am not afraid of birds." She cut me off.

"Hey, Dumpty," a fan called, heading my way.

I'd escape being noticed for the most part today, but apparently, my luck had run out. So with my happy outfielder smile firmly in place, I high-fived both fans and signed their zoo maps.

"Do you ever get tired of it?" Aurora asked after they were out of earshot.

My typical answer was hell no; I love what I do, but I didn't want to lie to her.

"All the damn time, but when they see me, they expect the larger-than-life outfielder, and that's what they deserve. They buy my jersey and show up to see me play, and in return, I show up for them." Fighting back the need to wince at the throb that had started over the last few minutes, I rubbed at my temple. Then I straightened my hat and pulled it lower, hoping it would keep others from recognizing me. "Even on my bad days, they get happy Mason."

"You have a headache?" She stepped in closer and rubbed circles on my back.

Her touch alone eased some of the tension.

"It's not horrible, but kinda," I admitted. Telling her the truth, showing her my vulnerabilities, was easy, when, for the rest of the world, I hid behind a smile.

"Let's get an Uber." She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. "We can go home and get something to eat."

At the idea of going home with this woman, my first thought was hell yeah. But this wasn't a date, even if it felt like one. With each passing day, though, it was harder to remember that.