22. Baylor

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

BAYLOR

Popping the top on the can, I tipped my head back and took a long swig, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

“Is that my last soda?”

“I don’t know, is it?”

“It is!” Casey looked incredulous. “What kind of man comes over to someone’s house and drinks their last can of soda?”

Was he for real? I just shrugged because I didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m a guest.”

Casey snorted. “You’re not a guest. You’ve been here more times than I can count.”

“Well then, what’s yours is mine,” I surmised, taking another long swig.

“Don’t fucking push it. We’re not married.”

The word married hung in the air between us. What would that feel like, to wake up beside the same person every day? To kiss them every night before I fell asleep? To share a house and responsibilities and a whole life with them? The idea had always terrified me, but as I looked at Casey, I didn’t feel afraid. I felt… comforted by the idea. Excited, even.

Maybe because Marcus had been hinting at it lately, talking about asking Austin to marry him, planning some surprise dream wedding for him. I was excited for him, and hell, I guessed I was at the age where all my friends were starting to marry and settle down. I wasn’t saying marriage was for everyone, but there was no reason it couldn’t be for me. With a guy like Casey. And Rawlings, of course. She lifted her head from my lap as if she knew I was thinking about her. I rubbed between her ears, and she settled down.

Casey glared. “Stole my last can of soda, and you stole my dog, too. What else are you going to steal?”

“Your heart,” I teased, winking at him.

Thankfully, it didn’t freak him out. Casey just laughed, losing his irritation. “Yeah, maybe,” he agreed.

My phone rang, and I slid it from my pocket and held it up to my ear. “Hello… You’ve got to be kidding me… No, that’s great… Girl, I could kiss you right now… Yes, I know, I owe you dinner. It would be my pleasure to take you out… Yeah, I’ll give him a call… Looking forward to seeing you again, too. Thanks, Hannah.”

Returning the phone to my pocket, I gave Rawlings another pat and when I looked at Casey, he was staring at me as if I had grown two heads.

“Who the fuck was that? ”

“Oh, just Hannah.”

His brows pulled tight. “Who the fuck is Hannah?” he asked, his voice rising higher.

“My ex.”

“And you’re taking her to dinner? You can’t wait to kiss her?”

It dawned on me how it sounded and I chuckled, which only made his face grow angrier.

“So now that the season is over, I figured it was a good time to move up, switch jobs.”

“This is the first I’ve heard you talk about switching jobs. What’s wrong with the one you had?”

“It prevents me from telling everyone I’m dating this really hot head coach with a fetish for chicken suits.”

My words sank in and a slow smile spread across his face, growing wider with each second. “What’s Hannah got to do with it?”

“She works at the AMLU. Got me an interview, but it’s just a formality. She said I got the job.”

“Get the fuck out!” he exclaimed, sitting forward. “The minor league? AAA is one step beneath the major league.”

“I know,” I smirked.

“Your schedule is going to be impossible, but we’ll make it work.” He scooted closer, sliding his arm around my shoulder. “We’ll have to go out and celebrate.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere to celebrate,” I suggested with a leer.

Casey chuckled. “This is fucking incredible. It also means we’ve got to tell Marcus and the rest of the world. ”

“And you think you’re ready for that?”

“As ready as you are,” he challenged.

Shit, I was more than ready. Casey had the bigger challenge, coming out to his coworkers and his team, making himself an easy target for students at the University.

“I’m not trying to push you out of the closet,” I reassured him. “If you need more time…”

“You’re not pushing me out of anything. I’m ready. We’re doing this.” He linked his fingers with mine and kissed my knuckles.

We were definitely fucking doing this.

“Sit back, Marcus, before you fall out of your goddamn chair,” I teased. He’d been riding the edge of his seat for the last three innings. Unfortunately, his team lost the final round of the NCAA Division One Tournament, and they didn’t make it to the World Series.

“I’ve got heartburn,” he complained, grabbing his soda.

“That’s not gonna help. Here,” Penn offered. “Try water. Penn shoved a water bottle at him, and Marcus gratefully accepted.

I heard the crack of a bat, even though my eyes weren’t on the field, and knew that it had to be Austin when Wilder exploded out of his seat, followed by Marcus .

“Hell yeah, that’s my best friend!” He told everyone seated within hearing distance, not that they cared. It was hard to tell who was more proud of Austin, his best friend, or his lover.

“If he wins, we’re going on vacation,” Marcus promised.

“ When he wins,” I corrected him.

Marcus smirked. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, I’m taking him away.”

“What?” Wilder shrieked, “When? Where? How long is he gonna be gone?”

I couldn’t hide my laugh. They were adorable together and even finished each other sentences. Apparently, Wilder didn’t think he could last a week without Austin.

“I’ll give you all the details after I tell Austin. You’ve got a big mouth, kid,” Marcus explained, winking at him.

“Do not!” he defended with a pout, looking at his Daddy for confirmation.

“Yeah, you do,” Penn agreed, laughing.

Hell, they were right. I didn’t even know Wilder that well, and I knew he had a big mouth.

Austin made it to second base, but the next runner didn’t make it to first, and that was their third out. Wilder waved madly as he watched Austin jog across the infield to the dugout.

“What?” he asked defensively when we all laughed.

“Nothing, kid. You’re cute is all,” I explained, ruffling his hair as he ducked from me.

Twenty minutes later, the game was coming to a close. “All right, this is it. Last inning. Everyone quiet down so I can focus.”

“What do you care?” Marcus asked, looking at me strangely. “I’m surprised you’re not hexing him, so he’ll lose and you can rub it in his face.”

“I’m not a total dick, Marcus. Casey worked hard for this.”

Again, he gave me that strange but curious look, a smile teasing his lips. “Sure thing, Baylor.”

Casey’s team ended up taking second place, which was still incredible. With my heart in my throat, I waited outside his team’s locker room, along with Marcus, Penn, and Wilder, who were distracted by their conversation. I watched his team file out one by one, joking and back-slapping each other. I was so nervous I could hear blood rushing to my ears. When Casey’s face appeared at the back of the line, my stomach flipped over, threatening to spill its contents.

But fuck it, fuck his team, and fuck our friends.

I walked right up to him, wrapped my hand around the back of his head, and pulled him tight against my body, my lips crushing his in a kiss so deep he almost swallowed my tongue. I could only feel, not hear. The sounds of everyone clapping and whistling faded away to background noise, the feel of his warm lips against mine taking center stage. My fingers curled tighter in his hair, and I breathed in through my nose so I wouldn’t have to part my lips from his.

When we finally did, I stared into his eyes hard. “Congratulations on your win, Coach.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled from smiling so widely. “Congratulations on finally coming out, Blue.”

“I guess we both did.”

“It’s about fucking time,” Marcus said, still clapping.

“What? You knew?” Austin shrieked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Seriously? You didn’t see that coming?”

“No,” he insisted. “I thought they couldn’t stand each other.”

“There’s a fine line between love and hate,” Marcus explained. “And usually, Baylor is always on the wrong side of every line. Guaranteed. Come on, lovebirds, dinner is on me.”

We ended up at a steakhouse, joined by almost half of Casey’s team. “Was it really that easy to come out?” I asked Casey. His team was still making wisecracks about our kiss, and all eyes remained on us to see if we would do it again.

“I guess. I was never really afraid to come out. I just didn’t want to have an issue with any of the players or students.” His eyes landed on Marcus and Austin, who were lost in their own bubble, making eyes at each other. “I didn’t want their situation to be mine.”

“Yeah, that rarely turns out well. He got lucky.”

“Now that I’m taken, I don’t have to worry so much.”

Taken . By me. Since when did I have such dynamic luck? More like dumb luck. That was more my style.

“Can’t believe you won second place. ”

“Can’t believe you’re umpiring for the minors,” he challenged.

“Who are we?” I asked, laughing.

Casey gave a furtive glance around the table before popping a quick kiss on my lips. “Taken. We’re taken.”