11. Cleo

11

CLEO

I have to get the fuck out of here.

Shaking my head, I started to shove my glove and water bottle back into my bag.

Bri came up behind me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," refusing to look up from my hands, I nodded. "I just need to go home. Tell the team I'm sorry."

With a chuckle, Bri put a strong hand on my shoulder. "Dude, deep breath. If you go now, it'll be easy for her to just walk straight up to you."

She wasn't wrong. Without any of the other players leaving the field, I'd be an open target. "Shit."

I'd have to wait until it got a little more crowded. With any luck, the little league fields would fill up soon and the parents along the sidelines would be enough to hide my departure.

My leg started to shake as I sat in the dugout. Our batting order was already set and the opposing team was making their way out to the field. But I could feel Cat's eyes on me like a sniper with its sight on their target.

Trying to help, Bri took a deep breath. "She probably doesn't even realize it's you."

Even as the words left her mouth, I knew it was generous. With every second that passed, I regretted every post I'd ever made on social media. I'd left my ex a roadmap to find me. Hell, I've been on the same softball team since I moved back to New Winford after college.

And now, all Cat had to do was take one look at my page and she'd know exactly what jersey to look for.

My head fell into my hands. "Fuck. Even my number is on IG." Looking down at my stomach, the number printed on the shirt felt like a scarlet letter. The itch to sprint across the fields and hop in my car felt impossible to ignore.

There was no way in hell that I could step up to the plate and bat.

"What can I do to help?" Bri turned toward me, sighing.

With a shrug, I gritted my teeth as I looked for a way out. "Can you just go talk to her while I run out of here?"

Bri's forehead wrinkled. "Is that going to work?"

"I have no idea, but I doubt she'll be rude enough to interrupt you." It was a guess. But I'd known Cat since elementary school and I knew her mother didn't raise her to be rude. Even if she wasn't the best to me at the end of our relationship, I knew she wasn't a monster.

Standing from the bench, Bri nodded. "Consider it done. I'm not going to hug you goodbye so we avoid raising suspicions." In a matter of seconds, Bri had transformed into a spy. And this was her most important mission.

She stepped out of the dugout, fixing the tuck of her jersey as she walked across the grass toward Cat. Waving, Bri tried to look friendly. They'd known each other in school, through me and a couple of seasons of Varsity softball. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't totally unbelievable that Cat would be willing to have a random catch-up with Bri.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Bri approached Cat. Even from here, I could see how awkward Cat felt. Her hand rubbed the back of her neck like she was still sore from her last game.

My chest tightened at the shit. Time to go.

Grabbing my bag, I said goodbye to the team and pulled the brim of my cap lower. I hadn't bothered changing out of my cleats, instead letting the metal chock dig into the sand.

I lowered my gaze to the ground, knowing it was risky to meet her eyes. Taking off toward the parking lot, I could feel Bri resisting the urge to check on me. But even from the corner of my eye, I saw Cat stand from her place on the bleachers.

As politely as she could, she tried to brush past Bri. But the wall of muscle wouldn't budge, redirecting to some other friendly chatter.

The sound of my cleats clicking against the old asphalt of the parking lot felt celebratory. There was no way Cat could catch up to me at this point.

Relief truly set in when my small Corolla was backing out of the lot and moving down the road toward town. Only then did I let myself look in the rearview where I could see the miniature-sized Bri and Cat still at the field.

But now, Bri's hand held Cat's shoulder. From this distance, it was impossible to tell where their conversation had led. Luckily, I knew Bri would fill me in on all the details later. I just needed to get home, shower, and open the shop.

The hot water felt incredible on my body, and a part of me thought I might never leave the old shower ever again.

Duty calls. I sighed as I turned off the water and stepped out of the tiled stall.

I'd hardly played at all this morning but my body felt tense from seeing Cat, like I'd played all nine innings without a break.

Once I was dry, I quickly threw on loose-fitting jeans and an oversized t-shirt. Tossing my hair into a loose top knot and leaving the other half down, I checked myself in the mirror. Business was about to slow as the end of the summer approached. So looking done up was becoming less and less of a concern.

Not that anyone really cared what the dorky bookstore owner looked like anyway.

I grabbed my tote bag, placing my laptop and my current read inside, before heading down the apartment stairs. Checking my pockets, I made sure my keys jingled before I let the door slam shut.

But as I looked up from my bag, I stopped in my tracks. Shit.

Outside Cleo's Shelf, Cat Collins was pulling on the front door. She was trying to open it despite the sign obviously reading: "Closed".

The sound of my apartment door clicking shut was enough for her to lift her head and meet my gaze.

My heart stopped beating as I looked into her green eyes. It had been years since I looked at them this close, close enough that I could slap her… or kiss her.

"Cleo." She swallowed hard, her nerves suddenly bubbling up into her throat.

Shaking myself out of whatever haze she had put me in, I walked past her. "No." I cleared space for myself near the door and started turning the lock. Whether or not I wanted Cleo here, I certainly wasn't about to have this conversation on the street outside of my business.

As I pressed past her, I could smell her familiar scent. Something about it had matured, the musk of her sweat a little less sweet. But something in me still recognized her.

"Please." Cat turned toward me, not relenting on the space she was taking up in front of my bookstore's door.

Pushing it open, I didn't hold it – hoping it would slam into her face and she'd take the hint.

But before the door's auto-close spring could work its magic, Cat slammed her hand against the glass and followed me inside.

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. I'm gonna have to clean the door now.

Nonetheless, I pressed toward the counter as the familiar smell of bookstacks filled my nostrils and mostly replaced the overwhelming musk of Cat's presence.

She moved toward the counter where I was setting down my tote bag. "Cleo, seriously. I'm trying to talk to you."

"Well, I'm not trying to talk to you." Rolling my eyes, I started to work my way through the shelves. Maybe it was naive to assume she'd take the hint and give up. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Cat quit on me.

Rolling her eyes, Cat followed behind me. "Cleo, come on."

As she trailed behind me, I started to pick up my pace and zipped between the shelves. I was nearing a jog as we weaved between the shelves. When I thought I was starting to lose her in the fiction section, I slowed just a bit and took a peek behind me.

I stopped moving after seeing she wasn't there.

Finally. I let out a deep sigh.

"This is ridiculous." Cleo's voice sounded behind me.

Whipping my head around, I gawked at her. She'd gone around the shelf to intercept me on the other side.

I turned on my heels. "Yeah, it is, maybe you should stop."

She stood in place for a moment, trying to evaluate which way I would go. Hoping to fake her out, I rounded the corner to change aisles. But as soon as I did, Cat's head popped into view from the other side of the bookcase.

"Why can't you just give me a second to speak?" Cat shook her head as she got closer to me.

Instead of facing her, I turned back the way I'd come.

But there was her face again.

I clenched my jaw, trying not to think about the way she'd broken my heart. "Because you're a fucking asshole and I'm not doing this again." If I let myself picture it too clearly, tears would roll down my face. And I wasn't in the mood to give her the satisfaction.

I moved farther down to another shelf, putting some distance between us.

But when I reached the next corner, her face appeared again. "How long are you going to make me do this?"

Pivoting, I went back the way I came. This time, I could hear her footsteps picking up from the other side of the shelf. And just as I reached the corner, Cat materialized in front of me.

Groaning, I slammed the pile of books I'd accumulated into her chest. "Nothing can be this important."

She winced as the heavy books slammed into her lungs. When I turned away again , I could hear her setting the pile on the floor. This time, the sound of steps quieted.

Was she finally taking the hint?

I let my shoulders drop as I rounded the corner of the farthest bookcase. At the back of the store now, the smell of old novels was inescapable. There wasn't a single sound in the entire store.

Until she appeared in front of me, startling me back a couple of shelves into the corner bookcase. I was out of places to hide.

Something in her face made my heart warm. I knew I shouldn't let it, that Bri would be disappointed I'd let her win me over with those green eyes. They were the same glowing emerald I'd looked into at fourteen, at nineteen, at twenty-one. The same eyes I fell in love with and the exact same that broke my heart.

Cat's chest heaved as her jaw tensed. "Everything's on the line, Cleo. Please."