Chapter 13

"Undefeated!" Billings shouts as we pile into the elevator after our third game in College Station. We all cheer in celebration as excitement seeps from our pores. March is here, and baseball is in full swing.

I can't fight the beaming grin that lights up my face.

Reaching in front of me, I put my hands on Hudson's shoulder, squeezing him. He turns and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "And we have this motherfucker to thank!"

My eyes find Chloe's in the sea of my teammates trying to fit in this elevator car. The smile on her face has me grinning wider than I thought I could.

"Showers, and we are hitting the bar tonight," Niko says from behind me. "You good with that, Cap?"

"Hell yeah," I respond. I'll never get tired of being referred to as captain. I've worked my ass off to earn that title, even though my dad thinks otherwise. I'm sure I'll be getting a phone call any minute now for my performance review on how much I sucked and how I should've thrown different pitches. But I'm not answering tonight. Tonight I'm going out to celebrate.

"You wanna come with us?" Ty directs the question to Chloe, and I can't help but turn and wait for her response. She must feel me watching her because her eyes find mine immediately.

"Not tonight. I've got a date." My heart hammers in my chest at the news of her date. Is it one of the guys on the team? Does she know someone from College Station? Chloe digs inside her purse for something as she avoids the stares coming from the guys. She pulls out the white device that she always has. "With my Kindle."

The air returns to my lungs, and I can freaking breathe again. Hudson nudges me as his laughter fills my ears. The fucker.

"Ah c'mon, Mariano. Leave the romance novel at home and come have some fun with us," Niko tries to persuade her.

"Maybe next time, boys." We all watch as she strides out of the elevator with a confidence she wasn't wearing when she first started with the team.

The truth is we all have enjoyed having her around. No matter how hard she tries to hide away from us and pretend to be the wallflower she wants to be, her personality is like sunshine, and we all crave her rays.

The walk on the way back to the hotel is a little challenging. While none of us set out with the intention of getting drunk, we did indeed have a few beers and a couple of shots. Everyone needs to unwind from the pressure and celebrate the undefeated season.

With the promise that no one was getting hammered, the guys convinced me to be cool with everyone having a few beers. To celebrate my decision, I was awarded with some kind of specialty shot. One shot led to another, which led to another, and here we all are stumbling along the sidewalk.

"Do you think she'll ever come out with us?" Ty slurs the question as he slings his arm over my shoulder causing both of us to sway. He doesn't need to explain who the ‘she' is in his question. Ty and Chloe have bonded, and I hate that she feels like she can't come out with us.

"I hope she does," Niko chimes in.

Hudson gives me a look before adding, "Cody can talk her into it."

I stare at him. Why would he think I'd be the one who could talk her into going out? She hasn't wanted anything to do with me. There's still a lot of groveling that needs to be done on my part before Chloe trusts anything that comes out of my mouth. If anyone could talk her into going out, it'd be Billings.

Stopping outside the hotel entrance, I turn toward the group of rowdy guys behind me. "Okay," I start, a slight slur to my words. "We need to be really quiet when we go in there. Coach cannot get any complaints about us."

"Aye aye, Captain," comes from a wiseass in the back. I narrow my eyes, but can't figure out which one said it as some of their faces blur together.

Putting on sober faces, we make our way through the empty lobby. Coach didn't give us a lights-out curfew tonight since we don't have a game tomorrow. We just need to be ready for the bus at seven thirty a.m. to head back to CTU.

I hear a noise behind me—probably someone stumbling—and it's not long before drunken laughter fills the space. Turning over my shoulder, I bring my finger up to my lips, shushing the team.

It takes two trips to get everyone up to our floor, and I wait outside our room until everyone is accounted for. No one brought back a girl this time. It was a night out with the team. It's not something we do enough, but it needs to be done more often. A winning season means we need to be a strong team.

Watching the last of the guys filter into their rooms, I turn and swipe the key card, waiting for the magnetic strip to turn the light green. Hudson's already in the shower, so I make my way over to my bed, plugging my phone into the charger resting on the table between the two full-size beds.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, the internal debate begins—to shower off the bar or just climb straight into bed. I'm one of the only guys at the house who doesn't have to shower after a night out. And since we cleaned up before bed, I decided to wait until morning.

With my elbows bent and resting on my thighs, I stare at the wall that separates us from Chloe. Is she still up? What is she wearing? Is it something like that white set I saw her in?

Will she ever forgive me? Can there ever be an us?

"Did all that alcohol give you x-ray vision?" Hudson muses as he slips on his boxers underneath his towel.

My eyes don't leave the wall, and I don't answer him. I watch out of my peripheral vision as Hud places his phone on his charger before climbing into bed.

Before we went out tonight, Hudson knocked on the adjoining door and practically begged her to come out.

Since we've been on the road and sharing the same wall, the three of us have made the most of it. There's always an invitation to join us for our pregame pizza and video game night. She doesn't always accept, but every once in a while, she'll come over for a slice of pizza and a Coke. While we play Call of Duty, Chloe will sit in a chair and watch for a little while. I think it's her way of not coming across as being rude for eating and leaving. I'd never think that of her, but I know that's how she is.

I stand as I make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth when I hear something strange. Quirking my brows, I glance at Hud. He's settled in bed, covers up to his waist, texting away on his phone. He sees me pause and gives me a quizzical look.

"Do you hear that?"

Both of us stop and listen to the noise again. It's not the TV, we never turned that on. Straining my head, I hear a muffled groan—yelp—something that doesn't sound normal coming from Chloe's room.

"What is that?" Hud questions. Shrugging, I stand there listening.

And that's when I heard a scream come from her room. Without a thought, I move toward the connecting door praying that she didn't lock it earlier this evening. Plowing through the door, my feet stop short at the sight in front of me.

The only light in the room comes from the soft glow of the bathroom light which illuminates a sprawled-out Chloe. She's writhing on her bed in nothing but a lace nightgown—one I can only imagine is soft to the touch. Rose gold headphones sit on her head as her hand kneads her breast before she tweaks a nipple while the other hand uses a—oh god, is that a vibrator?

Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Is she—"

Hudson starts but I quickly turn and push him from getting a view of Chloe. I need to hightail it out of here before she sees me.

A shriek fills the air as movement flashes from behind me. "Cody!" I catch something purple in the air as I hear the loud thump of something hitting the ground. I'm pretty sure Chloe just chucked the vibrator she had pressed up against her pussy at me.

Fuck. Me.

"What the hell are you doing in here? Don't you knock?"

I risk a peek over my shoulder and see Chloe has covered her near-naked body with her sheets. Her chest rises and falls as her already pink cheeks flame brighter.

"I thought you were in trouble."

"Trouble?!" She shrieks.

"We heard you scream. I-I-I don't know what I thought, but I was worried and—"

"You just barged in here?" She runs her hand through her mussed-up hair, and I'm instantly wishing it was from me. I remember how soft the tendrils felt as they slid through my fingers.

Shit, forget replacing her hand, I want to be the one making her scream loud enough it alerts the neighbors. I want to feel her tight heat and bring her to the brink of orgasm.

"Wait? Did you just say you heard me?" Her eyes widen as mortification spreads over her blushed cheeks.

Scraping my hand down my face, I nod. "I was walking by and heard you scream. I thought you were in trouble."

Her eyes close tight as if she's trying to erase this moment. Truth be told, I'd like to erase it too. The reasons for Chloe to hate me keep stacking up.

"I'm sorry," I say as I turn on my heels and leave the room, closing both doors.

"Was she just doing what I think she was just doing?" Hudson asks as he tries not to let the laugh slip free.

"We aren't ever talking about this again."

Climbing into bed, I lay there as sleep never comes.

The image of Chloe burned fresh in my brain.

My Wildflower is perfect.