4. Everly

CHAPTER 4

EVERLY

H ad I expected a man to be leaning against my car as I tried to leave for work?

I had not.

I sure as hell hadn't expect it to be Bryson Madden. As if he didn't have better things to do. I sure as hell did. Not to mention… why the hell does he know where I live. I almost never bring a guy to my apartment and I certainly hadn't him.

On instinct, I pushed my hand into my purse to pull out the small can of pepper spray that I always had in there and shove it into my back pocket. This was going to far even for him.

"Please tell me you're not really here," I said as I passed by him to open my trunk and drop a bag in there.

One thing working with kids had taught me: Always have spare clothes close by.

"You can see me," he said. "Clearly, I'm here."

"I was hoping it was a nightmare that I could wake up from."

He snorted. Bryson was good-looking enough, and he had the cocky swagger of a professional athlete that I normally would've fallen all over myself for. He just didn't have the bandwidth to understand that I don't. Do. Relationships. It had been made clear to him, yet here we were.

"Baby, I'm not a nightmare. I'm a fucking dream."

"Right now, you're a wraith sucking my fucking will to live."

He narrowed his eyes. "A what?"

"A wraith." Then I rolled my eyes. "A nightmare demon. A scary mythological creature that feeds on people's fear. The only problem is, I don't fear you. I just want you to go away."

He chuckled, as if he thought I was being cute, and this was foreplay. "Listen." He stepped closer, so I stepped back. "I want to see you tonight."

I sighed and dropped my head back for a minute. "Bryson, I know you're not stupid. What's going on here? I've made it abundantly clear that we won't be seeing each other again."

"I'm not used to being told no ."

"Well, it's a big day for you, then."

Luckily, Bryson didn't strike me a as the kind of man who would react violently. Though you never could really tell, hence the pepper spray in my back pocket.

"Are you fucking Briggs?" he asked.

"Brooks? Are you out of your mind?" Brooks Briggs and I had worked at the camp together, but there had never been any friendly flirting—just friendliness. He had that same cocky nature about him that they all had, but for some reason, on Brooks, I didn't find it all that sexy. It also wasn't annoying on him.

"Not Brooks."

I furrowed my brows. "Camden? She's beautiful, but she doesn't have a penis."

He wet his bottom lip and shook his head. "I'm just saying that Briggs and I had a little chat. He wants me to leave you alone. Seems like maybe there's a reason for that."

I didn't know what he was talking about, but at this point, I'd take any help with him I could get. " Uh, maybe he sees how fucking creepy you're being."

The way he hardened his eyes said he didn't believe me. But at least he walked away.

"This isn't over," he called over his shoulder when he got to his car.

Of course it wasn't. With him, I worried it never would be.

That was a very confusing way to start my morning.

At least he didn't make me late for camp.

Did I want to be puked on at eight in the morning by a kid who'd apparently eaten pure sugar for breakfast?

No, I did not. Yet it was still better than Bryson showing up at my apartment and waiting for me at my car like a fucking weirdo.

That kid was pissed that he had to go home until his stomach stopped revolting, but the rules were the rules. These kids were nine and ten years old. All they wanted to do was have fun and meet the professional players coming today.

Once I'd changed my clothes, I met all the other kids, said goodbye to their parents, and was leading them down to the baseball diamond the camp had set up. Since this place had been started by the owner of a major league team, let's just say the diamond reflected that.

It was better than the ones most of the kids played on with their teams.

When we turned the corner to the diamond, I came to a stop, causing the twenty kids behind me to as well.

There were four men on the field already, hitting balls and running after them. No one was supposed to be out here yet; however, four professional players were supposed to arrive soon. Maybe those guys were them, but it was my job as the adult to make sure my kids were safe.

"Wait here," I told them and my co-counselor, a sixteen-year-old girl named Robin.

The men could've been the pros there for the kids, or they could've been a group of weirdos. I didn't know. The batter was tall and muscular, with dark hair pushed back in a way that looked natural, though I doubted it was.

His smile could bring the devil himself to Earth. I had to shake that thought off, but it was incredibly difficult. This man was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen and also somewhat familiar. Like I'd seen him before, but I couldn't place where.

"You're kind of big to be a camper," I called out to the man with the bat when I was within earshot, making four of them stop. Once I got closer, I recognized the pitcher and everything about me relaxed. That was Brooks Briggs. He'd been volunteering here long before I'd gotten this job. Which meant the other three had to be players, too.

"I thought I was only going to meet you in parking lots," the one with the bat called out. I narrowed my eyes.

He was Bryce's friend… or maybe not given his reaction about the guy. Either way, he was the guy in the parking lot that had wanted to make sure I was all right.

"Yeah," I said back. "I think that sounds worse than you probably meant it to."

"I heard it as soon as it came out of my mouth." He nodded in agreement.

Now that I knew the guys weren't weirdos trespassing on the camp, I waved the rest of my group over. The kids all started chattering excitedly.

This section was open to everyone at the camp in their age group. However, it was mostly boys who signed up. This year, there was one girl and I had to admit, I liked her moxie.

"I'm Everly," I told the four of them. "Nice to see you again, Brooks." He was, after all, the only one I actually knew, but the guy with the bat scowled and gave Brooks a questioning look. "And these"—I waved my hand around to indicate the group I had with me—"are my campers."

"Hi, everyone." Brooks stepped forward, which told me he was going to be the leader of this thing. "I'm Brooks Briggs. This"—he pointed to the one with the bat—"is my brother Urban Briggs and on this side is my other brother Silas Briggs. Lastly, we have Jenner Greene."

My stomach clenched. So my hero in the parking lot was a Briggs. Now that I had that information, I could've kicked myself for not realizing it. The three of them looked related. So much, in fact, that I should've guessed.

Wait… was the Briggs Bryson had been talking about this morning?

How big was the damn Briggs family?

"We know who you are!" an excited kid called out.

Glad they did because I didn't. Sports weren't exactly my thing. If they hadn't needed the introduction, I had.

Brooks came over to me and stopped once he was close enough that he wouldn't have to speak very loudly. "We were thinking of breaking the kids up into groups to cycle them through some things. We've got two hours with four groups, so maybe twenty minutes, and then we'll play a couple of rounds."

"That sounds great. Let me know what you need us to do, though, as I warned you last year, I'm not a sporty kind of gal."

He chuckled. "We're going to change that eventually."

I shook my head because I highly doubted it.

"My coordination when it comes to sports is lacking. I think it's better for all of us if I remain a spectator."

Brooks was unbelievably good-looking, but talking to him once had told me that I didn't want to sleep with him. He was the kind of guy a women fell for—like really , fully fell for.

And I wasn't into falling.

The guys broke up our group and took them to different parts of the field. With nothing to do, Robin and I sat on the second row of the bleachers to watch. If anyone got hurt, we had the first-aid kit. We also had the cooler of water, which the kids would run up to randomly for a bottle. Every little bit, we took a break so the kids could cool in the shade and hydrate. It was summer, after all .

On the last break before we moved onto something else, the brother Brooks had introduced as Urban stopped next to me under a tree where I had all the kids sitting.

"They have a lot of energy," he said, and at first, I wasn't sure he was talking to me.

"I wish I could bottle it," I told him. "Or get a hit off one of them or something."

He chuckled and then drained the rest of his water bottle.

"Anyone need the restroom?" I called out. Five raised their hand.

"I'll take them," Robin offered. Robin had her brown hair in a pixie cut which had to feel good in the summer but she had the features for it. She reminded me of an elf from a movie.

I'd worked here for four summers now and Robin was by far the most helpful teen counselor I'd ever had. Now this was day one and she might peter out, but for now, she was my favorite.

I stayed to watch over the rest of the kids while she did that. One of the boys threw himself onto the grass dramatically, making me laugh.

"Is it too hot out here for you, Landan?" I asked him.

He shot himself into an upright position. "No. It's just hard being a baseball player." He shook his head, which made the actual players laugh.

When I looked back at Urban, it clicked where I'd seen him before. "Why'd you come out to me in the parking lot?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. This probably wasn't the time or place but I wanted to know.

He turned to me slowly with his brows down. "What?"

"The parking lot at the department store on Saturday," I said more quietly. "You came out to find me right? Find us? Why? I didn't remember where I'd see you at first and then it clicked."

One brow raised high. "I play professional baseball, which means I'm on TV like six times a week. Maybe you've seen me there."

I shook my head and noticed that the other three guys had moved away and were in what looked like an enthusiastic conversation. Not intense, but they'd probably moved away because they were using words that ten-year-olds shouldn't hear.

"No," I told him honestly. "I don't watch sports. You came out and asked about Bryson. Why?"

He wet his bottom lip and took a breath like he was annoyed that I'd figured it out. "Yeah." A silence hung between us as I tried to decide whether I was going to ask him why he'd sought me out or if he'd talked to Bryson. "You looked uncomfortable."

"In the store?" I asked. He nodded. "I was. That man doesn't know how to stop." Though they could've been best friends and here I was on the verge of talking trash about that guy. Maybe not the best idea. "If he's your friend—"

"Teammate," he said, interrupting. "Not friends. I just got traded to the team last week."

Now it was my turn to furrow my brows. "Doesn't your family own the team?"

He nodded. "That's why I never wanted to be on it."

But he left it there, with me wanting to know the story behind that statement, as Brooks called for everyone to join him. They picked teams and played a little scrimmage; all the while, the pros gave the kids tips and pointers. Surprisingly these big strong professional athletes were gentle with the kids, tossing the ball like they were tossing a fragile egg. Robin and I cheered for both sides.

Too soon for the kids, it was time to head back for a snack. They packed up the equipment that we'd lugged down here. It was my turn to carry the equipment bag and Robin's turn to carry the cooler since we'd done the reverse on the way here.

Before I could swing the bag up onto my back, Urban was there taking it for me.

"You don't have to carry it," I told him.

"I don't mind," he said back, and I noticed that Silas took the cooler from Robin while Brooks and Jenner grabbed anything else that needed to be taken.

"Thanks."

We were only a few minutes into our hike back when I asked, "So your friend was bothering me on Saturday."

He shook his head. "Not my friend, remember?"

"Right." I swallowed hard. "Given that he's your teammate, I shouldn't have agreed to let you talk to him. It's my problem, not yours."

He furrowed his brows. "I don't give a shit that he's my teammate."

"Language!" one of the kids called out.

The other guys laughed, and Brooks said, "Yeah, language, Urban."

I snickered as he tried not to laugh. "I don't care that he's my teammate. I' m not going to stand around while a man makes a woman uncomfortable. It's not OK."

"So your mother raised you well, then?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

"Well, thanks." Though I wasn't going to mention that whatever he'd said to Bryson hadn't helped given that the dumbass showed up at my apartment—the place he wasn't even supposed to know about—just this morning. The reason I'd keep that to myself was that they were coworkers and I wasn't going to knowingly cause a problem between the two of them.

This was my problem. I'd have to deal with it.

"He's been bugging you for a while?" Urban asked bringing me out of my own thoughts.

"Since last year," I told him, unsure why I was. I guess if he tried to help me out, he deserved to know why. "We had a thing. I didn't want to have another. He's finding that hard to accept, and here we are."

We came to a stop outside of the mess hall. I told Robin to take the kids in, and I'd put away the equipment and then join her. They all ran off.

"You know, we really need an equipment shed by the ball field," I told him. "It makes sense. You should put in a good word to your parents or whoever." I bit back a smile. "Or maybe the four of you players could build us one."

It was only sort of a joke. It would make sense to have one down there so we wouldn't have to lug that big bag back and forth. Someone else should've already thought of that. Hell, I should've thought of it four years ago.

He smiled that devilishly beautiful smile. "I'll see what I can do."

When we walked over to where Silas, Brooks, and Jenner were putting everything away.

"Thanks for today," I told them. "The kids will be absolutely giddy the rest of the day. Probably insufferable."

"It's always fun," Brooks told me.

"Reminds me of when we were kids and baseball was just fun," Jenner added.

Silas furrowed his brows. Seeing the three brothers together reminded me just how much they resembled each other. Urban was the best-looking of the bunch, and they all had slight differences, but there wasn't a person on the planet who wouldn't know that they were related.

"Wait." Silas held his hand up. "Baseball used to be ‘just fun' for you guys?"

That had them breaking out into loud laughter at what I thought was probably an inside joke. I wished I could ask them to explain. But that wasn't really my place. Either way, their laughter was infectious making me laugh along with them.

"Anyway," I said once they'd calmed down. "They really will be talking about this the rest of the day. And then we start all over tomorrow."

Urban nudged my arm with his elbow. "Who comes tomorrow?"

"I don't know," I told him. "Camden puts that together."

"Oh, right." Urban snapped his fingers. "You know our sister."

The three of them groaned as Jenner shook his head.

"I like your sister," I told him. "She doesn't like baseball players, either."

"She likes us," Brooks countered.

I cocked my head to the side. "Does she?" Again, they laughed loudly.

"We've got to go," Brooks told them. After we said goodbye, I turned to walk away, and so did they.

Then I heard my name called out.

When I looked back, Urban was jogging over to me .

"Something wrong?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nah. I wanted to see if you'd let me take you to dinner."

"You're asking me out?" My tone conveyed my confusion for sure, and I cocked my head to the side. Urban was a smoke show. There was no doubt of that but we'd literally spent two hours, not even together, and here he was asking me to dinner.

Something inside me said it was because he felt bad for me but that was probably my mother talking. It was true I'd met Bryson here at the camp but he didn't ask me out and we didn't discuss hooking up here.

"Yeah. Is that weird?"

After glancing around to make sure none of the kids had snuck out of the main building, I shrugged. "Maybe a little. We're at a kids' camp."

My answer should've been no immediately. But that devilish grin came out again and I could completely understand how he probably got tons of women to drop their panties for him. One flash of that smile had me forgetting that I wasn't going to hook up with any more baseball players.

It'd only been one in the four years I'd worked here but that was still biting me in the ass.

"I'm known for taking my shot. "

For a reason that I didn't want to think about, the cockiness of the professional athlete didn't bother me with Urban. It was almost endearing, and maybe it was because he looked like he was a grown man who hadn't forgotten the little boy inside of him.

That made me sound insane even to myself but I didn't now what it was or why his question didn't immediately have me running for the hills.

"Sure. I'll have dinner with you tonight. You have a game?" I had no idea how any of this worked.

"I do. If you want to come to the game, we could go out right after."

Without meaning to, I scrunched up my nose.

He folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "Not a fan?" he asked.

"I already said that I'm not, but I did take the kids to a day game last year. It wasn't the worst." I nibbled on my bottom lip as I thought it over. "OK. I'll come to the game, and we can go eat after. Do I buy a ticket when I get there? How does this work?"

He snorted. "I'll tell Camden to work it out with you. You said you know her."

I nodded. "I love Camden."

He laughed again. "Everyone seems to. "

Urban was about to turn away again, but before he did, I said, "I feel like I should warn you."

Now he raised an eyebrow. "That we're not going to have sex on the first date? It's not a problem for me." He said that as if he'd heard it before and surprisingly sounded sincere when he said it wasn't a problem for him. But me… I take a different approach.

Fighting the smile that broke out across my face was useless. "No. We can absolutely have sex if you want to. You're very attractive, and there are worse ways to spend the time. What I want to warn you is that I don't do relationships. At all. So it'd be just that. Sex."

He looked like I had just knocked the wind out of him. Yet his words seemed to contradict that. "You're speaking my language."

Now I had questions. Had he asked me out, knowing he wouldn't want a relationship with me? That was fine. I didn't want one with him, but now I felt the need to know what was going on in his head. Though I'd never met a guy that had a problem with no strings attached sex. I was sure they were out there but I'd never crossed paths with them .

"The game should hopefully be done at nine. Is that too late?" he asked.

"Not for me." I shook my head.

He wet his bottom lip. "I'll make sure Camden gets you where you need to be."

"See you after the game." I waved over my shoulder after I turned away.

Suddenly, my night promised to be much more interesting than I'd originally thought it'd be.

If I were being honest, I would've told him I didn't need the dinner because I didn't. We could've gone to his place—never to mine—and fucked like animals all night and I would've been satisfied.

But tonight… I wanted dinner first.

That should have been my first sign to run in the other direction, but there was something about Urban Briggs and tonight… I was going to find out what that was.