Page 47 of Hot Streak

Connor grabbed a plate, filled it with eggs and sausage, picked up a few yogurts, and sat down, shifting the chair a little closer to Jackson’s.

Jackson cleared his throat but didn’t move away, even when Connor’s foot, at the end of his ridiculously long leg, brushed Jackson’s calf.

“Sleep alright?” Ro asked him.

“Yeah, I guess so. Bed’s comfortable, just had trouble falling asleep.” Connor glanced over at Jackson and watched as the slightest tremor moved across his expression. He was locked down tight, but now that Connor had seen the crack in his armor, it was easier to read him. Not easy, by any means, but easier.

“Nervous?” TJ asked and Ro smacked him in the arm.

“’Cause asking him if he’s nervous is going to make him less nervous,” Ro hissed under his breath.

“Not any more than normal,” Connor said. Not mentioning that normally his starts very much made him nervous. A ball of tight anxiety, tucked right into his gut. “Besides, last outing was pretty decent. And I threw a great practice session yesterday.”

“Yeah, you did.” Jackson entered the conversation with a voice rough from sleep.

“When is your next start?” TJ asked.

“Tomorrow,” Connor said.

“Well, I’m gonna go grab a workout since I’m fairly sure I’m gonna be stuck on the bench again today,” Jackson said, finishing his coffee and standing.

Was Jackson avoiding him now?

You did it, you should recognize the gesture, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jackson’s echoed in his head.

“What’s his issue?” Ro asked under his breath after Jackson had already left.

“Maybe he just wants to work out,” TJ said. “You seen the guy? He’s fucking built. And you know he’s right. Skip’s probably gonna have him riding the bench again.”

“Shouldn’t he be splitting time with Charlie?” Connor ventured.

Ro and TJ looked at him like he’d just lost his mind. “Wait, you want him to be a catcher in the rotation now? I thought you couldn’t stand the guy.”

Connor really wasn’t sure he liked Jackson, but he was annoyingly right a lot of the time. And then there was the attraction burning between them.

Did all that add up to like? Connor wasn’t sure yet.

“I don’t have to like him to know he’s a damn good baseball player.”

“That mean you’re gonna listen to him now?” Ro teased.

“When he makes sense, sure,” Connor said. But he knew, deep down, that even Jackson was going to have trouble untangling the anxiety inside him.

It had been a part of him for so long, holding back his progress, he didn’t know what he’d be without it. Jackson was good, but was he that good?

“You can’t help it, can you?” TJ asked, good-naturedly slapping him on the back.

“Can’t help what?”

“That self-destructive streak.”

Oh, if TJ only knew.

“I’ll try to contain it, but only for you, TJ,” Connor retorted sarcastically. He finished his last bite and stood. “Maybe I’ll get a workout in too.”

“You?” Ro asked with a laugh.

“Hey, I work out,” Connor insisted.

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