Page 7 of The Trouble with Players

“It was your idea,” I reminded her.

“But I didn’t mean right now.”

We pushed our way through the people congregating inside as I searched for Crew. I could see the group of guys still playing pool in the corner of the room, and I wondered if I’d missed him when we first arrived.

As we neared the group, I realized they all wore Sharks ball caps and were all six feet or taller. All built. All pretty damn good looking. I made my way over to the pool table, eyeing the girls hanging around them. Damn groupies. The Cape League was an invite only baseball league made up of college players who had a shot at making it to the major leagues. Not all of them would get drafted, but some definitely would. That meant they needed to beware of groupies looking to latch on to them for what they could become—and possess. And, these girls would go to great lengths to get them.

“Hey beautiful,” one of the guys said.

I rolled my eyes, in no mood for more lame pick-up lines.

“Hi,” Gina said, eating up the lines.

She was allowed to fall for them. I just wouldn’t be susceptible to ball players’ shady ways.

“Haven’t seen you two around here before,” the guy said. “You tourists?”

“Nope. We’re locals,” Gina explained. “Peyton just returned from backpacking around Europe. We needed a night out to celebrate.”

“Europe, huh?” he asked me. “How was that?”

“Well, there were no baseball players around, so there was that.”

“Peyton,” Gina chided under her breath.

“What?” I asked innocently. “Just making an observation.”

“You guys play for the Sharks?” she asked him, even though his hat answered her question.

“Yup,” he said with a grin displaying two front teeth slightly bigger than the rest. “We’re undefeated.”

I scoffed.

“Don’t you like baseball?” he asked me.

“I love baseball. Just not the players,” I said.

“Noted.” His eyes shifted back to Gina. “Can I get you a drink?”

She nodded, seemingly just as put off by my bad attitude as he was. She followed him to the bar, and I was left to stand awkwardly alone.

“If you were going for the everyone-stay-the-hell-away-from-me-because-I’m-a-bitch routine, you nailed it,” Crew said, materializing beside me.

“Good. Wouldn’t want to catch anything from any of you,” I said.

“Oh, rest assured. None of us would touch you.”

“Perfect.”

He looked at me with disdain. “Why don’t you head home. Wouldn’t want you bringing your negativity near my teammates.”

“I’ll go home when I want to go home,” I said. “And I’m not the one with a curfew.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who acts like they need one.” He turned away from me and walked over to an empty chair near the pool table. As soon as he sat, a girl found her way onto his lap. And she wasn’t the girl from earlier. Pig.

She smirked my way, telling me she thought getting his attention would piss me off.

Nope. You can have him. Just not in my room.

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