Page 21 of The Fake Out

“You’re such a dumbass.” Bosco whacked me on the side of the head.

In a flash, I turned and jumped on his back to bear hug him.

He grunted and whipped to one side, but I held tight, rubbing against him. “Get your half-naked ass off me, fucker.”

“But I’m such a good hugger,” I laughed as I finally let him squirm away.

“Better you than me,” Chris muttered from his own locker.

A loud clap had us all looking over to Coach Wilson, who was standing in the doorway. “We’ve got the room cleared to give you all an update on Dumpty.”

The silence was instant.

Wilson cleared his throat. “Officially, he’s day to day while he’s being monitored for a mild concussion. Unofficially, he’s not traveling with us, and he’ll be out for at least five days. He’s definitely got a concussion. A shoulder tear is possible. They’re waiting on the MRI results.” Wilson crossed his arms and rocked back on his feet.

Dread washed over me as I rubbed at the back of my neck. A tear would be season ending. Losing Mason, one of the team’s best batters, would make it impossible to make a playoff run this season.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Wilson said, his hands on his hips.

“Does he have someone to stay with?” I asked. Like me, his family was far away and unlikely to make it to him tonight.

“Miller and Langfield are with the training staff at the hospital,” he said, referring to Cortney Miller, our GM, and Beckett Langfield, the team’s owner. “I think the plan is to take him back to Miller’s place.”

Bosco snorted. “Oh, he’s gonna get to go to the momcom.”

“Wouldn’t let Cortney or Beckett hear you mock any of them,” Asher Price, the team’s catcher, warned.

Cortney and Beckett had ended up falling for women who were best friends, and the families lived in side-by-side brownstones. There were rumors that the houses were connected, but I’d only been to Miller’s place once and hadn’t seen it.

Their girls made up half of what Bosco referred to as the momcom. There were two other women in that group, and when both Beckett and Cortney had started dating Liv and Dylan, the four women were living and raising their seven kids together in a single brownstone. Although most of my teammates scoffed at the idea, I thought it sounded like fun.

“Streaks is just sore he didn’t get to join the mommune when the lovely Delia picked Enzo DiLuca,” Martinez joked, leaning back in his white folding chair now that he was dressed after his postgame shower.

“Please,” Bosco scoffed. “Can you honestly see me seriously dating anyone, let alone a single mother?” He shuddered at the idea.

I couldn’t see it. The man was allergic to not only commitment but any sort of responsibility that wasn’t baseball related.

“But like I said”—Bosco pointed at me—“you’re going to have your own room this trip. You better go out and find someone to enjoy the luxury with.”

I smirked. Because, sure, there had been a time when that would have been my thing. But I was weirdly unexcited about the idea now.

Me: Everything going okay with the bathroom?

Gi: Besides opening up the wall and fixing the pipe, they haven’t done anything, so it looks like you’re going to be stuck using my bathroom when you get back.

Me: I’ll use the kitchen sink to brush my teeth, and I can shower in the locker room at the field. I won’t bother you.

Gi: I’m not that bad to share a bathroom with…

Me: But you don’t know that I’m not.

Gi: GIF of eye roll

Streaks added Dragon to the chat.

Streaks: Where we all heading?

Dragon: Why did you put me in this chat again? I’m not chasing ball bunnies with you

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