Page 78 of SALT

"Christ," he curses as he turns to collect himself. "Balls in," he calls out to the team. "Are you serious?"

I don't say anything as I hold his eyes. He knows I'm not playing around. "Not a word, Connor."

Something is suddenly throwing Parker off his pitch. He was good in yesterday's game, but tonight, he looks like an entirely different guy. It could be the pressure of tonight's game. He knows there is only one tournament left this summer, and there are at least five scouts here tonight, potentially eight if the three that said they were going to try to squeeze it in actually showed up.

"It's only the third inning. Parker is usually good for six. Has he been like this all summer?" Connor questions.

"No." I rub my jaw and look into the stands. Mackenzie and Cameron showed up in the last inning. Cameron's red hair caught my eye the second she walked out of the tunnel, but it was the jersey she was wearing that pissed me off. For once, it's not Parker's, and I thought maybe it had something to do with that, but then I remembered someone who's not here today. Stormy. I stopped at the team shop on my way in to have a chat with her, but she called off. I was equally as relieved as I was pissed. There are words I need to have with her, but at the same time, if she's not here, I know she's not having any with Cameron either. "I'm going to the mound." I step out of the dugout and signal the umpire for a timeout before I jog out.

"Are you pulling me out?"

"Do you want me to pull you out?"

"No," he answers somewhat dejectedly.

I cross my arms and try to get a read on him. "Your arm is going a little wide, but we both know that's not the problem. Am I really out here because you're hung up on a girl right now?"

"You're one to talk."

"That might be so, but my future isn't on the line right now. Yours is."

"You know it's more than that."

I missed this morning's game to be with Cameron. We talked about a lot of things, one of them being Parker. She told me everything, including how they used each other. She also filled me in on his relationship with Stormy and it being one of the reasons she doesn't believe Stormy's intentions are for harm. Which means there's a good fucking chance Parker knows exactly why Stormy wants to get close to Cameron.

"You know the truth?"

"I believe I do." He spins the ball in hand.

"Then you also know Cameron is mine, which makes her my problem. Get your head in the game, Michaelson, and let me handle my girl." He shakes his head and mutters something under his breath. "I'll buy you a few more minutes. Don't fuck it up. San Diego is in the stands." I know he's had his eye on their feeder team. My words could do two things: make him nervous or strengthen his backbone. I'm betting the latter is true. Parker can be a cocky fucker when he wants to be.

Rather than jog back to the dugout, I make a beeline straight for the stands. Parker needs to get his head on, and apparently, my girl needs a reminder of who she belongs to. When I jump over the wall, my eyes connect with hers, and they don't stray as I take the steps two at a time to where she's sitting in the stands.

"Everett, what are you doing?" she asks nervously as her eyes scan the stands. "You realize the crowd is watching us."

"Take your shirt off," I demand.

"You can't be serious."

"You think I garnered the attention of almost a thousand people for a joke? Take it off," I say, my voice firmer.

She rolls her glossy pink lips as her hands slowly reach for the hem of her shirt. I know she's intentionally drawing this moment out to call my bluff. That's when I speed up the process and meet her hands halfway before assisting her in removing it, leaving her in nothing but a thin white tank top with no bra. I clench my jaw and thin my lips when I see her perfect nipples erect and standing at attention.

"Happy?" She smirks with hands on her hips.

"Not yet." I toss McKenna's jersey to a fan a few rows back before taking off my own, giving her no time to process the move before I pull it over her head. "My girl. My jersey," I say right before the people around us start oohing.

"I can't believe you just did that," she says, attempting to hold back a shy smile.

I quickly peck her lips. "Believe it. I used to dream about you being mine. Now you are." I start back down the stairs. "My dream girl wears my name." I throw her a wink as my heart races faster than my feet back to the dugout. Cameron Salt is my future. I've never been more sure of anything in my life, but I've also never lived in this moment. One where I'm enough and the girl I want wants me back. I saw it on her face. My move was bold, but it was everything, just like her.

"That may not have been the best look. We're here to play ball, not record kiss cam moments," Connor says as I enter the dugout.

I shrug. "It bought Parker time to get his head on, and I made a point. As for the rest, there's nothing donations can't solve."

He shakes his head. "You got it bad."

"I'd rather have it bad than miss something I never had." The entire dugout is staring at me. "Take notes, boys. That's how you get the girl." I clap my hands. "Now, let's play some ball."

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