Page 57 of Rival Summer

"Coach, I—" my voice cracked.

"Speak up!" Coach demanded, his eyes narrowing in on me.

"Uh, I was just?—"

"Was what?" he pressed, clearly unimpressed by my stammering.

Bailey, who’d sat silently next to me, was watching me closely, probably catching on. I was on the verge of owning up to it when he shifted forward with a sheepish look.

"Coach, sorry," Bailey interjected, speaking up despite the glare piercing from Coach. "They must've just... fallen out of my bag. They’re a lucky charm from my girl."

The room held its breath, waiting for Coach’s reaction. His face turned a shade darker, the vein on his temple standing out as he processed Bailey's confession.

"Is that so?" Coach’s words came out wrapped in ice. "Well, congratulations, Bailey. You're fucking wearing them to practice." He tossed the underwear at Bailey, who caught them awkwardly. "I warned you all about messing around. Now clear out!"

I watched, helpless. My fingers twitched with the overwhelming urge to snatch them away from his hands. But I couldn’t move. I was frozen.

With a disgusted wave of his hand, he dismissed us. "Thanks to your little stunt, you'll be running drills for the next two hours—or until I decide I'm no longer pissed."

Bailey slipped the underwear over his shorts. Parker was holding in a laugh, a playful grin on his face. He pulled a piece of the fabric between his fingers and stretched it until it snapped back. "You're a fool, but those are some sexy ass panties."

I cringed as laughter erupted around us. Bailey scrambled to adjust the lacy garment back up.

"Whoever those belong to has good taste," Parker continued, not realizing he’d just touched his sister's underwear. He winked at Bailey before he said. "I'm sure they look hot on whoever they belong to—but definitely not you, my guy."

Groans and whispers rippled through the team as we began to file out, but Bailey hung back, leaning close to me.

"From the look on your face, I’m guessing these have something to do with your roommate this weekend. You fucking owe me," he whispered, barely audible in the shuffling of feet and clanging of lockers. "And her brother just said her panties were sexy," he whispered, the words seething through his clenched teeth.

"Bailey, you don't—" I started to protest, but the words died in my throat. Parker was ahead of me, his presence a reminder that I couldn’t exactly explain or own up to them being his sister’s.

"Let's just get this over with," he grumbled. This would have been hilarious under any other circumstance—but not knowing they were Chandler’s panties.

We trudged out onto the field, ready to get our torture of a practice over with.

"Hey, Bailey! Looking good, man. I think thongs are more your thing!" One of the outfielders jeered.

"Seriously, dude?" I shot back, throwing him a glare. "He's been grilled enough."

"Chill out, guys," Parker chimed in while mid-run, an edge in his tone that said he wasn't in the mood for games—none of us were happy about running drills.

The sun was high, casting the field in a harsh glare. But it wasn't the brightness that had me squinting—it was the sight of Chandler and Willow standing by the fence, frozen like deer caught in headlights.

"Shit," I sighed, jogging over to them and praying they hadn't seen what I thought they had. But one look at Chandler's face told me that she knew.

"You wanna tell me why Bailey is wearing my underwear?" Chandler said through gritted teeth. Confusion and pure horrorran across her face as she pointed toward Bailey, who was now hopping awkwardly from one foot to the other, trying to adjust the lacey garment without drawing more attention.

"Yeah... about that," I stammered, running a hand through my hair. "Coach found them and made Bailey wear them as a lesson." I paused, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry. I had no idea they were going to take our jerseys out."

Chandler's cheeks turned a shade of pink, but before she could respond, Willow buckled over in laughter, pointing at Bailey who was attempting to sprint down the baseline with as much dignity as one could muster in his situation.

"Woohoo! Go, Bailey! That’s how you put on a show!" Willow hooted, whistling loudly enough to wake the dead. Her laughter was infectious, and despite the mortification hanging thick in the air, Chandler couldn’t help but let out a laugh too.

"Willow!" Chandler hissed, trying to hide the smile on her face. She crossed her arms, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all.

"Sorry, Chandler," Willow said, trying to contain her laughter. "This went horribly wrong.”

"I have to get back before coach makes us run even more," I said, gesturing toward my teammates.

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