Page 9 of Bad Call

“Revenge is such a dirty word. I prefer to call it getting even.” If he kept narrowing his eyes at me, they would eventually freeze like that. At least, that’s what my mother used to say.

“Incredible. Youlooklike a grown man, and yet, youactlike you’re age-appropriate to play in little league. Grow the fuck up, Buchanan. Or is it ‘Buck?’”

“You can call me whatever you want, Collins. Looks like I’ll be having the last word this season.” Before I walked away and left him standing there, fuming, I gave him the sweetest, most pleasant smile, grinning for all I was worth.

CHAPTER FIVE

CASEY

This jackass is goingto give me an ulcer before we even make it mid-season.

“Come on, Blue! You can’t be that blind!”

Baylor shot me a hard look. He could dish it out, but apparently, he couldn’t take it.Noted.

“Tyler, get in there and replace him. Bryce!” I shouted. “Come back in!”

Popping another antacid, I grimaced as the chalky fruit flavor coated my tongue. I hated them, but they were a necessary fact of life during every season. This season seemed longer than any other in my life, thanks to Buchanan. I couldn’t figure out if he was purposely sticking it to me, or if he was actually just a prick. Both, maybe?

Not that his personality mattered much when I was home alone in the shower. It was his face and his body I couldn’t get out of my head, not his smartmouth. That ass; so tight and so hot. I’d jacked off to him three more times.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

It was because I hadn’t met anyone new yet. That had to be it. I really needed to make time to get out to the club again, but it was so hard during the season. I came home exhausted. And then I had to make time for my projects outside, and by the day’s end there just wasn’t any drive to hit the club. But every time I stepped into that shower, I cursed myself for not making the time.

“Marley, what is Tanner doing out there?”

My assistant coach squinted, looking into the outfield as he shaded his eyes with his hand. “Not sure, Coach.”

“Well, tell him to quit or he’s going to be warming the bench all season.”

We were actually doing well—among the top five ranked D1 schools—the crankiness and anxiety were just par for the course for me. It was always like this. But more than that, it wasBaylor. I just knew that fucker was out to get me.

It was personal for him, which meant it was personal for me.

“You all right, Casey?” Marcus ducked his head into the dugout.

Technically, he was my rival, the head coach of another D1 school, the Rainier Cougars, but off the record, he was my friend. A man I highly respected and liked.

“I’m fine, just that fucker ump and his blind eyes. I swear he’s got it in for me.” Instead of sympathizing withme, Marcus laughed. “What? What’s funny? He’s fucking with my season.”

“That fucker is my best friend. And you’re right, he’s as blind as you say he is.”

“Your best friend?” Not that I could accuse him of bias, since I slept with the man.

“Don’t think that counts for anything because it doesn’t. I think he has it in for me too,” he laughed.

“Great, maybe we can ask the boosters to fund hisLasiksurgery.”

Marcus laughed harder. “Don’t sweat it, it’s not personal. Baylor takes his job seriously. He’s very fair.” Two plays later, Austin threw a slider that Baylor counted as out. “That was a ball,” Marcus shouted across the field.

“What were you saying about him being fair?”

Marcus fixed his friend with a glare that could burn him alive. “Fuck fair. He’s obviously out of his mind.”

His best friend. Hell, my small world and this small town were getting even smaller. The proverbial walls were closing in on me. Baylor was close,too close, and getting closer. He was smothering me.

I’ve never had the misfortune of being stuck with someone I had slept with. There was a reason, actually several, that I was a one-and-done kind of guy. Baylor was bucking the system, foiling my best-laid plans. The man was chaos personified, like a hailstorm headed directly at me, hell-bent on causing destruction and damage. Baylor Buchanan had to go.

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