Page 45 of Double Play

I gasp. “Oh my god.”

The ticker under the video footage reads,Arizona Abbott’s brother and boyfriend fight with her former fiancé as the teams turn a baseball game into a heavyweight fight.

In the end, it looks like Quincy, Marc, and Layton were all tossed from the game. Quincy and Layton walked off shoulder to shoulder with huge smiles on their faces. Marc had to leave the field with the assistance of two trainers.

Kam smiles. “Holy shit. There was a brawl in your honor. You’re my idol.”

“I need to get down there. Thanks for tonight. I’ll see you guys later.”

All three of them stand. Ripley grabs my hand. “We’ll go with you.”

We head down to the stadium and enter through the friends and family entrance. The game is still going on, but the personnel recognize us, so we manage to get to the locker room area. I turn to my friends. “Let me go in alone.”

Bailey nods. “We’ll be waiting right out here.” She rubs my arm. “We love you.”

Kam rubs my other arm. “If any of the guys are naked, come get us.”

Despite the heavy moment, I let out a laugh. Only Kam.

I carefully walk into the locker room. I see Layton sittingalone on a bench, still in his uniform and catching gear. His legs are spread wide, and his head is down while he runs his fingers through his hair over and over again.

“Are you okay?”

His head snaps up. I see a small bruise forming on his cheekbone. “I’m fine. I thought you weren’t coming tonight.”

“I came when I heard what happened. Where’s my brother?”

“He’s in the training room having his hand iced.”

I walk toward him and stand between his legs. I run my fingertips over his injury. He looks up at me with sad eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me who it was?”

“I told you the night I met you that I don’t trust baseball players. Now you know why.”

He grabs the arm of my hand that’s on his face, turns his head, and softly kisses the inside of my wrist. He looks me in the eyes and whispers, “I hate that he hurt you. I hate how much you’ve suffered.”

His eyes are full of nothing but sincerity and pain. Pain for me. My mind is swimming with emotions for this man.

His hands move up the bare backs of my thighs and pull me an inch or two closer to him. My body reacts to the intimate contact in a way it hasn’t for a long time. I take a moment to enjoy the fact that the touch of a man still feels good. Perhaps it’s just this particular man.

He sinks his face into my body, just above my stomach. I run my hands through his hair over and over as we’re otherwise silent.

At some point, he tilts his head up so his chin rests on me. I’ve now got my hands on his scruffy face, caressing it. Running my fingers lightly over his injury again, I whisper, “I hate seeing you hurt too.”

I can feel my heart pounding a million beats per minute.He stares at my lips as he licks his own. Bending as we move our faces closer to each other, I breathe, “Layton.”

He stretches his face toward mine and breathes back, “Arizona.”

Just as our lips first meet, we hear the locker room door open. I jump back several feet from him and turn in time to see Quincy round the corner.

He gives me a huge smile. “Hey, Z. Did you see Layton take out dickhead? It was epic. That guy is going to be pissing blood for a week. Let’s hope the fucker loses a kidney. Serves him right.”

I nod. “It was pretty incredible.” I notice his black eye, split lip, and ice-wrapped hand. “Are you in pain?”

He instinctively touches his injuries. “Nah. They’re superficial. Dickwad is in way worse condition. He looks like he was in a boxing match. His eye is swollen shut. They had to carry him off the field.” He turns to Layton with a big grin. “Lancaster, I think I’m in love with you.”

Yeah, brother, me too.

CHAPTER TEN

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