Page 107 of Honey Pot

“Nicky.” He chose his next pick, and I felt Dean tense beside me. Even with a smile on his face, he couldn’t hide the nervousness that coursed through him.

“He’s in the middle of doing something stupid. The best you can do now is find something to hold on to. Wait out the storm. This is going to be a long day.” Dean looked over at Cael, who seemed even more focused than before.

Endless ocean eyes focused far from where we stood, with determination staining his boyish features. The sun licked at the tips of his dirty blond hair that escaped the dark green beanie he wore, and the breath caught in my throat at his beauty. His sharp jaw was tilted proudly forward as he scanned over the remaining players, including Julien and Ryan Cody.

“Todd,” Jensen picked.

Leaving Zoey, Julien, and Ryan.

“Zoey,” Cael chose over either of them, and Dean sighed under his breath.

Both men stared at me like I was responsible and it felt like I had an anvil sitting on my chest.

“I’ll take Texas,” Jensen pointed to my ex.

“You’re with us, Coach,” Cael said with a tight huff of air. “Mrs. Shore,” Cael turned and cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling for her. “Will you be our Ump?”

“Of course, Darling.” She stepped out of the dugout with her long, dusty-brown hair in a high ponytail that pulled all her features tight. She was stunning, the kind that was terrifying, and I admired her for it. It was no wonder why Silas was handsome, his Mom was ethereal and she floated across the pitch toward the two teams.

“Quite the team,” she noted and turned her slender frame around the field. “Picked last,” she turned to Ryan with a smile. “That must be new for you.”

“Happens more often than you think.” Ryan squared his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest as he bantered with her.

“You sure you can keep up with these youngins?” Mrs. Shore smiled at him.

“I think I’ll be alright, Ma’am, I’m not as out of shape as I look.” He chuckled.

“You don’t look out of shape, Ryan,” she hummed and moved around him as some color filled his usually pale cheeks. “Keep it as clean as you can, no funny business,” she warned everyone. “I’m not calling for a helicopter to take any of you to the hospital.”

“She has a helicopter?” I looked up at Cael to my left.

“She has two,” Silas scoffed, his eyes darting between his Mom and Ryan as he walked backward into the dugout.

The game started, Cael lost the coin flip, and we ended up in the field first. I could tell that it pissed Cael off because he stomped back to the dugout like a toddler, with Ella on his heels.

“Cael.” She grabbed him by the hem of his sweater and pulled him back so she’d look at him. “Don’t push it,” she warned him, saying a string of words I couldn’t hear but the look on her face was tight and serious as she spoke to him.

It only made his mood worse because when he turned around the light was gone from his usually bright blue eyes and was replaced by storm clouds. His hand found my back as he guided me to the edge of the dugout for privacy.

“Where do you want to play?” He asked me, his eyes never leaving the field.

“It doesn’t matter, I may know the rules but I can’t play…” I laughed. “Your weird passive-aggressive way of stealing me away from Julien is ridiculous and it’s going to lose you the game. You could have had anyone. You messed up picking me first.”

“No. I didn’t,” he said in a low tone that sent a current of electricity down my spine and curled my toes. One that meantI’ll always pick you first.“Where do you want to play, Clem?” He asked me again.

“Catcher.” I shrugged, somewhere safe and relatively unimportant.

“Alright.” He scanned the field and nodded, handing out positions to everyone else. Dean was on first, Sawyer on second, Cael would take shortstop and Silas on third.

“Nick, I need you to pitch.” He turned on him.

“Are you high?” Nicholas scoffed, carding his fingers through his thick brown hair and everyone froze. “I didn’t mean…” He stopped and sighed. “That’s a stupid plan if you want to win.”

“Yeah everyone keeps using that word this morning.” Cael let go of a cold, tight laugh and walked toward him. “You’re pitching. As much as I hate you, which, by the way, I definitely still do and will continue to do so long after Arlo forgives you.”

Dean pushed off the fence ready to get between them. Cael was taller than Nicholas by nearly six inches and he towered over him with his hands behind his back, inking them together with white knuckles as if they had a mind of their own and would lash out given the chance.

“Which… eventually he will forgive you and you willneverdeserve it,” Cael snapped in a tone I had only heard from him twice before.

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