Page 145 of Honey Pot

“You’re annoyingly tall,” Josh noted, gauging Van’s size. “I can take care of myself, Mitchell. Thanks for the advice though.”

That was the problem. Joshua Logan didn’t know how to belong to a team he liked to win; he preferred to do it alone.

Cael pushed me back two steps.

“Get on the bus, Dean,” He said quietly, “You can kick his ass in training, come on.”

“Catch you later, Tuck.” Josh smiled at me.

“It’s Captain to you.” I looked him up and down before climbing onto the bus in a huff.

“Take a beat before Arlo comes back here and kicks both our asses,” Cael said to me as we found our seats.

“Is Coach serious?” I shoved my backpack between my legs and stripped from my sweater beside Cael, who looked mostly unbothered by the situation.

“Have you ever heard my Dad tell a joke?” He shrugged.

Cael shrugged at me.

“Areyoufucking serious right now?” I hissed at him.

“What?” He turned to me like the enemy hadn’t just invaded our team with a smile. I was missing something and wasn’t a fan of being left out. I stared him down for a minute, knowing eventually he’d crack under the pressure. “Players transfer, Dean.” He looked at me with those endless blue eyes, and his brows twitched.

“There’s something else going on. There’s no way he’d transferhere,” I said, recognizing the tell of Cael Cody hiding information from me.

“Well, he did,” Cael said like it was a matter of fact. “And you’re the Captain, so you get to deal with the shit storm he brings.”

“That’s the other problem. Why the hell didn’t Coach warn me?” I slumped back in my seat as more guys flooded onto the bus. Josh followed Arlo onto the bus, both tense as they sunk into the only empty seats at the front. Silas made space for Josh as Arlo found his place beside Ella without a word.

I hated this.

“He didn’t warn anyone. He handed me the clipboard this morning and told me to deal with it five minutes before Josh arrived,” Cael explained, his eyes forward. “I know it feels like the end of the world, but you can handle it, and we need a pitcher.”

“Not that one,” I grumbled. “If he calls me Tuck one more time…”

“You're taking this whole captain thing too seriously. You’re turning into Arlo,” Cael teased.

“Shut up,” I groaned, closing my eyes as the bus started. “How do I captain a player I fucking hate?”

“Arlo’s been doing it for three years,” Cael laughed.

“Who the hell does he hate?” I asked.

“All of us,” he snorted, and that was all it took to break the tension. “The only person on this bus he enjoys being around is Ella, and unless you wanna role play, I don’t think you’re getting in his good books any time soon.” Cael teased. “You’re also the size of a bear, and I don’t think Arlo is into…” His eyes drifted down to my sweatpants.

I huffed, but a soft laugh came out as the bus lurched forward.

“At least the guys know you didn’t sleep your way to the Captain position?” Cael laughed.

“Was that in question?” I turned to him in shock, and he laughed harder.

“It’s a damn good thing you’re handsome.” Cael shook his head. “I’m going to nap now. Can we schedule the next mental breakdown for when I wake up?”

“Yeah…yeah, sorry,” I said as he got comfortable. “Don’t worry about me, I'll just be here, having an existential crisis.”

”I don’t think that’s the term you’re looking for…” Cael said in a sleepy voice.

As soon as Cael fell asleep, the worry seeped back in, and most of the bus ride was spent with me growing through a binder Arlo had given me.

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