Page 83 of Caught Stealing

“Spit it out, Nix.”

“You and Kason didn’t…”

“Sleep together?” I finish for him, brow arched. “No, we didn’t. But I have a feeling you already had that bit of information from Kason, so what are you really asking?”

“I…” He blows out a breath. “I guess I want to know why.”

I reach out and grab his arm, halting him in his tracks before pulling him away from the doors to the baseball team’s practice facility. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy to know I stayed true to my word.”

“Your word?”

A sharp laugh leaves me. Of course, he’d want me to spell it out for him. “You told me you didn’t think I could go without sleeping with him, so I didn’t.”

Confusion mars his features, drawing his lips down in a frown. “Really? That’s why?”

“Why do you look upset?” I ask with a laugh. “Are you disappointed I was able to overcome my man-whore ways and behave?”

“No, I’m just surprised. I would’ve thought with you two sharing a room down in St. Pete’s and…” He trails off and shakes his head before rolling his shoulders. “I just thought you would’ve. If not sex, thensomething.”

“Nope,” I tell him, stepping closer. “I might be a slut, but I respect boundaries. And I wasn’t just taking things slow because you didn’t think I could—even though my desperation to prove you wrong was one helluva driving force. Kason set a pace from the beginning, and I was fine with following it. Besides, I was being honest when I said things with us weren’t exclusive. It was just a…” I pause for a second, searching for the right word.

“A situationship?”

“I think so, yeah. We were friends who were interested in each other but not truly acting on it. And I think that’s because we both knew it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

Phoenix looks away, his mouth drawn in a tight line. The same expression someone has when they know something and are caught between spilling the beans and keeping it to themselves.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“He told me he was developing feelings for you.”

I frown, not expecting this turn of events. “When?”

“The morning you left Nashville to come home.”

“I ended things that night when we got back.”

“Yeah, I know. He texted to tell me,” he murmurs. “And the guilt has been eating me alive ever since.”

I’d have to be downright stupid to not know this thing between us has been wearing on him. Which is why I’m more than happy to tell Kason what’s going on, even with the new knowledge of his developing feelings.

Still, I know if I push for that before Phoenix is ready, I could very well lose him. Which isn’t a chance I’m willing to take.

“It’s not like I planned this,” I whisper, my fingers tracing the lines in his forehead, desperately wanting to smooth the worry away. “But there’s something about you that I can’t stay away from. Something I just can’t…” Words escape me, and I shake my head. “It doesn’t mean I wanted to hurt him, though.”

Phoenix gives me a sad smile before whispering, “Did you have feelings for him at all?”

I roll my lips inward for a second, giving myself a moment to think. The last thing I want is Phoenix feeling more guilty because ofmyactions. “I did, just not the way you’re asking about. As a person and teammate? Of course, Kason’s a great guy, and I care about him. And yeah, I’d have to be blind not to think Kason’s attractive.” I pause, continuing to measure my words carefully. “But it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that’s all I was chasing with him. Attraction. He just didn’t light me on fire or get under my skin or make me feel like I can’t breathe unless I’m near him.”

I keep the wordsnot the way you dooff the end of that sentence, though I think we both can hear them in the silence between us.

“So you ended things with him when you realized that…and not because we’d slept together?”

“It blurred the lines for me, but it wasn’t the reason why. And if he felt something, wanted more, or was ready to take another step, he never said anything about it. Not to me.”

He nods, accepting this before asking, “And you were straight with him the whole time?”

“I never promise someone something I can’t give.” My hands shift, wrapping around the back of his neck. “I told you, I always make sure the score is known.”

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