Page 122 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Aiden’s enthusiasm for the campus and athletic facility was contagious. Everything he saw was thebest thing ever. I walked beside Steff while Marcus showed everything to Aiden. Our arms brushed, and I tried to not be bothered by his proximity. I was lying to myself if I said it didn’t make me anxious. It was a strange anxiousness, though. I couldn’t quite explain it.

By the end of the tour. Steff and Marcus led me over to the dugout designated for parents. It looked like only two or three other parents had chosen to stay. That was fine by me. The fewer people here, the less likely anyone would notice me.

“Steff, you want to help out today?” Marcus asked.

Steff gestured toward me. “I’d love to, but I don’t want to leave April alone. Besides, my day is the third-base session. That’s the day after next. I’m here in case somebody else can’t make it. Looks like you’re all set.”

“Suit yourself. God knows why you’d rather sit with a pretty lady instead of a bunch of sweaty, screaming kids, but whatever.”

Marcus led Aiden toward a group of about fifty kids and ten other coaches. Steff walked down the steps into the dugout. Ithought the view would be terrible down in the weird little hole, but I could see everything at eye level, and I understood why teams always sat here. You could really get an idea for how the game was going. Steff sat beside me and picked up my phone from the bench.

“What are you doing?”

Steff grinned but didn’t look up. “I’m putting my number in here. You can call me if anything happens. I’ve got a few errands to run. Aiden won’t miss me for an hour or two. Besides, I want him to get used to listening to other coaches. If I’m here the whole time, he’ll keep looking at me. I don’t want him to be self-conscious with his coach around. After a day or two, he’ll be settled in and it won’t be as big a deal.”

“That makes sense, actually. What are you going to do?” I asked.

Steff shrugged. “Some things for work. Nothing exciting. Bathrooms are down this hallway, and there’s a chest of ice water over there,” he said, pointing to a huge chest at the stairs.

“Thanks. I should be fine by myself for a while.”

Steff stood there for a few seconds, and as we looked at each other, I could almost sense the electricity between us. I hadn’t felt the sensation in years. The longer he held my gaze, the more intense it became. Then, Steff lifted a hand and caressed my jaw. His thumb grazed the line of my chin. Gooseflesh erupted all over my body, and I had a hard time pulling in a breath.

“See you in a little while,” Steff said, then turned and left without another word. He left me wondering what the hell was going on between us.

I spent the next two hours watching Aiden run all kinds of drills. I really didn’t have any idea what was going on. I never told Steff, but even when we were dating in high school and I went to all his games, I had a hard time following the rules of baseball. It wasn’t as straightforward as basketball, and it had allthe hidden rules and hand signals and stuff that I had no desire to try to figure out. All I did was cheer when the people I liked hit the ball or got on base. Other than that, I sat and stared into oblivion.

When they broke for lunch, I was starving, and when Marcus came by to offer the parents a sack lunch, I took one greedily. It was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of Cheetos, prepackaged apple sauce, a granola bar, and a juice box. Literally an elementary school lunch. It was the most delicious thing I’d ever seen, and I hadn’t eaten all day. I’d been too nervous on the drive over to have one of the donuts.

Before I started on the nutritious lunch, Steff appeared on the stairs of the dugout. In his left hand he carried takeout bags. He took one look at me, about to devour a kindergarten lunch, and laughed.

“I’ve got something a little better than that. Unless you’d prefer a PB&J?”

“What did you bring?” I asked, my stomach growling more than ever.

He walked over and sat beside me. He pulled out two Styrofoam containers and opened one. Inside was the biggest club sandwich I’d ever seen. It was so big I didn’t think I could fit it in my mouth. I smiled and took the container from him, the kid’s lunch instantly forgotten.

“Where did you get this?” I asked before taking my first bite.

“There’s a deli about ten minutes away. I figured you’d be hungry and I didn’t want you to starve.”

That was pretty thoughtful. As I ate, I remembered that he’d always been that way. Especially when it came to me. When we’d been together, he’d never let me want for anything. I could remember times when we were kids that he always looked out for me. It was just one more thing I’d loved about him.

Steff must have sensed my change of mood. He stopped eating and turned to stare at me. He stretched out a hand and cupped my cheek, gently turning my face to meet his. Our eyes connected again and that same feeling swept over me like it had earlier.

“April, I’m sorry about everything I did to you. I’ve got a lot of things to tell you, and when I do, a lot of things will make sense. Please, trust me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m asking, just trust me enough to give me the time to tell you the truth.”

I sighed. “I shouldn’t. I don’t know what’s going on between us right now. I should still hate you, but I don’t. I can’t. Why can’t I hate you?” I was almost in tears by the time I was done talking.

Steff looked sad beyond belief, then pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. “It’s because we were always meant to be together. No matter how dumb I was or where you went, we were meant for each other. I can’t expect you to believe me after what I did.” My breath caught. That was the first time he’d ever mentioned what had happened. He went on. “I can only promise that if you give me a chance, I’ll make it all up to you.”

I shook my head, pulling away from him, tears burning my eyes. I still couldn’t agree. My heart was still raw, even all these years later. “Steff, I can’t do it again. I can’t. If it happened again? If I let you in, and you hurt me like you did before, I’ll die. I’m serious. I will die.”

He took my hands in his and looked into my eyes with so much intensity it snapped me out of the crying spell I’d been descending into. “There is nothing on this Earth that will get me to leave you again. Nothing.”

He said it with such conviction that my heart jolted. “Why? Why now?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned forward and gently kissed my lips. My body shuddered, and a warm happiness filledme. It was like coming home after being out in the dark for years. As much as I wanted to jerk away from the kiss, away from him, I found myself sinking into it, my hands finding their way to his chest.

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