Page 19 of Rounding Third

“Nothing, Bill was just being a dick as usual. He didn’t like my positive article. He wanted something with more drama.” She rolls her eyes and her jaw clenches.

I wish I could find her a job somewhere else. Something that would fit her talent and interests a little more. I’ve asked Owen if he had anything open for the franchise, but he said he didn’tat that time. I really need to talk to him again. It’s been at least a year since I asked.

“I wish I could help. I don’t know what I could do for you though.”

“You could create a big scandal to take the attention off of Owen.” She grins up at me.

“No, I can't.” I chuckle and shake my head. “If there’s a scandal, Bill would want Owen’s response to my scandal. The franchise would be painted in a bad light and Owen would get pissed. That wouldn’t solve anything, Sweets.”

“Maybe we can convince another player on a different team to create a scandal.” She lifts her shoulder in a shrug.

“No one will sign up for that, beautiful. That’s like career suicide.”

Liliana mumbles something as she yawns, but I don’t understand her. I roll my eyes and scoot out of the booth. I'm taking her home. There’s no question about it.

“C’mon, I'm taking you home.” I hold out a hand to her and wait for her to place her small palm in mine.

“It’s fine. I can just order a ride. You don’t need to drive to my place.”

“I'm not driving to your place, I'm taking you to my house.” I snake my arm around her waist as soon as she’s standing and lead her towards the door.

“Why?”

“Because I'm not ready to call it a night, but you’re tired.”

“You can stay. You don’t need to leave just because I am.”

“Sweets, if you think I'm letting you get in some stranger’s car alone, you’re crazy.”

“Oh my gosh, Trav! Nothing will happen. I don’t know why you’re so paranoid about this. It’s just like using a taxi.” She rolls her eyes.

“Because I'm not risking someone so important to me. Money can buy me a lot, but it can't get me a new Liliana Sweets… If you really won't come to my place, then I’ll drive you home. You’re not ordering a ride though.”

“Fine, I’ll go back to your place.” She sighs and steps into the cool night air.

Chapter 9

Liliana

I climb inside Smithy’s SUV and clip my seatbelt. Smithy walks around the car with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. He’s been acting weird tonight and I'm not really sure how to feel about it.

He keeps acting like we’re a couple, then he reminds me of how we’re best friends. It’s like neither one of us knows what our relationship is or how we’re supposed to act.

The drive to Smithy’s house is almost silent. We’re each lost in our own mind. When we pull up to a red light, Smithy glances over at me. He doesn’t flash me a dazzling smile or anything, we just stare at each other.

As the light turns green, he moves his attention back to the road. Without looking away, he slips his hand into mine and squeezes gently.

When we pull into his garage, we climb out and head inside the house. He’s quiet as he grabs two bottles of water and then leads me straight to his room.

Though I hang out here all the time, we rarely spend any time in his room. When we do, it’s because I'm helping him pick out what to wear for a work event, but never to hang out.

“Do you need help picking out clothing for an event?” I ask as I hop onto his bed and bounce a few times.

“No.” He frowns at my out of the blue question as he untucks his shirt and begins unbuttoning it.

“Then why are we in your room?”

“Well, I was thinking we could watch TV in here and relax, rather than in the living room.” He lets his shirt fall off his shoulders and tosses it onto a chair in the corner.

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