Page 25 of Rounding Third

“Nothing, but I don’t want to date your friends.”

I want to scream and tear my hair out. I want to gently hold her face in my hands and ask why I can't be good enough for her? Why can't she find her happily ever after with me? I’d give her anything and everything. I’d make her happy and put her ahead of everything else. I’d give up everything for her.

“Make sure your location is turned on and text me when you get home.”

“I'll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.” A soft smile plays on her lips as she stands on her tippy toes and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.

“I’ll always worry about you and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

She squeezes between me and the door, slipping out without saying another word. I stomp through the living room and straight for my home gym. I need to work out some of this aggression because right now I'm about to call Winnie and curse her out for trying to set up my girl with someone else.

I'm about to demand for this asshole’s address. I’ll pay him a little visit and make sure he’s aware there isn't a future for him with Liliana. I'm the only man who gets to stay at her side, she just doesn’t know it yet.

Slipping on a pair of boxing gloves, I slam my fist into the punching bag over and over again. I expect each impact to take some of the anger away, but it doesn’t. If anything, I'm getting more and more pissed.

Someone steps behind the bag and holds it still. Leo’s face peeks around the bag and he nods his head. He knows exactly what I'm going through. He’s right there with me.

“She’s going on a fucking date!” I roar as I slam my fist into the bag.

“You can't stop her from living her life, Smithy,” he says softly.

“That doesn’t make it hurt less!”

“Nah, it’s never going to stop hurting. You have to either make a move, or let her go completely.”

“She doesn’t want me. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want a baseball player. Am I supposed to give up my entire career to possibly have a shot with her? Give up everything I’ve worked my ass off for?”

“No.”

“Then what do I do?” I punch even harder, knocking Leo back a step.

“You let her go,” Covey whispers from behind me. I spin around with my fists raised and he takes a step back with wide eyes. “Don’t take it out on me. I didn’t do anything.”

“I can't justlet her go.She’s the most important person in the world to me.”

“Then grow a pair and tell her how you fucking feel,” Wheeler growls, stepping between Covey and me. He’s bigger and stronger than me. He knows I won't take a swing at him, but I might at Covey.

“And what happens when she turns me down? Then what?”

“Well, it would be pretty freaking easy to walk away then, huh?”

“You’re an asshole,” I hiss.

“Yeah, I am. But I'm not secretly pining after a woman who’s completely clueless that I exist as more than a friend.”

Without another word, I spin around and punch the heavy bag. Leo’s ready this time and leans into the bag. He doesn’t move an inch. He knows the fury pumping through my veins and he’s going to help me get it out without doing something I’ll regret.

Chapter 11

Liliana

“So? What happened?” Winnie asks as I turn off of Smithy’s street.

“He was so mad, Win. I don’t know if I'm doing the right thing here. I don’t like him being upset.” I flip on my blinker and get in the left lane.

I shouldn’t be driving right now. I'm going through the motions, but I'm barely paying attention. I’ll be lucky if I make it home without getting into an accident.

“Why?”

---