Page 60 of Rounding Third

I don’t miss the confused looks and questions swimming around in everyone’s gaze as they look my way. I'm not giving them anything. They believed I’d betray them. I understand they’re pissed, but they were out of line. Especially Wheeler.

I can only imagine how much shit Winnie’s going to give him when she finds out. She won't let it go either. He’ll be paying for his comments for weeks, if not months.

And then there’s Smithy…

He and Wheeler have been best friends for as long as I’ve known them, but I'm not sure they’ll recover from the commentsWheeler threw around today. Smithy doesn’t forgive easily and he’ll hold a grudge even more since the comments were about me.

“Lils…” Wheeler whispers as soon as Owen finishes reading.

“Don’t fucking talk to her,” Smithy growls.

“I… I didn’t know. I thought…”

“You thought the worst of her and you don’t deserve her friendship anymore. You don’t deserve mine either.” Smithy hugs me a little closer and rests his chin on my shoulder.

The pain in Wheeler’s eyes breaks my heart. We’ve spent countless hours around each other since he and Winnie started dating in college. I can't imagine not having him in my life, but Smithy’s pissed. I might be able to smooth things over in the long run, but it’s not going to be easy.

I can't say Wheeler’s words didn’t hurt, but they’re not unforgivable. It does make me wonder what he truly thinks about me though. I understand we can overreact and say things we don’t mean sometimes when someone hurts our loved ones and that might be what happened today. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not sure Smithy feels the same.

Chapter 29

Smithy

Fury pumps through my veins every time I look at the man who is supposed to have my back. Wheeler and I have been through so much together.

We played college ball together and we lived in the dorms together since we stepped foot on campus our freshman year. When we got drafted, we both got picked up by the Philadelphia Pit Bulls.

We were there for each other through everything. The good and the bad. The difficult trials and the insane schedules. We always had each other’s backs… until now.

“Take a deep breath. You look like you’re about to lose it,” Liliana whispers, toying with the ends of my hair.

“How could he say those things about you?” I murmur, unsure of how she’s so focused on me after what Wheeler said to her.

“I'm not worried about it, Travis. It doesn’t matter. His words don’t affect us and that’s all I care about at the end of the day.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and cuddles close to me. Just having her in my arms helps me relax just the smallest amount.

“I want all of you to go home. Clearly, no work will get done the rest of the day. I expect you back here in the morning and be ready to work. I'm not going light on you, not after your behavior today,” Levi stands and moves his chair back to where he got it from.

“I know each and every one of you have been falsely accused of things before. I hope you remember who was trying to shed some good light on you without you even knowing it. Yet the first time you were presented with writing that made her look bad, you jumped at the chance to attack. Maybe you should think long and hard about that. Now, get out of my stadium. I don’t even want to look at your ugly faces anymore.” Owen wheels his chair back into his office without another word.

The guys start filing out of the locker room. Some say a murmured, “Sorry.” While others avoid eye contact with Liliana and me, pretending we don’t exist at all. Somehow, I prefer us being ignored. I feel like any apology is only given because it’s expected and it’s not sincere.

When the locker room is almost empty, I glance around and see it’s just the guys from the starting lineup left. There’s an awkward silence hanging in the room. I'm just about to ask Liliana if we can leave when Leo rises from his seat and makes his way over to us.

“I'm proud of you for standing up to your boss, Lils. I didn’t think the article sounded like your writing. There’s something so raw and honest with the way you present your facts and the one that was published was missing that. I'm happy to know I was right.” He leans down and gives Liliana a quick hug before he grabs his duffle bag and exits the locker room.

“I can't believe you outed my teddy bearlike qualities to all of the fans, Lils.” Covey shakes his head, but there’s a smile playing on his lips.

He wasn’t one of the players who made crude comments about my girl. In fact, the only person here who did make a comment is Wheeler and everyone knows it.

“Sorry, but I think everyone should know.” She smiles shyly up at him. “And actually, no one has read the article outside this team since my boss published something else. So, your secret is safe.”

“Thanks, Lils. I appreciate the kind words you said.” He winks before moving towards the door.

“I'm sorry this happened to you. I can't believe your boss was pissed enough to put your name on something so nasty. I hope everything works out for you,” Schmidt says softly.

“Thank you.”

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