Page 138 of Off Season

“Oh my god. Okay, guys are way worse than girls.”

We finish the last of our chocolate-covered pineapples and lay down. Middle-of-the-night fort time has quickly become my favorite thing in the world. We talk and laugh for hours. It’s a level of intimacy I’ve never shared with another person, Bailey included. Cheetah knows all my secrets, and he isn’t running the other way. Just the opposite. We’re getting closer and closer every day. It both terrifies and excites me.

Tonight isthe semi-final game for Harper’s softball team. If we win, the championship is in a few days.

Admittedly, I’ve had fun doing this with my sister…once she stopped trying to censor me. I’ve always been afraid of kids because I don’t know how to talk to them and can’t relate to them, so I simply started talking to them like adults, and they seem to like it.

Bailey fielded a few parent complaints about it at the beginning, but I’ve learned that softball parents care about one thing. Winning. And we do a shit ton of that, so the complaints ended pretty quickly.

As I had predicted on the first day of practice, Sapphire, the future ass-shaker, couldn’t hack it at shortstop. We moved Andie over, and she’s done a great job. In my opinion, Harper is still the slightly better option, but she’s obsessed with my sister and wants to play the same position as her. Andie is a littlebigger and stronger than Harper, so it’s not all bad. She’s by far the best shortstop in the league.

Tanner pokes his head into the dugout, and I narrow my eyes at him. “If you’re here to stare at my sister’s ass, she’s not wearing tight shorts today.”

He subtly gives me the finger while scratching his nose as he hands me a water bottle. “Harper left this in the car. Can you give it to her?”

I shake my head. “Don’t enable her forgetfulness. If she forgets her water, she shouldn’t get any. That’s the only way to teach her a lesson.”

He rolls his eyes. “Please let me take in your pearls of wisdom from your years of parenting. She’s eight, and it’s over eighty degrees today. Her getting dehydrated isn’t the lesson I care to teach.”

“You’re a shit father.”

“You’re simply a little shit. I can’t believe none of these parents have called the cops on you with how you talk to the girls.”

Yep, there’s no love lost between Tanner and me. I don’t like the way he treated my sister, and I’ve been extremely vocal about it. In return, I very clearly and happily get on his nerves.

I place my hand on my hips. “Parents like winning teams. We’re a well-oiled machine. You have to admit we’re good coaches.”

He raises one of his thick, annoyingly sexy eyebrows. “Baileyis a good coach. You’re riding her coattails. You’ve probably done it your whole life.”

I cross my arms, and he sighs in defeat as he admits, “Fine, you happen to be decent at coaching. It’s kind of shocking, given your lack of interpersonal skills.”

“Did you throw up a little in your mouth when you said that?”

He nods. “A lot actually.”

Bailey walks into the dugout and pulls the back of my shirt. “Back to your corners, kids. I swear, you two are less mature than the players on this team.”

Tanner mumbles, “She started it.”

I’m about to say something back when the girls all enter the dugout. Harper looks at Tanner. “Why are you here, Daddy?”

I give a big, fake smile. “Yes,Daddy, you shouldn’t be in here. No parents allowed in the dugout.”

He scowls at me before smiling at Harper. “You forgot your water, bug. I thought you might be thirsty.”

“Why do you call her bug?” I ask. “Did she play with bugs when she was younger?”

He shakes his head. “When she was born, she was all eyes. They covered half her face. Fallon and I joked that she looked like a bug, and I’ve called her that ever since.”

I shrug. “It’s babyish. Don’t call her that. I’m sure it embarrasses her.”

Harper crosses her arms. “Yeah, Daddy, don’t call me bug anymore. It’s babyish like Kam said.”

Tanner pinches the bridge of his nose. “God help me. I’m going back to the stands.”

He walks away and I pull Harper aside. “You know what all daddies hate being called?”

“What?”

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