Page 50 of Pitcher

Theo isn’t great at buying gifts, but he always manages to do something. Even if it’s just chocolate or toilet paper. I didn’t think it was a big deal.

Apparently, I was wrong.

“Your turn, Von Bremen,” Brody observes, kicking at Theo’s chair when all he does his stare down at the table with a definitive frown.

Something is going on with him, but I don’t know what. Did he have plans and my birthday got in the way? Surely not. Theo has always spent my birthday with me.

“I fold,” he says dryly, tossing his cards on the table.

“What the fuck, man?” Brody is done with his shit already. “We just fucking started. Why did you tell us to deal you in?”

Theo’s gaze finds mine.

Because I wanted to be dealt in, and he wasn’t leaving me alone with a table full of his teammates.

What the fuck are we doing?

Why are we even here if he’s going to act like an asshole? This isn’t the birthday party I wanted.

This washisidea!

“I had a shitty hand,” he lies, eyeing the guy next to me. I think his name is Rhys. He’s a junior, second string utility player, which basically means he can play multiple positions. Utility players are in high demand in the major leagues. Not so much for second stringers though. Although, with Rhys’s all-American good looks, he would be great marketing for a potential team.

I roll my eyes at Theo’s behavior before he gets up, claiming he needs to get another beer.

Great.

That’s exactly what we need—a pissed offanddrunk Theo. Tonight is shaping up well. Hello future birthdays, let’s plan a quiet night in front of the TV or at the gym. Either will work. Either is my happy place.

“Let’s play blackjack since Theo is bipolar. At least the games are shorter for when he needs to change his tampon.”

I glance over at a smiling Rhys. He nods my way as if he just did me a solid. Part of me wants to shove him to the floor for the simple fact he is talking shit about my man. The other part of me takes offense he might think I can’t play poker without Theo.

Who do you think taught Theo?

Dudes, I swear. When will they ever learn women are better at most things than they are? It’s science.

Brody interrupts my plotting by grunting out something unintelligible. He won’t stand for Rhys talking about his friend either.

Theo hasn’t returned when Brody deals, and I briefly wonder if I should go look for him but then decide he might need a minute to settle down.

“So, Anniston,” Rhys starts, licking his lips like a total predator, “what are you going to do when Von Bremen takes off?” He nods to the kitchen where Theo wandered off to. “You’re staying here, right? Going to medical school?”

Is there a billboard somewhere with a countdown until Von Bremen leaves?

I narrow my eyes at the man who I would have totally gone for had Von Bremen never wandered into my life. Although, I may need to adjust my standards after he leaves.

“Umm, I’m moving back home to Madison, my hometown,” I admit with a baby shrug. It’s Theo’s hometown too. I’ll be stranded alone in a town where the memories will be thick and rich with our history.

Rhys nods. “What kind of doctor do you want to be?”

Please, Rhys, spare us both from the terrible small talk.Holding back a cringe, I smile instead and answer him like Grace would have wanted. “Sports medicine.”

A career working with the athletes of the sports I love so much.

“That’s cool.”

Yeah, real cool, Rhys.

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