Page 40 of Chasing the Sun
CALLUM
Oh,I knew.
I100 percentknew Elodie had been in my space and heard me moan her name. The way she blanched and couldn’t stop staring at my dick was a dead giveaway.
It was the kind of moment that should have had me crawling into a hole, swearing off humanity for a solid month. Instead, it had me pacing my room half the night, fists clenched, jaw tight,aching.
I told myself I was fine—that it didn’t matter.
But here I was, standing at the ballpark, still trying to shake her out of my head while going through warm-ups.
I needed to focus on the game. I was supposed to be getting my head on straight, dialing in, settling into the rhythm of the pregame drills, but my brain was still stuck on last week. The knowledge that she’d been there, that she’d heard me, that sheknewit was her I was thinking about—it made something sharp and restless claw inside me.
I rolled my shoulders back, exhaling hard.
Focus, Blackwood.
I lookedaround the field as the opposing team ran through their warm-ups.
Hayes was late. Again.
The first pitch was supposed to be in five minutes, and half the team was stretching while the other half stood around waiting for his inevitable excuse.
I whistled to Brody to get his attention. “Any word?”
Brody checked his phone. “He says he’s two minutes out. Something about a bird?”
I shook my head, sighing.
Wes arched a brow. “Did he get shat on again?”
Brody smirked. “Worse. Apparently a bird flew straight into his windshield. Just—bam—out of nowhere. He had to pull over, check the damage.” He looked up, eyes gleaming with amusement. “According to him, the bird even stared him down before flying off.”
“It’s like they seek him out.” I huffed a laugh, stretching my arm across my chest.
Hayes’s truck finally pulled into the parking lot, and he climbed out, looking like a man personally wronged by the universe.
Brody grinned, calling out toward the parking lot. “Rough afternoon, bud?”
Hayes slammed the truck door shut and pointed a finger at him. “Do not.”
Wes chuckled. “That bad?”
Hayes exhaled through his nose, dragging a hand down his face. “Some damn seagull flew straight into my windshield. Full speed. I thought I killed it. Pulled over, checked the road—the thing just dusted itself off and walked away likeIwas the asshole.”
I shook my head, smirking. “You are the asshole.”
Hayes scowled but didn’t argue, his mood already lifting.The guy never liked to talk about his epically bad luck, but we all knew it hovered over him like a storm cloud.
Brody clapped him on the back. “Yeah, well, worry about it later. We’ve got a game to win.”
Hayes shot him a flat look but said nothing. I turned back toward the field, adjusting my grip on my mitt. That was when I heard it—bright and unmistakable.
Ellie.
A burst of laughter cut through the warm summer air, light and full of something I didn’t know how to name. My spine went tight before I could stop myself, my fingers clenching around my glove.
I didn’t have to look. I definitely shouldn’t have looked.
