Page 185 of Catch Me
“When,” I corrected.
He smiled and pointed at me. “Exactly. When we win, we’ll go down in history. We have two chances back home, and I don’t want us to end up losers on our own goddamn field, so I need you to rest up tomorrow and give it everything you have on Tuesday.Everything. McKinney, you wanna say something? You’re bouncing like an excited toddler.”
“Or like there’s a dick beneath him,” Dan chortled, not bothering to say it quietly.
He met my eyes smugly, and I couldn’t turn away. Their endless jabs rarely got under my skin if they were only directed at me. Tonight, his words pissed me off. I remembered what Tony had said about Roman the day he worked with them. Dan deserved a knee to the dick too.
“McKinney,” Spencer prompted.
I got out of my seat and crossed my arms. “We’ll win back home. There’s no question about it.”
“Because you’re our front guy!” Jude shouted, earning a couple of cheers. The way he glanced at Tony’s pinched face made me offer him an appreciative smile.
“This year is ours,” I stated, “and I refuse to accept any different. Yeah, it’s my first World Series, and a lot of yours. We could just be proud that we made it this far, and we are, but this...” I looked around the table, at all of my teammates. “This is our fucking year.” The group cheered loudly and it made my spirits lift even more. “We get to go home and beat them onourfield before we send them back here.”
“But we’ll be good sports about it,” Spencer called above the ruckus.
“In front of them and the cameras.”
He laughed along with everyone else before he sat down and started a conversation with some of the guys.
Now that the excitement had died down, I didn’t really want to be here. We weren’t drinking more tonight, and sitting around talking didn’t spark joy—not when my mind was elsewhere.
“I’m gonna go,” I told Mikey.
“See you Tuesday, man. Make sure your head is together.”
I clapped him on the shoulder on the way out. Once I made it outside, I shivered and tugged my coat closed. Boston was significantly colder at this time of year, and I wasn’t built for it.
“Hey, McKinney.”
For a second, I kept walking because I knew that voice. I had no idea why he’d come after me, but after a moment, I decided to turn around and raise a brow.
“What’s up, Tony? Need an escort back to the hotel?”
His lip curled. “Inviting me to your room now? I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“I’m not in the mood for your shit tonight,” I replied brusquely.
“Yeah, you don’t put on that nice guy façade when nobody else is around.”
I scoffed and started walking again. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. Pulling out of his grip, I immediately shoved him backward.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned.
“Jesus Christ. I’m just trying to talk to you.”
“You’d better get to the point quickly because my patience is nonexistent at this point.”
“I know we don’t get along,” he said. It was impossible not to let out a huff of laughter. “I’m just saying we don’t have to be enemies.”
“I didn’t make us enemies, Tony. In fact, I go out of my way not to be a dick to you most of the time. Forgive me if that becomes less and less important to me, especially since I don’t have to prove my worth anymore.”
His lips thinned and it hit me. I wanted to laugh, but I also wanted to pity him. Both would definitely piss him off.
“If you want to pitch more, that’s between you and Spencer,” I pointed out.
“All you do is tell him and he puts you in.”
