Page 96 of Honeysuckle
I had never once in my life dreaded standing on first base, it was where I felt the most at home. Untouchable, and free. That was where my heart was, where it had always been. I walked the foul line straight and true, never once looking back—until now.
“Move your ass, Tucker.” Coach clapped his hands and broke me from my trance.
I grumbled, turning around to see Ian hovering in the dugout like he had been all game. He wouldn’t stop, each jab was another reason for me to kick his ass. I just wanted this god forsaken game to be over and done with.
Reyes did no better than Josh, the Lorettes had inched their way under all our skin and there was no getting rid of them. We needed off the field, hidden behind the wall of the Nest. Maybe it was cowardice or defeat, but I didn’t care. Every muscle in my body felt like it was one insult away from snapping like a rubber band beneath my skin and I couldn’t promise myself or the team that I could control it once it happened.
I’ve never once in my life been an angry person… Sad, depressed, frustrated, happy and hopeful for sure. But never truly angry, I didn’t have the space for it. But Ian was dragging that raw, unbridled and unchecked emotion from the depths of my system, and it wouldn’t take much for me to learn what a rage-filled adrenaline rush felt like.
Josh didn’t want that though, I knew he didn’t and it was the only thing keeping me in check. The idea of starting a war with Lorette over a few homophobic jabs from Ian—only to humiliate Josh—was the only thing keeping me focused on the game. Even if we were losing.
And we did, we lost badly. Cael and Van tried their best to do damage control, both bringing a few more runs, but by the last inning, we were still down five, and there was no hope. Coach was pissed and Arlo was slamming things around in the dugout as we walked onto the field to shake hands with Lorette. Josh thought about not going, but Coach made him, and he stepped slowly into the sand with cautious steps. I followed him in time, keeping close but giving him some space as we lined up and waited.
I knew the moment he stepped into line with us, the tension would rise and, as predicted, it built from the ground and consumed him like a dark wave. He didn’t shake a single hand, only nodded as he went through, but it was almost as if the Lorette players knew better than to touch him.
As we approached Yuri and the tail end of the list I could see their eyes on Josh. I braced for impact as we approached them, pulling my other hand out of my pocket and inhaling a dirty breath of air that smelled like clay and sweat. I searched for that cinnamon scent, but he’d moved too far ahead—and I missed whatever Yuri said that made the team laugh.
I watched it happen in slow motion as Ian slipped out from behind the pitcher, hidden from sight and laid his hand on Josh’s shoulder.I was going to kill someone.
I stepped forward, unable to focus on the words coming out of Ian’s mouth and shoved him backwards with both my hands, making sure that he wasn’t in reach of Josh.
“Should’ve known you’d let that snake into your bed.” Ian’s smile curled with pride as the teams surrounded us. What remained of the dissipating crowd rumbled with excitement over the sudden aggression.
“Keep your fucking hands off him,” I warned, and Ian just laughed in my face.
“Or what?” Ian righted himself, his arm tucked to his side as his team protected his back.
The darkest kind of anger bubbled up from me with Josh’s broken voice echoing in my mind and the smell of his cologne over my shoulder. He was still right there behind my back, quiet and so still I almost missed him, but he hadn’t slipped away in the crowd.
“You’ll have to find a sport you can play from a wheelchair.” I licked my bottom lip and stepped forward, but his team met me.
“Ooh, Tucker found his balls! For a while there I was thinking that Cody had them in a box somewhere,” Ian sneered, and looked around at the faceless idiots that laughed at his joke.
I laughed, the sound escaping me uncontrollably and catching Ian off caught. I wasn’t sure what response he had been expecting, but it wasn’t laughter. His face twisted into confusion for a brief second before falling back into a confident falsehood with an equally fake smile.
“What’s so funny?” He asked me, and I could hear the coaches starting to get restless. They couldn’t see into the center of the huddle what was happening, and it was setting them on edge. Two bench brawls for the Hornets in two weeks wasn’t exactly a good look as the new captain but I didn’t really give a shit. They had tried to attack one of our own and I’d be damned if Ian got away without repercussions a second time.
“You.” I smiled and shook my head softly as I stepped forward. There was always a sick thrill in going toe to toe with Ian. He was quite possibly one of the only players we saw regularly that matched me in size, and if we were to ever fight, it would be a real challenge. One I wanted to give a shot at that very moment.
“Me?” His stupid eyes rolled. “You really need to work on your insults, Dean; that was very first grade of you.”
“Yeah, probably.” I shrugged. "But then again why would I want to practice being an asshole?” I said, and Cael huffed a tiny laugh from my side. The funny thing about the Hornets was that their support was endless, I could have been lobbying to jump off a bridge and they’d be there, kicking off their shoes and getting ready for the plunge.
And no matter how much they hated Josh, how hard the last weeks had been trying to find a way to work together with him and acclimate to his presence in our lives. He was a Hornet, like it or not. So the moment Ian became a threat, the team surrounded Josh and me, waiting for the word but not acting on their own.
You never got just one Hornet when you kicked the Nest. You got swarmed.
“Maybe being an asshole would make you a better captain,” Ian said, and I wanted nothing more than to knock that stupid smirk off his face. “Less time butt fucking eachother and more time practicing baseball,” Ian jabbed.
“Last I heard you like a good butt fucking, Ian,” Cael was quick to insult him, and I heard the sound of satisfied amusement leave Josh from behind me.
“Fuck you, Cody.” Ian stepped forward, and I stepped in front of Cael, blocking his path with the shake of my head. Ian looked me up and down, no doubt trying to decide whether or not it was worth it, but he shook his head and stepped back. “This was getting boring anyway.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. "Boring.”
The rest of the Lorettes backed away from Ian, all of them moving with caution, but with the tension easing and the threat of a fight fading, they didn’t care much anymore. I turned around, and the Hornets hadn’t moved. Cael, Van, and Arlo had formed a tight line around Josh directly behind me. I hadn’t even heard Arlo’s arrival, but having him there had been a silent confidence boost.
It wasn’t until I tapped my fingers to my chest that the team started to funnel away from us back to the dugout. Josh’s eyes never moved from mine, a quiet thank you for taking control of the situation. I nodded toward the dugout, and he took the cue.
