Page 58 of True Honey
“I’m down,” August piped up. “Will Daisy be there?” he asked, unknowingly walking me into anotheroopsconversation with his mother.
“Maybe,” I said, I wasn’t sure.
“Who’s Daisy?” Drew asked, her tone sweet but her eyes locked on mine.
“One of the daughters of a woman that works at the stadium, she was at the game yesterday…” I said, glaring at August for being a snitch but he only smirked at me and retreated to his room.
The minute his door closed Drew glared at me. “You got Auggie a cat? What is wrong with you?!” She said it like it was meant to be serious but her little smile and the way she swatted the air in front of me was so adorable there wasn’t a chance in hell I was taking her seriously.
“I gotusa cat,” I said, and she froze. “There’s no point in arguing it. Red hates me and even I want him here. It makes Auggie happy.”
That stopped whatever argument she wanted to make and she gave me a small nod. “Okay,” she conceded. “It was ridiculous though, and probably expensive,” she added.
“Yeah,the shelter cat really put me out.” I grinned at her. “Do you think you can cover my rent this month?” I teased her and she sighed, but a smile cracked on her lips. “Go get ready.”
When they reappeared I chucked a jersey at August who held it with a confused look on his face, “Cody?” he said.
“Trust me, it’ll earn you some brownie points.” I handed another to Drew, who was wearing jeans and a tank top that showed off her pale skin, covered in freckles I didn’t get to admire in the darkness of that night. I stepped closer, unable to help myself as my eyes ran over her skin, taking in each bundle of beauty. “Here,” I said. “That’s a relic, don’t get mustard on it.”
“Shore,” she said, holding it up to show off the massive seventeen on the back. “Go grab your hat from upstairs, you left it on the island,” Drew said, her tone shifting into mother and away from her own. August slipped into his jersey and bounded from the apartment into the main part of the Nest. “I can’t wear thisto the stadium if I’m going with Auggie,” she held out the ring and I nodded, taking it in my hand and hooking it onto the ring that held my keys.
I opened my mouth to say something and closed it again. Not wanting to ruin how well the morning had been going but needing to say it to her. I knew that if it was eating at me after a long week, it was surely tearing her apart.
“Hey, I need you to know you did nothing wrong that night,” I said, the words roughly bucking from my throat.
“Then why send me home, alone?” She asked and I expected her to.
“Because I didn’t want to subject you to that type of conversation any longer, I didn’t bring you there to be a pin cushion for a bunch of rich old men who still haven’t figured out how to buy manners,” I said. “You did nothing wrong.” I repeated, driving home each word.
I watched the words hit her like a ton of bricks, unable to tell if they helped or only made things worse but she forced a smile to her face. I just wanted her to tell me what the hell was going on in her head but every time I thought I was getting somewhere with her, she shut the door in my face.
She’s worth it.
Drew slipped into the jersey and I stepped forward, taking the chance that she would let me help and when her hands dropped to her side so I could do the buttons my heart seized. Maybe we were making progress after all.
“Beautiful,” I whispered and the color flushed to her cheeks.
“Say those in front of an audience, otherwise I might start believing you mean them,” she said to me as I finished the last one. I wanted to tell her they weren’t for anyone but her but I kept it to myself and offered her a soft laugh in place of a confession.
“Today isn’t about work, it’s about you having a fun day with Auggie. We should probably go before he hot wires one of the cars in the garage to see his new crush,” I teased and the light returned to her darkening eyes.
“A catanda girlfriend,” she grumbled. “You’re a bad influence.”
“God, I hope so.” I looked at her over my shoulder and winked.
The stadium was packed by the time we got there and I led them to their seats. They were sitting in the front row behind the cage next to Cosy and someof her friends. I waved to them before making sure Drew was comfortable and handing August twenty dollars for snacks.
“I’ll meet you in the front office after the game, okay?” I asked them both and Drew nodded with a smile.
The dugout was alive with playoff energy and the longer I stood in it the less I focused on her. Arlo kept giving me side eyes like he wanted to have a heart to heart about my stupidity but I kept three players apart from him at all times.
I didn’t want to have a conversation, I wanted to be left alone to be stupid about all of my decisions. Especially the ones that involved the pretty redhead, laughing in the stands with her son as he tried to shove a whole hot dog in his mouth.
I was too far gone and I liked the way it felt to be lost.
Lorette was pushing the pace for the game and if Logan didn’t start throwing outs Ryan was going to lose his shit by the end of the next inning. The boys were doing okay with runs, in fact it was the only thing keeping them alive. I watched as Cael stepped to the box, digging his toe into the clay and looking up to the sky before he steadied his breathing and readied his bat for the pitch.
His jaw twitched from the movement. Something was wrong.
