Page 94 of True Honey
“Seriously?” Josh growled. “Don’t call me that!”
“Oh that’s your new nickname,Rooster!” Ella drove it home, giggling.
Josh flipped her off without so much as warning or a word.
“This is a perfect day, naked baseball players, insulting Josh…” Ella leaned against Arlo and sighed.
“Way to go,” Josh said, rolling his eyes at me. He went off as Dean and Cael finished their simple pose. Dean’s arm propped on Cael’s good shoulder while Cael squatted in the sand shirtless. His incision was still raw but the tips of the wiry scars were turning pinkish and white. They had been sprayed with water and droplets were running down their handsome faces.
“What did I do?” I laughed.
“Nothing, don’t listen to them,” Arlo said. He tossed Cael a towel as he approached the side of the field and ran his hand over his head with a proud look on his face.
“Thank you,” Silas murmured from beside me, so quiet I hadn’t even noticed he’d circled around to my side. “For talking him into it.”
“It was more of a threat.” I smiled. “Besides, he’s just as much a part of all of this. On or off the field, I know that much,” I said, looking over my shoulder at him. His gray eyes were soft and appreciative, I could tell he wanted to kiss mebut he behaved himself and settled with his fingers sneakily brushing against my side.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. This,today…It wasn't just Cael that needed it. We all did.” Silas’s touch disappeared as a few of the players wandered by laughing and pushing. The two of us watched as Dean and Van, both shirtless and smiley, dumped water down over Josh who was positioned with his legs hanging over the dugout top. His dark curls stuck to his forehead and neck but he had that smug smile on his face that would make for a perfect calendar shot.
The rest of the afternoon was spent rotating pairs and trios, Cael and Arlo took a few shots and Cael snuck in a kiss that would definitely make it into the calendar if Ella had a say because her laughter was infectious when it happened. Dean and Jensen showed off their party trick of backflips that would make a perfect July page, and then I had to send August away because Cael got even more naked and had Van hoist him up on top of the dugout.
They all were getting into it and by the end, Jensen, the catcher was on his knees at home plate with Van Mitchell pouring water down his throat but making more of a mess than anything else. When the boys cleaned up, Silas bought dinner, filling the Nest with the smell of Italian food and the sound of pure euphoria.
They all piled around the table, leaving an empty chair that after some explaining I learned was a spot in honor of Lorraine Cody that no one used. But as I looked around I realized just how important they all were to each other. It wasn’t just a college baseball team. They were a family. My heart squeezed uncomfortably in my chest.
I couldn’t screw this up.
COURTNEY
Igrabbed a clean pair of pajama shorts from the drawer and wandered back into the bedroom where Silas was pulling off his shoes on the edge of the bed. His hair was damp from trying to wash out the beach spray they used to give it texture. He complained all dinner about it and was still grumbling as he pulled off his socks and sighed.
I collected my shower bag and went to leave the room. I needed a minute to think that I wasn’t consumed by the thought of him. His hands, his smell… his heart. But his hand wrapped around my wrist and stopped me before I could get away.
“Where are you going?” His voice was soft, his body stretched out and his chin tilted up looking at me with confusion. I opened my mouth to explain but he tugged on my arm and pulled me into his lap, locking me in place with his arm.
“I was going to go shower,” I whispered, letting him hold me against him and dropping my bag to the bed with a soft thud.
“I have a shower in here,” he argued.
I needed space to think, to panic in private.
“That’s your shower,” I said.
“It’s a shower, they’re all the same,” Silas chuckled, tilting his face up more to brush his lips against my jaw. He had a way of distracting my thoughts, shutting them off and making everything quiet but it also meant I wasn’t thinking about the consequences. The fallout if anything went wrong and eventually something would go wrong. Something always went wrong.
“What’s really wrong?” He asked a second later, pulling his face back to study mine.
“Nothing.” I shook my head gently.
“Alright…” he sighed, but there was no frustration in his expression. “This may have started as a lie Drew.” Silas’s eyes watch mine like he’s searching for answers, “but I’ve been able to read you since the day we met. Something is bothering you.” Loosening his grip around my waist one of his hands took my chin to keep my eyes locked with his. “You can talk to me,” he said.
Could I?I wasn’t sure I could without my emotions exploding and I certainly couldn’t tell him the truth about how I felt. It could have the potential to destroy his trust in me, a trust so steady and strong it scared the shit out of me.
“Today was just… a lot.” I confessed, trying to be as truthful as possible with him. “I’m used to it being just me and Auggie.”
“Right,” Silas said, “and I have twenty something brothers…” he chuckled.
“I was just searching out a familiar comfort,” I said.
