Page 23 of Only You
I take the bat hesitantly, looking over to the batting cages and seeing Cason and Braylen are already swinging away. Raegan is just watching them, scrolling on her phone, but she does have a helmet on, so I’m assuming she’s going to take a turn at some point.
“Come on.” Tatum puts on a helmet too and then walks me over to the cages. “Don’t be scared. Maybe I can teach you a few things, for once.”
My entire body shudders at the thought of Tatum teaching me something, and I have to let out a slow puff of air from my lungs to try to calm my raging hormones.
Tatum is straight.
We’re friends.
And I’m perfectly fine with that.
Of course, when we go into the cages, and the machine starts to warm up, and I feel Tatum’s large body at my back, his hands directing mine how to hold the bat, it makes it really damn hard to remember that we’re just friends.
It’s nearly impossible when his large hands drag over my sides to my hips, maneuvering me to the stance I need to be in. I take another deep breath and release it when he removes his hands from my body but doesn’t move back away.
I hope to hell he doesn’t realize the impact he’s having on me right now. He tells me when to swing, and I do what he says, my bat connecting with the ball with a loud crack. I watch in awe as it zings through the air and hits the net in front of me. My mouth falls open, and I turn to Tatum excitedly. “I can’t believe I hit it!”
“See?” He looks proud as he nudges my shoulder. “I told you. Feels good, right?”
“Not too bad,” I say with a grin.
“Line back up and do it again,” he says, and I do it again and again until my muscles are screaming at me, and I let him take over. I leave the cage since he doesn’t really need my direction,but my eyes are glued to him as he hits baseball after baseball, his strong, inked biceps flexing with each calculated swing.
“Not bad, huh?” I startle at the sound of Phillip’s voice, but I think I recover okay.
“Yeah, he’s pretty good.”
He laughs. “I meant you hitting in general.” My cheeks feel warm as Phillip’s gaze moves to Tatum with a sly grin on his face. “Though, yeah, Tatum is pretty good.” He nudges me playfully with his elbow. “But do not tell him that or we’ll never stop hearing about how magnificent he is.”
I chuckle because I have no doubt. “He really loves these kids,” I say absently, looking around at where the others are taking turns hitting the ball and notice that Cason is chatting Tatum up from his spot. Both laughing and teasing each other about who can hit the most and the furthest.
Phillip smiles, looking completely content. “He does. And they love him.”
“I can tell.”
“What’s it like having him back in your life?”
“Strange,” I answer honestly. “But wonderful.” I’m surprised at my own admission, but Phillip doesn’t seem surprised at all.
“He’s a good man. Protective. Did not like me at all at first.” He smiles fondly in Tatum’s direction. “But a good man.”
I’m not surprised Tatum didn’t immediately like Phillip—not because of Phillip himself but because of his occupation. Social workers can be great allies, but they’re still part of the system we both grew up in. A system that has more bad than good a lot of the time.
A system you have to learn how to work. How to keep some things to yourself to choose the lesser evil. I know it all too well.
“I’m glad you’re friends now. He’s quite fond of you.”
“I’m pretty fond of him too.” He smirks. “Again, just don’t tell him that.”
I laugh, and Phillip goes to sit next to Kieran to chat for a bit. Cason and Kellan are playing with Braylen. Raegan goes to the car because she’s had enough family time, and Tatum removes his helmet and comes to stand by my side, watching Cason, Kellan, and Braylen.
“Good day?”
“Very good day,” I affirm. “So... this seems like it could be a great spot for a date.” I try to say it casually, but if I’m being honest with myself—I don’t like the thought of Tatum on a date. “Brought anyone here before?”
“Nope. Just you,” he teases.
But somehow, I don’t like that answer. Not because I want him to date—though I’m not sure why—but because it feels like he’s skirting around the question. “Do you date?”
