“Why? Why didn’t you tell me, Reno? I thought we were friends.” The pain is evident in his voice, and it cuts into me.
“We are friends, but Juliette comes first. She will always come first.”
That takes some of the wind out of his sails, and his shoulders deflate. “You could have come to me and talked man to man. It kills me that you snuck around behind my back.”
I drag a hand through my wet hair and answer. “She asked me not to. She wanted to wait until after the season so she didn’t cause ‘discord’ on the team.” I do little quotes arounddiscordand realize my knuckles hurt from all the punches I landed onShively.
Baylor snorts and waves his arms around. “Yeah, I’d say this is discord all right.”
“I’m sorry. Not for falling in love with your sister, but for hiding it from you. I wish I could have been honest, but have you ever tried to tell your sister no when she turns those eyes on you?”
He lets out a short laugh. “I know what you mean. She looks like that goddamn big-eyed cat inShrek.” Baylor puts his hands in front of his chest like little paws and widens his eyes. Seeing his big ass like that makes me laugh, and for the first time since this debacle started, I think we might be okay.
Then something dawns in his eyes, and he looks stricken. “There’s… there’s no sperm donor is there? You knocked up my sister.”
Well, fuck. We’re back to square one.
Holding up my hands placatingly, I say, “Give me a minute.” Then I begin undressing.
“This is absolutely not helping your case, Swain,” he mutters.
I toss my jersey aside and work on removing my black shoulder pads. “I’ve never had a tattoo before because I’d never found anything worth having on my body permanently.” When I stand bare-chested in front of Baylor, I point at the ink over my heart. “I got this done the day after Juliette left me standing in the Miami airport. I knew I loved her already, but she was scared.”
Baylor tilts his head to the side. “I’ve always wondered what the fuck that was on your chest. It looks like a cloud with ears. I figured you’d lost a bet or something.”
“It is a cloud. It’s the first cloud Juliette and I ever analyzed together,” I explain. “We call him Sexy Bunny.”
He barks out a laugh. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Why didn’t you just get her name tattooed on you?”
My hand rubs over the ink. “I thought about it, but this seemed more significant because it was something we shared together.” I look down at the floor before lifting my gaze. “Watching her watch the clouds, I knew she was special. I think I started falling for her that very first day.”
I neglect to mention that I was already enamored during the whole jacking off on the back porch thing because I’m pretty sure that wouldnotmake things better.
Baylor nods slowly, still with the hint of a smile on his face. “Okay, man. I guess that’s… cool.”
I lift one finger. “But wait, there’s more.”
“Swear to god, if you take off your pants to show me a dandelion tattoo on your dick or some such shit because you and Jules saw one in a meadow, I’m going to punch your lights out,” he warns.
“No more tats,” I promise, striding to my locker and opening it. I dig into the side pocket of my bag with my good hand until I find what I’m looking for. Turning back, I place the ring box into Baylor’s hands.
He hesitates with his eyes on mine before finally dragging them to his hand and opening the box. He stares at the ring for a long while and then mumbles something under his breath that sounds like, “It’s perfect for her.” Handing it back to me, he smirks. “While I appreciate the offer, Swain, I won’t marry any man who doesn’t get down on one knee.”
My future brother-in-law’s got jokes.
I place the ring carefully back into its hiding place, and when I turn around, Baylor is digging through the first aid cabinet on the wall. “Sit down,” he says gruffly, and I do. “Hand.” I put out my hand.
He tears open an alcohol pad and begins dabbing at the cuts on my knuckles. It hurts like a motherfucker, but I don’t flinch. We’re both silent until Baylor breaks it.
“I never liked Collin Shively, not as a teammate and not as a man. I was happy when he got traded to Boston.” He tosses the blood-stained pad into the trash bin and opens another. “And I certainly didn’t like him as a partner for my sister. As professional athletes, we all have a bit of cockiness, but Shively’s went beyond that. He had ame firstattitude instead of thinkingteam first.He was the same with their relationship.”
Baylor continues swiping at the cuts on my fingers while I listen. “Juliette has the kindest heart of anyone I know. She would giveanyone the shirt off her back. When we were little, there was this kid at school who everyone knew came from a poor family. Skinny little boy who didn’t look like he got proper meals regularly. He didn’t smell great, and a lot of kids avoided him, but Juliette would sit by him at lunch every day and give him half her sandwich and chips. That’s just how she is. She’s a giver.”
I finally speak. “I know. That’s one of the things I love about her.” Baylor’s eyes jerk up to mine, and I clarify. “Not because I want anything from her but because she makes me feel like taking care of her. Letting her be the recipient for a change.”
He nods and returns to his task. “I told our fathers what she was doing, and they started making two sandwiches and putting two bags of chips in her lunch every day. I don’t think they ever said anything to her about it; they just did it.”
“They’re good men,” I comment, and one corner of his lips quirks up.
