Page 77 of Crew
When we got back to the locker room after the game, Crew checked his phone. “Mallory said Grady could hardly keep his eyes open. She’s taking him back to the hotel, and we’ll get together tomorrow morning.”
I nodded. “Well, you better get some rest tonight since it sounds like you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”
We showered quickly and boarded the bus to go back to the hotel. Our travel coordinator still booked us our own rooms, but I followed Crew to his. As soon as the door closed behind us, we stripped down to our boxers and climbed intobed.
I rolled onto my side, my hand trailing up and down his abs. “So, I’d say today went pretty well.”
“I’m not even sure the World Series could top that.” He turned to me. “In case I haven’t said it, thank you for being so cool about everything. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for you to come to terms with either, but you’ve been extremely supportive.”
I’d be lying if I said learning about Grady hadn’t shaken me a bit. When it was some random one-night stand claiming to be pregnant with Crew’s child, I didn’t worry about him wanting to do the family thing with her. But the current situation was different. Mallory wasn’t a stranger. They had a history together. And I had a few moments when I wondered if he’d want to try to create a family with her.
It would break my heart all over again, but it would be understandable.
But those thoughts didn’t last long. He hadn’t given me any reason to question his feelings or loyalty to me.
“How could I not be supportive when I’ve never seen you so happy before?”
“You make me happy too.” He leaned forward and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. “And I plan on showing you just how much.”
And then he did … twice.
The next morning,Crew invited Mallory and Grady to have breakfast with the team. I went down to the restaurant with them but kept my distance. For one, I didn’t want to impose on the limited time they had together, and second, I didn’t want our teammates to think it was odd that I was hanging out with his friend and her son.
After breakfast, the three of them headed to the pool and I returned to my room with a promise to join them in a bit.
I had something I needed to do before it was too late.
I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed the button on my phone to call my parents.
My dad answered after the second ring. “Hey, Knox. How’s it going?”
I could tell he had me on speakerphone because I heard my mom in the background say, “Hi, sweetie.”
“Hi you guys,” I greeted. “Things are good. Really good, actually.”
“We’ve been watching your games, and it seems like you’ve found your place with the Seawolves,” Dad mused.
I smiled to myself. I’d found a lot more than my place on a team since moving to Portland. “Yeah. I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that,” Mom offered. “For a while, it seemed like every time we talked, you had bad news to share.”
“I do have some news, but I promise it’s good …”
“Well, don’t leave us in suspense.” My dad laughed.
“I’ve, uh, I’ve been seeing someone. And it’s become pretty serious.”
“That’s great news,” Mom squealed. “I’m guessing it’s someone you met there in Portland?”
“Actually, I met him in Denver,” I explained. “We played together on the Rockies and then ended up on the Seawolves together.”
“You’re dating Crew Stratton?” It didn’t surprise me that my dad knew who I was talking about. He was a stats and players sort of guy and always kept up to date on my teammates. It made sense he would figure out the only guy I’d played with on both teams.
“Yep,” I confirmed.
Mom gasped. “The good-looking catcher?”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “That’s the one.”
