Page 68 of Taming Nikki

“Nothing. Just never seen you in anything that didn’t scream ‘I’m going to kick your ass if you look at me wrong.’ You actually look normal now.”

I scowled. I was wearing a Yankees jersey, shorts and sneakers, my hair pulled back into a ponytail. “What the hell else do you wear to a baseball game?”

He shrugged.

“Whatever. We’re splitting up. Leo’s still busy and I refuse to be late. Dante can wait for Leo.”

They both eyed me suspiciously. “Did Leo approve this?”

“Yep. Let’s go,” I lied. I might not have been able to convince them if they knew the truth. Still, they probably should’ve been smart enough to question it. I grinned when they both shrugged and Mikey opened my door for me.

It only took about five minutes before Leo texted me, saying he was going to paddle my ass later. I snorted and sent him a winky face. Mikey’s phone rang, and I snatched it before he could answer.

“He’s not turning around, so you might as well accept what’s happening.”

“God damnit, Nicole. I told you that you needed more security. You can’t do shit like this.”

I rolled my eyes. “Calm down. We aren’t going to be in any crowds. Our names are on the list to enter the stadium early, and we’ll be down in the locker room with the team.” I saw Mikey’s eyes grow large when he realized ‘we’ included him. I snickered, which only seemed to piss off Leo more.

“Nikki, I swear–”

“Oh, we’re getting close. I’ll see you at the stadium. Pick up your tickets out front!” I hung up before he could argue more. It was my birthday, I could do what I wanted.

“How much trouble am I gonna get in?”

I scoffed. “None… maybe. I don’t know. I’m the one who manipulated you. You probably should’ve been smart enough to check with him, though.”

He looked a little green. “Maybe we should head back…”

“If you do, you’ll not only be going back without me, but you’ll also miss meeting the team. Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

I could see him swaying to my side almost immediately. Mikey loved the Yankees, and I was giving him a golden opportunity.

“I guess it’ll be fine. They’ve got their own security, right?”

It sounded like he was convincing himself more than me and I trapped my lips between my teeth to hide my smile. He never slowed down, and we arrived at the stadium right on time. The security guards led us through the park to the locker room, and Mikey stayed glued to my side. When we finally arrived, his eyes were the size of dinner plates and his hands shook a little.

Diego wasn’t in the room when I came in, but I was familiar with most of the team, aside from the new ones. Once they noticed my arrival, they swarmed, and I was passed around for hugs and high fives. Since some of them weren’t dressed yet, I was really glad Leo wasn’t here to cause trouble.

I was laughing by the time I was spun into my brother’s arms. He gave me a back-breaking hug, chuckling when I tried to knee him to get him to release me. I’d never actually hurt Diego, but we’d gone round and round like this since we were kids. He always let me win in the end. I threw an arm around his neck, yanking him down into a choke hold. His teammates all laughed and encouraged it. When I released him, he tossed his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.

“I’ve missed you, little sister.”

I hugged his side and leaned against him. “Me too.”

Diego was one of the best people I knew. When my mom gave me up, he fought against it. He was only 17, he couldn’t take custody himself, so he begged her to keep me for one more year, promising he’d take care of me until then so she wouldn’t even notice. But she wanted the money more than she cared about what we wanted. She told me once she only had me in the first place to use me as leverage against my papa. She hid me away until she needed the money, then shipped me off without blinking.

Diego cut her out of his life immediately and flew out to meet my papa, begging to let him take me. Papa refused and even banned Diego from visiting me at the house. I had to ask Uncle Nino to take me to see him. Diego was already being followed by a few recruiters. He’d been playing baseball since he could walk, and we got lucky that he got offered a spot with a team close by. He traveled a lot, but he always made time for me whenever he was home.

He nudged me and jutted his chin towards Mikey, who was standing awkwardly by the door, watching the chaos.

“That your boyfriend?”

I made a face. “No. That’s Mikey. He’s a friend and a big fan.”

Diego laughed as he pulled us across the room so he could shake Mikey’s hand. He made introductions to the team and Mikey did his best to keep his cool as he got a few autographs. When Diego stopped in front of his locker, he handed me a bag with the Yankees logo on it. He made a face, looking embarrassed.

“You’re making me look bad, only letting me get you shit like this. All the guys think I don’t care about you enough to go shopping for girl shit.”

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