Cleat Chaser (19 page)

“What?” Easton gently grabbed my chin and pulled my head around to face him. “What’s going on?”

I shook out of his hold. “Nothing.” A more truthful answer would be—I’m coming apart because the man who jilted me two months before I was supposed to marry him is here and eyeing me like he wants to eat me up. “I-I just need to go to the bathroom. That’s all.”

He put a hand on my cheek, the callouses along his fingers comforting and familiar. “You’re white as a sheet. Please tell me what’s wrong, Kyrie. Did I do something?”

His worry pierced me like a needle. “No. It’s not you.” I could feel Sean’s eyes on me and suddenly, I felt trapped. My chest cramped as if I’d been running, and I needed air. “I promise. I have to pee.” My desperation seeped into my voice, but I didn’t care. I needed a minute to just think.

“Okay.” Easton stood and helped me up. His eyebrows were pinched together and I could feel the worry in his eyes.

“I’ll come with.” Nikki tried to push Braden away.

“No. I’m fine.” I turned and hurried through the crush of players and fans. I nodded at the ones I knew but didn’t stop to talk. Cutting a wide path around the bar, I entered the back hallway where the restrooms were located.

“Kyrie?” A familiar voice sounded at my back.
Oh, god no.

I stopped and moved to the side as a player and a giggling woman passed by, coming from the men’s room. I took a deep breath and turned. Sean looked down at me, his dark green eyes still as beautiful as the day I’d met him. He wore jeans and a team t-shirt, maybe even one of the same ones from before. It looked well worn.

“What?” My voice shook and I couldn’t stop from clenching my hands.

“I just-I just saw you at the ballpark and then I saw you with that other guy.” He shrugged, one corner of his mouth turning up in a disarming smile. “I wanted to say hello is all.” He stepped closer. Too close. He wore the same aftershave, had the same cut to his dark brown hair, even said my name with the same inflection.

“I have to go.” I stepped back, but he grabbed my arm.

He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t letting me go, either. “I just wanted to tell you that you look good.” His eyes dropped to my lips and back up. “And that I’ve missed you.”

I closed my eyes, fighting away tears that should have been spent two years before. How many times had I wished he’d come back and begged forgiveness, told me he loved me, told me he missed me? What a fool I’d been for even considering forgiving someone who’d never seen fit to ask for forgiveness in the first place.

“Let go.” I opened my eyes and tried to pull my arm from his grip to no avail.

“Kyrie, come on.” He stepped closer. “Why are you with that Easton asshole?”

“He’s not an asshole.”

He ran his other hand down my arm and stared into my eyes. “I want to try it again. I came back for you.”

My mind reeled and I could only stare up at him. He took the opportunity and closed the gap with a kiss. He gripped my waist, pulling me into him as he crushed his mouth into mine.

I shoved at his chest, but he held me tight.

“You, motherfucker!” A guttural yell rang out, and Sean was ripped away from me.

E
ASTON

“
I
SHOULD’VE GONE
with her.” Nikki rapped her nails on the table in rapid-fire succession. The incessant sound put my teeth on edge.

“Chicks.” Braden shrugged. “It’s like separating twins if they don’t go listen to each other pee.” He chuckled at his joke.

I grinned at both of them across the table, but Nikki’s eyes were fixed in Kyrie’s direction. Turning in my chair, I’d expected a view of Kyrie’s ass as she strode away. I got just a peek before she wove through the crowd to the back hallway.

“Oh, no. Shit!” Nikki’s voice was a mumble.

“What?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

She grimaced and kept her eyes trained on the back hallway. I followed her gaze and saw a flash of Kyrie’s dark hair as she walked in and then what looked like the new pitcher following behind her.

Nikki started shoving at Braden, trying to get him out of the booth so she could get up.

“What the fuck is going on?” A wave of nerves ripped through my stomach.

“Nothing. Move!” Nikki finally got Braden on his feet, but I’d already taken off through the bar. I didn’t like what was happening. Why had Richards looked like he was following Kyrie? He’d been eyeing her weird all night at the ballfield. I tried not to think much of it. The last thing I wanted was to rock the boat after destroying the locker room.

Now, I didn’t give a shit if I sank the fucking boat to the bottom of the ocean. I pushed past players, Nikki hot on my heels. When I entered the back hallway and saw Richards with his hands on my girl, something clicked in my mind. When he leaned down and kissed her, everything became a blur, except for Nikki’s words at my back, “Sean! Don’t you fucking touch her!”

I rushed forward and yanked him back by his shoulder. “You, motherfucker!”

My fist hammered into Richards’ nose, and I followed him down to the ground, not feeling a thing.

Shrieks rang out around me but I was only focused on driving Sean’s face through the floor with my fists.

“You’re fucking dead, Holliday!” He struggled, trying to buck my weight off him. Not a fucking chance. I swung and nailed him in the left eye.

He tagged me with a hard right, but I barely registered it. Regaining my composure with a quick head shake, I gripped him around the throat to make sure I didn’t hear the piece of shit say anything else while I pummeled the side of his head with my free hand.

“Stop it, Easton! Stop please!”

Kyrie’s voice sounded like it was in a tunnel, far behind me.

I felt an arm around my neck, struggling to pull me off my new teammate. It had to be Braden judging by how strong it was.

“Bro, just let it go. Let it go.” I recognized Braden’s voice as his arm wrenched tighter around my neck.

Blood ran from Richards’s nose to his mouth. The sight of it appeased me enough to surrender as I let Braden pull me back from him. His eyes were red, and I hoped the fuckers would be swollen shut within the hour.

“What the fuck, Easton?” Kyrie’s shrill voice was just below a scream.

She bent over to examine Richards’s face as he started to stand up.

“I think you broke his nose.” She straightened and looked at me, but I couldn’t tell if she was pleased or pissed.

I knew which emotion I favored. “Good!” Adrenaline still coursed through my veins. “Should’ve broken his goddamn neck, too.”

“Calm down.” Braden’s arm tensed against me once more when I started to head back for seconds.

“Why’s he kissing you, Kyrie?”

She glanced to the ground, her hands at war with each other as she seemed to be trying to get her thoughts together.

Richards made his way to his feet and the corners of his lips turned into a shit-eating grin. “I used to do a lot more than kiss her.”

I lunged at him again, dragging Braden with me.

“Oh fuck,” said Braden, in my ear.

I rammed Richards back into the wall, intent on turning him into a blood stain, but somehow Braden wedged himself between us and yelled in my face. “Go cool off. I’m not fucking around. Let him be.”

Sean smirked and Braden flipped his head around. “You need to get the fuck out of here before I turn him loose.”

I turned to Kyrie. “He’s the guy? The one who fucked you over? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I was going to. I just needed…” She looked away and I saw a tear fall onto her cheek that she quickly wiped away.

“You could at least look at me. I think I deserve that much.”

Seeing her in pain rivaled the torture of seeing her with another man, both sensations akin to a knife in my gut.

“I’m sorry.” Her quiet words twisted the blade.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” I silently begged her to tell me no.

Saying nothing, she dropped her gaze to the floor and I wanted to die.

“Look at me, Kyrie.”

Her head tilted up to me and tears now streamed down her face. “It’s complicated.” Her words were more of a plea than an explanation.

Richards shoved off the wall and rubbed his jaw. “Of course she does, prick. All those years don’t just disappear—”

My whole body tensed as I glared in Richards’ direction. “Shut your fucking mouth or I’ll do it for you. Again.”

“This ain’t about you, Easton. This is about me and Kyrie, now that I’m back in town.”

He took a step toward her and Braden struggled to hold me back. Nikki darted past and got between Kyrie and the three of us. “All of you need to leave her the fuck alone. Especially you, Sean. You pencil-dicked motherfucker!”

Kyrie looked lost, her eyes darting from me to Sean as she put a hand over her mouth, covering a sob. Nikki turned her toward the door by her shoulders and guided her away. Tears streamed down Kyrie’s cheeks as they walked through the door and disappeared.

K
YRIE

N
IKKI SPOONED ME,
her arm slung across me as she snored. After a waterfall of tears and a long conversation about past mistakes and the current clusterfuck, I’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep. I glanced at my phone. The light was dark, no messages.

My puffy eyes squinted at the morning sun pouring through my blinds, and I flipped to my back. Nikki’s hand landed on my boob and she squeezed it in her sleep. I couldn’t even laugh as I repositioned her hand. Too many negative emotions swirled inside me to let such a carefree sound escape.

I sighed and stared at the slowly turning blades of my ceiling fan. They were stuck in a pattern just like I was. Was I doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again?

My alarm chirped and I slammed my palm down on the snooze button.

But was Easton a mistake? He hadn’t done what Sean had done. Or was it that he just hadn’t done it
yet
? The idea of him cheating on me made my stomach churn, the alcohol from the previous night threatening to make a reappearance.

“Go ahead and text him. Tell him you want to have lunch.” Nikki rubbed her eyes. I hadn’t noticed the snoring had stopped.

“I already texted him last night after you fell asleep. I told him I didn’t want Sean, and that it was complicated. He didn’t respond.” I’d stared at my phone, hoping he’d say something to me. Even if it was him telling me how pissed he was, it would have been a relief. But there’d been only silence.

“Well, try again. He’ll come around.”

My eyes stung as more tears tried to well up. “I’m afraid he thinks I want to get back with Sean. I don’t.”

“I know.” She ran her hand down my cheek in the signature Nikki move.

I leaned into her hand, needing some comfort. “It’s a mess. I never thought he’d come back, and when I saw him, it was like…”

Nikki snuggled her head onto my shoulder. “Déjà vu? I know. I felt it, too. Though not as bad as you, I’m sure. He hasn’t changed.”

“And that’s a pity.” I blinked my tears away. “But that part of my life is over. I’ve moved on.”

“We’ll smooth it over with Easton.”

“Did you see the look on his face?” I closed my eyes and pictured Easton, the surprise and then the hurt that settled across his features. His eyes darkening and the stark set of his jaw when I wasn’t able to give him the answer he needed.

“No, I was too busy considering choking Sean the fuck out.” She wadded up the blanket and wrapped her hands around it, squeezing like it was Sean’s neck.

I put a hand to my forehead and pressed on my temples. “When Easton asked if I still had feelings for Sean, I couldn’t answer. It was just too, too much, you know? And I sort of froze.”

She throttled the blanket for a few moments longer and let go, but then added a quick “pow pow” from the gun she made with her fingers. “I took care of Sean.” She blew across her index finger like it was a smoking barrel. “And Easton has to have realized what a shock it was for you to get confronted by Sean.”