Stealing Home: A Reverse Grumpy-Sunshine College Sports Romance (Beyond the Play Book 3) by Grace Reilly

Author:Grace Reilly [Reilly, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798986905167
Publisher: Moonedge Press
Published: 2023-04-20T21:00:00+00:00

36

SEBASTIAN

I give Cooper a shove. He slides out of the booth so I can escape.

“You okay?” he asks quietly, glancing at Richard.

I nod. “Yeah. I just need a second.”

I wind my way through the restaurant, side-stepping our server and a woman with a little dog in her purse. Out on the sidewalk, I lean against the building and take a deep breath.

It’s not the talk of the money, or the prospect of the work ahead. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but something is making my insides twist like they’re caught in a vise. I sink into a crouch, fisting my hands together and pressing them to my mouth. If it was just baseball, just swinging the bat and making plays, it would be so different. But you can’t have one without the other, without all this shit about contracts and comparisons and stat lines and endorsements, and sooner or later, I’m going to need to come to terms with that. It’s a game, but it’s also a business, and once I sign a contract, I’m agreeing to become an employee, not just an athlete.

It’s not fear. I shut my eyes, internally checking my gut. I’m not afraid of being unable to perform my future job well; I know I can handle the level of competition. It’s this deep, dragging anxiety that won’t leave me the fuck alone. A part of me, increasingly loud, that wants to say no thank you.

I laugh shortly. What would the Andys of the world say to that? What would Richard say? Or James and Cooper, for that matter? Our respective sports have always bound us together, and if I walked away from that, it would be like Andy insinuated. The two of them, Richard’s true sons, and then me.

Mia has a meeting with Alice this morning—right now, exactly, if I remember the time correctly—but I can’t help texting her. I type out a mini essay, a rambling run-on of a sentence, then delete it all. I’m not ready for this conversation with anyone, not even her. I delete it all and just ask how she’s doing. When it delivers, I stare at my phone, waiting for those three little dots.

“Sebastian?”

I look up at Richard. He’s frowning at me as he shields his eyes from the sun, his watch glinting in the light. “Son, what’s the matter?”

I shove my phone into my pocket and stand. I brush down my shirt and adjust my collar. “I’m sorry, sir.”

His frown deepens as he clasps my shoulder, his hand squeezing tightly. “Sorry for what?”

“Leaving, I guess.” I bite my lip. “I know it was rude.”

“Do you feel okay?” He presses the back of his hand to my forehead. I blink rapidly; the touch makes my eyes burn. “Are you coming down with something?”

I shake my head, leaning away. “No. It’s just… it’s a lot.”

“Is this about whatever’s going on with you and Cooper?”

I feel bad throwing Cooper under the bus, but it’s easier to talk about that than the jumbled thoughts running through my mind whenever I think about baseball, so I nod.

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