Page 5 of Stalked By the Third Baseman

It was a chilly morning. The temperatures were finally starting to drop in the desert. That’s when I saw her. Roxie stepped out of their building and walked directly to her little beat-up car. That thing had seen better days, hell, better decades, but I knew how stubborn my cousin was.

I’d noticed she had started working this little secret gig about three months ago.

At first, I had been tempted to ask her about it. It was bad enough she was pissed I hadn’t talked to Callie and let this no-contact shit go for as long as it had. My cousin was adamant I was going to fuck shit up and some guy was going to swoop into her life and the shot I had shit away for at least these last four years at claiming my girl would be lost.

My cousin was a hard-ass for the most part, a real tough girl, but she wasn’t stupid. There was no way I could ask her about this new job of hers without explaining how I knew she was working this weird shift at the bakery in town without giving anything away. Like the fact I had been sneaking into their apartment. So, I had done the second-best thing and kept my mouth shut and looked the other way because it helped my cause.

Mine. Mine. Mine. That all-too-familiar primal thing inside me that had taken over after Callie and I had stopped talking started to chant. It had existed before our fight. Lurking just beneath the surface and only making an appearance when I had to warn away some fucker who was sniffing too close around my girl. But being around my best friend as close as I could without pushing any over-the-top boundaries had been enough.

Until it wasn’t.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Now it was like a primal thing, savage and raw, that needed to be as close to Callie as humanly possible without her finding out. It was how I found myself standing in front of her apartment, door. My heart drummed heavily against my chest. That thing inside me grinned wolfishly as it thought back to the week before we’d had that stupid fight. I’d made a copy of the key without Rox or Callie suspecting a thing. Just in case, I had told myself. And damn, it had helped me out immensely.

Slowly, I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. It didn’t squeak. Not anymore. I’d fixed that after the first time I had snuck into their place a month after our fight, when I hadn’t been able to keep my distance.

I stepped inside and quickly but quietly shut the door behind me, heading directly to Callie’s room. And like I always did whenever I snuck into her bedroom, I inhaled deeply. The notes of her favorite perfume mixed with her body wash, body lotion, and natural scent mingled and swirled together to create the perfect bouquet. One that settled that thing from the inside out and made my mouth water. Her scent wafted inside my nostrils and filled my lungs. It was like breathing mountain fresh air, if the mountains smelled like soft vanilla and apples with a hint of cinnamon and woman.

Blood rushed through my veins with adrenaline and need.

Mine. Mine. Mine, that deep primal voice chanted over and over in my head. Quietly, I moved closer, and because I was a crazy fucking asshole, after a year of not being close to her, I kneeled in front of her. She had an arm under her pillow and was sleeping on her side. Callie’s beautiful face was peaceful as she rested. My hands ached to cup her cheek and trace her pouty lips with the tips of my fingers.

But I couldn’t.

It was like being stuck between heaven and hell.

So close to everything I could ever want and need.

Yet so damn far.

“Miss you, ladybug.” The old nickname tumbled past my lips.

She sighed, and I could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on her lips. “Miss you, bat boy,” she softly responded in her sleep with a dreamy sigh. I swallowed hard and stood up.

Bat boy. I hadn’t heard the old nickname in over a year, even before this stupid fight. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed hearing it. I knew I could stand there until the sun rose, happily watching her sleep. It would be worth the crick in my neck and exhaustion I’d feel at the game tomorrow.

When she shifted, I stilled, frozen in place.

The longer this rift went on between us, the more often I snuck in. And the more I snuck in, the less cautious I became. The first time I’d done it, I’d stood by the door and hadn’t dared to breathe. I’d lasted an entire month before I couldn’t keep my distance and came back. Slowly, the visits happened more and more often. Not to mention became reckless.

My breath hitched in the middle of my throat and my lungs seized as my heart squealed to a halt. I waited for her to open her eyes. To look up at me with those pretty hazel eyes of hers.

Will she smile like she did in her sleep?

Or will she scream bloody murder?

Or will her nose scrunch up adorably like it does when she doesn’t like something she ate and tell me to get out?

Or will she reach for me and kiss me, blaming it later on thinking she was still asleep?

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I didn’t get to find out. Callie simply turned, flipping over, causing her blanket to slide off her soft, curvy, feminine body. This was karma torturing me, getting payback for all the shit I’d done in the past.

My payback for my stupidity and thinking that maybe my girl needed space to spread her wings before I claimed her as more than my best friend. What an idiot I’d been! Rox was right. Now there were guys talking to her on fucking benches.

Trevor Grant.

He played hockey for the school, and I hated that I knew he was a good guy. An honest one who didn’t play games or hook up with jock bunnies. Callie was gorgeous. Of course, she would attract some asshole like Grant. What did I think would happen?

Callie kicked off her blanket, and my mouth went bone dry. I hadn’t earned the right to look at the beauty in front of me, but I knew there was no way I was strong enough to look away. Smooth tanned legs that turned lighter up her thighs. Skin the sun hardly got the chance to kiss.