“You knew she would be. That’s why you came all the way over here to tell us.” He’s not fooling me.
“It’s true.”
“You’re shameless.” My brother flashes his stupid dimples at me. “Those don’t work on me like they do all your little girlfriends or Mom.” He just smiles wider and walks out of the room whistling. With a shake of my head, I go back to packing. I don’t care if Benny Hayes is going on the trip. I’m not going to party it up. It’s a great clinic, and one I’ve been excited for. Our university has one of the best softball teams in the country. We’ve had a rough preseason, though, with losing our star pitcher, which is why my dad isn’t going along. He’s scouting for a new starter to take Stella’s place. We have other pitchers; we just don’t have another Stella. We need this clinic not only for a morale boost, but to get our asses ready to defend our title in the upcoming season as well. Benny can do whatever the hell he wants because I’ll be playing softball. Millie will just have to party it up some other time, though I can’t even say I’m upset about that. At least now, he’ll be babysitting her, and I won’t have to worry about her as much.
Once I’m finally packed, I make my way downstairs. My mom calls out, and I follow their voices into the dining room where they all sit at the table for dinner. My mom stands firm on the rule of if we’re all in the house, we’re all sitting for dinner together as a family no matter what. Millie is still complaining about her ruined trip, and Levi is still loving it. “Mom, it’s not even fair.” My sister huffs as she pushes her chicken around her plate petulantly.
“What isn’t fair, Mill? Why does it even matter to you? Maeve doesn’t mind.” Levi is the poster boy for innocence right now with his tossed dirty blond hair, dimpled grin, and his stupidly perfect white teeth.
“Oh, cut the crap. You and your dumb hockey boys are always hovering. And why are you sitting in Dad’s chair? You’re not the boss of anything.” My mom shakes her head at the two of them as I do my best not to laugh. I haven’t seen Millie this upset in a long time. She must have had some big plans for this trip. I don’t know when she thinks we’ll have time for all her extracurricular activity; it’s a jam-packed schedule of softball games and clinics.
“I’m the man of the house when Dad isn’t home, which kinda does make me the boss of shit.”
“Language, Levi,” warns our mother. “And no, you’re not the boss. I am. Even when Daddy is here, and don’t any of you forget it.” Truer words were never spoken. “Tell your friend to leave your sisters be. They don’t need a keeper. They’re good girls.”
Millie harrumphs at Levi smugly.
“They’re good girls because of us keeping, Ma. And Because Maeve is kind of boring.”
“Hey!” I admonish.
“It’s true, you are,” Millie chimes in.
“Oh, now you’re on his side?”
My sister just shrugs. “Well, maybe not boring, but definitely not as fun as me.” She tries to soothe. The traitor.
Mom smiles at me, patting my hand. She knows how these two are. Two of a kind really. More so than Millie and me, and we’re twins. My brother and I may be thick as thieves, but those two might as well be the same person.
“Anyway, you act like I put Benny up to this or have any control,” Levi insists. “It’s his sister’s responsibility, and she wants him along. Not my deal.” He shovels more food into his mouth, trying to appear all innocent. It may not have been his idea for Benny to go on the trip, but it sure as hell was his idea for him to keep an eye on us.
“Well, regardless if it was your idea or not, tell your little friend we don’t need a babysitter. I already have Maeve. She keeps us both out of trouble.” Millie points her fork at him. “I mean it. I won’t do any of your laundry for a month! You won’t be such a lady-killer when you smell like ass,” she warns.
“Maevey does my laundry. Nice try, though, short stack,” he shoots back, knowing he has her there.
“Okay, you three, that’s enough. Maeve, Millie, just watch out for each other and stay out of trouble. If you do that, it won’t matter a bit that Benny is there. He’ll probably be off visiting his parents or something anyway,” my mother, always the referee and voice of reason, says calmly. Although I’m sure he won’t be doing anything so wholesome. Still, I can tell by the crestfallen look on Millie’s face that it doesn’t appease her. She just sees all her fun swirling down the drain in front of her like soap after a shower.
* * *
Outside McKenzie Hall where the softball training facility along with the sophomore dorms are located, we wait to board the buses that will take us to the airport. Out of the frigid cold and on our way to the sun and fun in Arizona. Some of the girls dressed for the Arizona temps instead of the cold Boston morning, Millie being one of them.
“I’m freezing, sissy. Keep me warm.” She’s practically crawling under my hoodie right now to find warmth.
“Why didn’t you wear clothes?”
“I did!” My sister’s clad in a pair of booty shorts, Vans without socks, of course, and a cute little shirt that hangs off one shoulder. Keyword being little.
“You did not! It’s December in Boston, Millie. We’re not in Phoenix yet.” Even as I say it, I’m peeling off my hoodie to give to her. If she gets sick, I’ll just have to take care of her, and I want to be able to focus on softball, not my sicky poo pain sister. At least I have a long-sleeve shirt on underneath to keep me warm-ish.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Her teeth chatter as she slips it over her head, careful not to mess her carefully done up hair.
“You do realize we’re going right to the hotel before we head to orientation, right? You could have just dressed comfortably in warm clothes and got ready at the hotel.”
“You should never travel in something you wouldn’t go out in. Like out out, not to Walmart out,” she shoots back, looking at my comfy black leggings, long-sleeve FU FIRE shirt, and gym shoes in disdain.
“Ummm…I would wear this out out, and I was nice and warm. Unlike someone else I know.” My pointed look is ignored.
“She has a point, Mill,” our friend and catcher, Kenna, says as she shoulder bumps my sister. “We know you’re hot. You don’t have to impress us with those long ass legs.”
We’re joined by a couple more of our friends just as Coach Hayes comes out of the building with Benny right behind her. “Oh my, god. Please tell me that Benny Hayes is coming on this trip with us,” Lakyn practically purrs.
“Ugh, don’t get me started!” Millie huffs, turning her back on the pair as if that would make Benny disappear.
Kenna’s eyes bug comically. “Why are we upset about this? He’s so freaking hot.” He really is.
“He’s a hockey boy. Just put on the planet to drive me nuts and snitch to my brother about everything.”
I can’t help but laugh because she’s so damn dramatic. “Millie, he’s not gonna snitch on you for anything.” She’s really bent about this. “He’s probably not even going to be around that much. Levi said he was going with to visit his parents.”
“And to chaperone.”
“He can chaperone the hell out of me,” Lakyn volunteers.
“Right?” Kenna agrees. “I don’t get why you wouldn’t want some hottie hanging around.”
“He’s a hockey boy!” Millie says as if that explains everything. She’s met with blank stares and slow blinks. “Fine. You guys keep him occupied while I find someone who doesn’t live with my brother to hook up with. Baseball butts are way more my style anyway.”
Before any of us have a chance to comment, Coach Hayes blows her whistle to get our attention. She’s flanked by Benny on one side and one of the athletic department’s physical therapists, Hannah, on the other.
“Morning, ladies! Let’s load up and head out of here. The baseball team will be on a bus behind us. If at any time during our trip you should need something, have an issue, a question, whatever, you can come find me or one of
our chaperones, Hannah Carney or Benny Hayes.” Hannah smiles and gives a little wave. Benny just lifts his chin, his eyes barely visible under the brim of his baseball cap as he stands, legs spread, sweats hanging on his hips, hands buried in the front pocket of his hoodie. Basically, the college athlete uniform complete with resting jock face, which is the same as resting bitch face, only with a penis. I try not to notice how good looking he really is, but it’s impossible. I’ve never paid too much attention because I’ve never spent any time around him without my brother.
At Benny’s greeting, if you can call it that, a collective squeal ripples over the group of girls. I’m not even sure why, but it startles me. It’s the same reaction my brother gets all over campus—did all through high school too, actually—so you’d think I’d be used to it by now. Coach shakes her head because clearly, she’s not used to it either. “I expect you all to be on your best behavior. We will be in Arizona representing not only Fulton University but also Coach Sexton. We are to conduct ourselves as if he were there. I have every faith that we will make him proud both on and off the field while we’re away.” Her gaze touches over our group. Satisfied that we hear the message loud and clear, she nods, then waves her hand for us to file onto the bus. Let the fun begin.
Benny
Two weeks in Arizona with fifteen hot ass softball players doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend the last half of my winter break. Plus, it will be great to see my parents. I didn’t go home over Christmas because I didn’t want to take off work for this trip and an additional one. I don’t work a ton of hours as it is, and the campus Pro Shop is a sweet gig.
With my sister tapping away at her phone, leaving me to my own devices as she makes sure everything is set for our arrival, I kick back and let my gaze roam over all the softball players scattered around the gate. As a chaperone I shouldn’t be wondering which ones I can hook up with up on this little trip, but I am. Not that I don’t have plenty of chicks to hit up once I’m back in Phoenix, but this just gives me something to do while I wait for our flight to board. Kenna and Lakyn I know for a fact will let me smash. My eyes flick over a couple of the girls I’ve already hooked up with. I don’t go back for seconds if I can help it. It just gives them the wrong idea, and I’m not about that boyfriend life. The Sexton twins are sitting together, as usual. They’re never apart. It’s a shame that they’re off-limits because I would give them a double ride all day long. They’re identical, both with flaming red hair, hazel eyes, and covered in freckles that shouldn’t be sexy but are. Long ass legs and a perfect handful of tits. But again, totally off-limits. In fact, that’s their nickname and what everyone in the house calls them. Their brother is not only the captain of our hockey team but also my roommate, so that makes them off limits on every level. I’m not trying to get my fucking ass kicked by Levi. It really is too fucking bad. I bet Millie would be wild as fuck. She’s the bad twin out of the two. Their brother always has someone on campus keeping an eye out, and it’s always her getting them into trouble. Maeve is super chill. She balances the two out for sure. Maybe she’s the real freak. You know what they say about the quiet ones. I’m not going to be the one who finds out, though. I was warned by their brother already to keep my distance but to also make sure that nobody else goes near them while they’re in Arizona. They’re my responsibility since he had to stay back. Anything happens to them, and I’m fucked. He takes his sisters as seriously as he takes hockey, and he takes that shit as seriously as I do.
Finally, before I can think any more about the twins and how that’s never gonna happen, our flight is announced, and everyone starts gathering their things and lining up. I grab my sister’s bag and hold my hand out to help her out of her chair. She takes it and smiles. “Thanks, little brother. Sorry we didn’t get seats together. You waited too long to make up your mind.”
Olivia takes the little suitcase from me. “No worries. I’m a big boy. I’m sure I can find my way without having to sit next to my big sister,” I tease.
“As long as you make it onto the plane and stay out of the mile-high club, I’ll consider it a win.” Her stern look has me laughing as much as the mile high club dig did.
“Mile high club? Is that what you old folks call it? Us young kids just call it fu—” My sister claps a hand over my mouth.
“Don’t you dare. I don’t care what you call it. Don’t do it.” With a pat to my cheek, she moves to stand in line, leaving me to follow. I let Lakyn and a couple of the other girls go before me. Not because I’m a gentleman but because it will give me an ass to stare at that doesn’t belong to my sister as we make our way to our seats. I don’t know who I’m sitting with, only that I’m on an aisle and the emergency row so I can have some leg room for my six-foot-four self. 8C, 9C, 10C, here I am. There isn’t anyone else in the row yet, so maybe I’ll get lucky and have the whole thing to myself.
“I can’t believe they put the baseball team on a different flight. That’s so lame.”
“I know, right?”
I don’t look up as the girls go on talking about how unfair shit is, just continue scrolling on my phone through my playlists looking for something to listen to and drown them out.
“They better not have them at different hotels too. That would suck so bad. I mean, it’s not like any of us will have cars. I guess we can Uber to wherever they’re staying.”
Why the hell do they care where the guys are staying? It’s not like they won’t be exactly where the girls are. The whole fucking time.
“Or they can Uber to us, but then we can’t just leave if we want to.”
I’m turned around, trying to see who the two girls are when I feel someone standing beside me in the aisle.
“Can I get by, please?”
My gaze travels up long legs, over slim thighs with just the tiniest gap and a pinched waist, up, up, up until I land on a sweet rack covered by a gray Fulton University shirt and a long red braid draped over the shoulder…shit. One last lingering look at the fucking hot curves in front of me, and I sigh at the irony.
Once Maeve settles in the middle seat, an older guy having already occupied the window seat, she turns to me. “Gum?” I watch as she pops a piece in her mouth, her full pink lips closing around the stick. Damn.
“Thanks, Maeve.” I take the piece from her and tell myself not to check her out again for the rest of the flight. Shouldn’t be hard. I shouldn’t be hard. Fuck. It must be the lack of sleep. With a tug on my hat, I bring the brim low over my eyes and slouch down in my seat as far as I can comfortably. It’s impossible. With a sigh, I straighten again.
“Here.” She hands me one of those neck pillow things. “This should help.”
“What are you going to use?” I feel bad taking it from her.
“I’ll be fine. I can’t sleep on planes anyway. I brought it because Millie falls asleep before takeoff and ends up lying on me. If I pack the pillow, she stays upright. But since she’s not my problem on this flight, you can use it.” She smiles.
“So, what you’re saying is you don’t want me all up in your personal space so I should use the pillow.”
“Basically. I don’t want to have to embarrass you when you drool all over my shoulder or cop a feel in your sleep. That would seriously ruin all my brother’s plans of you chaperoning, and it’d be wicked hard to explain to him. I mean, you can try, but do you really want to?”
Maeve Sexton is funny. Who knew?
“I’d make you do it. He’d hit me first and ask questions later.” That’s no lie.
“Oh, he’d hit you first regardless.” She smiles, revealing a dimple in her cheek.
Without thinking, I stick my finger in it. “Cute.”
“Ow.” She laughs and rubs the spot on her face that I just assaulted. My fingers are blunt, my hands beat up from hockey. I should have gone in a little softer. Hell, I shouldn’t have gone in at all.
“My bad. I forget that they’re like caveman hands. At least they don’t smell.”
/> With a wrinkled nose, she agrees, “So true! Levi loves to smother us with his stinky hockey hands all the time.”
“It’s a sign of affection.”
“Well, you guys can keep that shit to yourself. Love me less,” Maeve says sternly with a wrinkle of her nose, making me laugh.
“I thought your sister was the dramatic one?”
“Oh, she is. She so is. She wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if she were in my seat. She’s wicked pissed you’re on this trip.”
“What? Why?” I ask just as they’re starting the preflight check.
“She has big plans for this weekend and doesn’t want any hockey boys around.” Maeve shrugs. “She’s our little drama llama.”
“Fuck, I guess. You know I’m gonna be all up in her shit now right?” I rub my hands together. “This will be so fun.” My smile is wicked. It really will be fun. What in the hell does Millie Sexton want to get into that she doesn’t want her brother to know about?
A low groan rumbles from next to me. “You know you’ll be torturing me too, right?”
“Not my problem. She’s your drama llama, not mine.”
Her pointy little elbow connects with my ribs. “You’re just mean. I will get even, though. I promise.”
Craning my neck, I look over the seat, and my gaze collides with a beady-eyed glare from Millie. “Holy shit, you weren’t lying. She really does hate me.”
Maeve nods. “This is not me being dramatic. It’s the gospel. Good thing she can’t push you out of the plane because she might try.”
With a shake of my head, I pull the pink and gray striped pillow around my neck, unable to fasten it at the front because it’s clearly made for little necks. “So why are you sitting over here instead of with your girls?”
The plane starts taxiing from the gate, gathering speed, and I watch as Maeve checks her seat belt once, twice, three times. Is she nervous? My question is answered when she white-knuckle grips the armrest between us as the plane ascends. I nudge her foot with mine. “You didn’t answer my question. How’d I get you and your fluffy pillow?” Maybe talking will distract her.
Team Player 2: A Sports Anthology Page 13
