I choose a seat near the front of the bus and curl up next to the window with my blanket. Closing my eyes, I listen to the sounds of the players and staff as they make their way on board. We have two buses, and I try not to think about whether or not Cameron will end up on mine. He texted me, asking me to wait for him so we could sit together, but instead of replying like an adult, I snuck onto the bus and chose a seat, and now I’m pretending to sleep.
“Yo, rookie, your girl is on the second bus.” I hear one of the guys say. “Yeah, she’s sitting alone.” I hear him speak, but no reply. He must be on the phone. “You better hurry. I may just take your seat.” I don’t hear what the person, who I assume is Cameron, says on the other line, but the raucous laughter coming from the tattletale tells me that line didn’t sit so well with him.
Footsteps carry on past me, and I snuggle further into my Blaze blanket, trying to block it all out. It’s not that I don’t want to sit with Cameron. It’s the opposite. If I could spend all of my time with him, I would, but that’ll only complicate both of our lives. So instead of waiting for him, I’m here taking the coward’s way out, but I have a feeling with that phone call, the jig is up.
Someone drops into the seat next to mine. I lie as still as possible, still pretending to be asleep. Thankfully, I pulled the blanket up over my face to help with the act.
“Found her, huh?” a deep voice asks.
“Yeah, Miller gave me the heads-up,” Cameron’s deep voice replies.
Miller, that has to be Corey Miller, the outfielder. We don’t have any other Millers on the team.
My mind is racing with how his teammates knew to look for me. Do they just assume since the kiss cam incident that we’re dating? Is it their assumption that we’re an item since we’ve sat together a few times? Did he tell them to let him know which bus I was on? A million questions filter through my mind right now, yet I can’t voice any of them since I’m pretending to be asleep.
It feels as though hours have passed by the time the bus begins to move. In reality, it was maybe another five minutes, but my racing heart begs to differ. When his hand slides under the cover and laces with mine, I turn to face him.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers, using his hand that’s not holding mine to brush my hair out of my eyes. “You didn’t reply.”
“Yet you found me.”
“Yeah, I found you.”
“How?”
“I told a few of the guys to let me know which bus you were on.”
“Why?”
“Because this is two hours that I get to spend with you.”
“But your teammates may get the wrong idea.”
“What idea is that, Paisley? That I’m into you? That fate put me in the stands and seated next to you that day, and we shared a kiss that rocked my world? That the thought of one of those fuckers getting this time with you had my gut twisted in a knot?”
I open my mouth to reply, but I’ve got nothing. I have no response to his speech. All I can do is stare at him as the truth of his words reflects back at me.
“I don’t care who knows, Paisley. I already told Drew that I wanted to date you. As the GM, he’s the one we should worry about, and he said he was okay with it.”
“You told him that?”
“Well, I asked him for your number, and he wanted to know why.” He shrugs. “I told him I wanted to ask you out and asked if it would be an issue. He said I had my hands full with you, but there were no rules against it as long as it didn’t interfere with either of our jobs.”
“Getting your teammates involved could interfere with your job.”
“Not unless one of them tries to take you from me.”
“I didn’t realize I could be taken from you.”
“I hope not.” He flashes me a grin. “Come here.” He releases my hand and slides his arm behind my shoulders, pulling me into him. “Sleep.”
“You involved your teammates to find which bus I was on so we could sleep?”
“Yes. I knew I wouldn’t get any rest, not knowing who was sitting next to you. This way, you’re in my arms, and we can both get some rest.”
“I could have slept just fine.”
“No, you wouldn’t have been able to. I would have been blowing up your phone. I’m a needy fucker when it comes to you, Paisley. You may as well get used to that.”
“You barely know me, Cameron.”
“We’re fixing that, baby. Now, get some rest.” He leans his head over on mine and exhales. In no time at all, his breathing evens out, and I know he’s asleep.
A part of me wants to pull away just to prove that I can. To prove I’m an independent woman who can make my own choices, and he can’t call the shots. Then another part of me wants to enjoy how he wants me close, and soak up his warmth, and catch a few hours of sleep. That part eventually wins out. He’s so warm, and his chest might be ripped with muscles, but it’s also oddly comfortable. That’s my last thought before drifting off to sleep.
“My place or yours?” Cameron asks.
I stop in my tracks and turn to look at him. It’s the early hours of the morning, just a few hours before sunrise, and we’ve finally arrived back at our condos. Cameron wanted me to leave my car at the stadium and drive me home. I argued and won, so he insisted on following me home. I didn’t fight him because he lives right next door to me. There really was no point.
“What?”
“Your place or mine?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I need sleep, P. I have to play again tonight, and I sleep better when you’re next to me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know that I slept like shit last night and that I feel more rested after two hours on that fucking bus with you in my arms than I have in weeks. So, your place or mine?”
“Willow is home.”
“We’re just going to sleep, babe. Choose. We’re both dead on our feet.”
“Mine.” I need to feel like I have some kind of leverage when it comes to him. I could fight him, but what would be the point? I’m exhausted, and if I know anything about Cameron, it’s that he fights for what he wants. I can hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes. He’s tired, and he’s not going to sleep unless I’m with him. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t send a thrill through me.
“All right.” He places his hand on the small of my back with a nod and leads me to my door.
My hands tremble as I place my key in the lock and turn the knob. The condo is dark as we step inside. I wait for Cameron to follow me inside before locking up and leading him down the hall to my room. As quietly as I can, I close my bedroom door.
“Bathroom?” he asks.
“Yeah, through there.” I point at the door.
“Thanks, babe.” He kisses my temple and quietly disappears into the bathroom.
I give myself five seconds to freak out before jumping into gear and grabbing clothes to sleep in. I can’t believe I’m doing this. This isn’t me. I don’t bring random men to my place, let alone with the intention of them spending the night. I’m not that girl. Sure, I’ve had hookups, but not in my space. Not in my home.