Since Forever

Chapter 11

A layer of sweat coats my skin, the small, barely existent breeze the only reprieve from the ass kicking Coach put on us at practice today. Apparently, she's trying to kill us before our first game of the season next month. It's abnormally hot today, like sweat-your-tits off hot, and she had us running sprints, not only the length of the field, but up the monster of a hill that adds a scenic backdrop to our school.

My legs feel like jello and I'm secretly reveling in the exhausted state. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy the ache of my muscles.

"Mack! Wait up!" I hear behind me as I sling my bag over my shoulder. I turn to see a couple of my teammates trotting up, that same sparkling sweat running across their red faces.

"Practice was brutal, huh?" Keisha huffs, her hands held against her waist.

"I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow," Maria adds.

"Yeah." I nod, fighting back a smile. "I'm pretty sure that was Coach's goal."

They both smile, shaking their heads before changing their attention from me to the scene behind us all. It's nothing I'm not used to. In fact, I spend most of our practices keeping my team in line and focused on our sport, not the baseball players practicing adjacent to us.

I follow their gaze, catching a glimpse of Cam. The heat is nearly nauseating, which has resulted in the baseball coach allowing his boys to have a light practice, no shirts required. And the view is...let's just say the sun is not the only thing heating my cheeks right now.

Cam is on the mound as Gio steps up to bat. Looks like they've got a scrimmage going on, and I'm suddenly very in tune with every detail. Apollo claps his hands at short, raising two fingers in the air to signal his outfield they've got two down. Cam peers down at his catcher, Donovan. This is the part I miss. My brother used to be the guy squatting behind the plate, calling the pitches. Cam and my brother were flawless. It's as if my brother knew the exact pitch Cam needed to throw each and every time.

But I watch as Cam shrugs off two pitches before Donovan is standing, hands in the air to call timeout and jog out to his pitcher. I can't hear them from here, and the fact Donovan still has his mask on and Cam covers his face with his glove, conceals any chance I have at figuring it out.

What I can see is Cam shaking his head, Donovan's arms lifting in a frustrated sigh before he's turning away, slapping his hand to his thigh. He looks upset, and Cam looks...irritated. It's something I haven't seen on him too much when it comes to the game.

Donovan sets himself, and Cam settles, taking a breath before he turns his gaze to the plate. Raising a knee, he winds up, firing a fastball on the outside corner. Gio turns into it, swinging hard but coming up empty.

My eyes trail back to Cam, watching as he claps his hand to his glove, the corded muscle along his arms flexing with every movement. The tight pull of his abs constricts right alongside the toned ripples of his back. My lips are suddenly tingling, remembering the way his mouth felt against mine, craving to taste him again, to feel the defined form of his body pressed up against mine.

"Looks like someone is enjoying the show," Keisha says, bringing my attention back to her. She's smiling, watching me drool over Cam. Something I most definitely should not be doing.

"What?" I snap my head back, turning away from the shirtless distraction. "I wasn't—"

"Oh please," Maria says, throwing out a hand. "He's your boyfriend. You can stare all you want."

My boyfriend. Right.

"I still can't believe it," another voice butts in, pulling my attention back to find Brittney approaching. "You and Camden are really a thing?"