Behind the Plate (The Boys of Baseball #2) - J. Sterling Page 0,3

it hadn’t happened to me. My dad had probably welcomed it back in his day, but I hated it. And my teammates couldn’t understand why.

They’d ask, “What kind of guy complains about getting naked pictures from hot chicks all the time?”

What they didn’t know was that I’d been dealing with that kind of thing my entire life. None of those girls really wanted me. They wanted what they thought being with me meant. Girls wanted Chance Carter, but they didn’t even know me Being wanted for all the wrong reasons wasn’t a turn-on. I’d stopped trusting girls years ago, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

I didn’t want to change.

And I didn’t know how.

“Come on, Kitten. Tell Chance bye, and let’s go home.” My dad called my mom by her pet name, and she rolled her eyes, pretending to hate it even though she loved it and wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all my father.

“I’ll text you when I land,” I said as I started to slowly walk away toward the security line in the distance.

My little sister ran up to me and gave me a hug. “I hate that you’re gone all the time. Especially in the summer.”

“At least you have the twins,” I said, reminding her about our twin cousins, Sadie and Sami, who were also her best friends.

“But it’s not as fun without you,” she admitted, and I gave her one last squeeze.

“I’ll miss you too,” I said with a grin before I started worrying. “Don’t block me on social media,” I warned, giving her a pointed look, knowing that I could recruit Sadie and Sami or their brother, Coby, if I needed to get the dirt.

Jacey was always posting things online that drove me crazy, and she knew it. Half the time, I thought she had done it on purpose just to mess with me or get a reaction since I no longer lived at home and couldn’t do anything about it. It was her way of getting my attention.

Have you seen the way teenage girls dress these days? I mean, come on.

“Then, don’t go all psycho older brother on me, and I won’t.” She raised her eyebrows, challenging me.

She was always challenging me. No one told Jacey what to do, and she made sure everyone around her knew it.

“That’s my job,” I said, reminding her that, as her older brother, I was here to protect her.

“No, it’s not. I already have him.” She nodded her head toward our dad, who was currently holding our mom in his arms and kissing her like there wasn’t anyone else around.

“You can sweet-talk him though,” I complained because she’d had our dad wrapped around her little finger the minute she was born.

She gave me a little curtsy because she knew it too. It was embarrassing, watching the way he caved whenever it came to her.

“Not my fault he loves me more than he loves you,” she said, and I groaned.

“Try not to break any hearts while I’m gone.”

She shrugged. “No promises.”

It was official. My sister was more like our dad than I’d ever be.

“I’ll miss you. Even though you suck at math,” she said before running away.

Little shit. But she wasn’t wrong. I really did suck at math.

Coming Home

Fall Semester

Chance

I flew back home to Southern California the morning after summer ball ended. My dad picked me up at the airport, sunglasses covering his eyes and a grin on his face, and I looked around him for my mom or sister. I noticed a few people eyeing him like they recognized him but weren’t sure from where. They snapped photos on their cell phones to analyze later, I assumed.

“Just you?” I asked, still not believing it as he pulled me into a bear hug and reached for my.

I half-expected my mom to hop out from behind a pole or something.

“I told your mom I needed to do some things at the field after I dropped you off,” he said, letting me know that if he hadn’t said that, the whole family would have shown up at the airport for my arrival and expected me to go home with them instead of heading to the baseball house.

“Thanks,” I said, feeling relieved. It was shitty of me to react that way, but I was exhausted.

School started in two days, and I needed to unwind. Alone.

“I figured you didn’t need the fanfare.”

“Not today,” I agreed, fighting off a yawn.

I’d slept for most of the flight, but I was still tired. Nonstop baseball