Behind the Plate (The Boys of Baseball #2) - J. Sterling Page 0,97
my ass that made Sunny howl with laughter.
Walking across campus, I heard Mac shouting my name, and I gave him a nod even though I had no idea if he could see it from where he was or not.
“Baseball Boy.”
The words hit my ears, causing my feet to stop moving.
I turned to my right and faced Jared, a slew of his fraternity brothers lagging behind in the distance. I had known in the beginning of my and Danika’s relationship that it would only be a matter of time before I ran into him. But seeing him now, all these weeks later, caught me a little off guard. I guessed, somewhere along the way, I’d started assuming that I’d never see him at all or that he wouldn’t talk to me if he happened to spot me on campus.
I’d been wrong.
“You do know you’re just temporary, right?” His voice was arrogant, confident, and annoying.
“What are you piping off about?” I tried to sound unfazed, but something about the guy always seemed to get to me.
Maybe it was because he had history that I could never compete with, and for whatever reason, it made me feel like I’d never know Danika the way that he did. And I really fucking hated even thinking that because I wanted all of her, in every way, and it felt like parts of her would forever belong to him.
“It’s always been me and her. Once the two of us go back to New York and you get drafted and you’re wherever the hell you are”—he waved his hand in the air as if dismissing me—“we’re going to get back together. You’re not in this picture, Baseball Boy. And we both know it.”
“You’re the only one who sees it that way,” I said with confidence even though I considered how much of what he’d said could be true.
He’d sounded so sure of himself, so resolute in his thought process, that it immediately filled my head with doubts.
“Am I?”
“Danika’s no longer your concern,” I said, throwing his words from last semester back at him.
He laughed. It sounded fucking sinister, and it made me bristle, wondering if he knew something I didn’t.
His frat brothers had almost gotten to us, and Jared took a single step closer to me before throwing the final verbal dagger. “You’ll ruin her life.”
I scoffed before giving him a look, indicating that I was growing bored. “And how will I do that?”
“You’ll let her follow you around the country, chasing your dreams instead of hers,” he said point-blank, and I felt the lump form in my throat. “You’ll take away everything she’s ever worked for. Everything her dad has built for her. You’ll let her throw it all away for you. And that’s the very definition of selfish.”
“Let me get this straight.” I scratched the back of my head. “Now, you’re concerned for Danika’s well-being? It wasn’t that long ago when you basically told me you wanted what her dad had built, and that’s why you were with her in the first place. Money.”
“Hey,” he growled, moving to poke a finger at my chest, and I glared at it, basically fucking daring him to touch me. He put his hand down instead. “I put in the work. For years, I’ve stayed by her side and picked up the pieces every time she fell apart. I deserve to get something for all of that. I deserve a place in that company. I’ve earned it.”
“You’re such an asshole.” I’d never met anyone who was this motivated by money. I’d thought it was something that only happened in ridiculous movie plots.
“I might be an asshole, but you’re the one who’s going to break her heart,” he said right as his buddies caught up to us, all of them posturing and puffing up their chests like they were prepared to take me on. “And when that happens, I’ll be there for her, like always. It will be me by her side, running half of Manhattan, like it was supposed to be. And we’ll forget you ever existed.”
“Sounds like you have it all worked out then,” I offered with a nod.
“It’s only a matter of time. You can’t see it clearly, but I can,” he sneered before looking at his bros for approval and then down at some fancy watch on his wrist. “You get drafted in what, a few months? I can wait it out until then.”
“Good luck with that,” I said before walking away.