The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,10

truth. “Fine. I did. I came to see how it would feel to see you in person.”

“And? How does it feel?”

Like I want to hop in your arms and wrap my legs around your waist. Like I want to be yours forever and never let go.

“It feels like nothing,” I lied before emphasizing, “I feel nothing.”

“Liar,” he said before grabbing the back of my neck and crushing his lips against mine.

I caved in that moment, all rational thoughts gone and out the window as his tongue found mine. The heat between our bodies pulsed, and all other sounds ceased as I completely lost myself in him, loving the way it felt to be his.

Then, it all instantly clicked into place. I’m not his. He doesn’t want me.

I shoved Cole away with all my strength before slapping him across the face, hard and loud. I knew whoever was near us was most likely watching, but I couldn’t have cared less in that moment.

“You don’t get to do that. We are not a thing.”

He rubbed at his cheek, his expression shocked but not angry, as his eyes never left mine. He almost looked amused. “We’ll always be a thing. Look at us. We can’t stay away from each other. We always come back.”

“Not anymore. I’m done with this.” I turned to walk away, and he grabbed my arm, stopping me mid-step. Before he could say a word or try to kiss me senseless again, I threw his own words from the summer back in his face. “You don’t want me, remember? You. Don’t. Want. Me.”

“You’re mine,” he ground out, and his grip on my arm tightened.

I shook him off as anger radiated through me. “I’m not anyone’s. Least of all yours. Leave me alone, Cole. I don’t belong to you. I never did. You’ve made that perfectly clear.”

If there were awards given out for resisting the one guy who held your heart in his hands, I would take home the gold. Every word that had come out of my mouth was a struggle, something I had to force out of me. My heart screamed at me, calling me a liar, but my head knew it was the right thing to do. I refused to let Cole dominate my senior year of college the way he had the last three before it. I was tired of being his doormat, the girl always there for him whenever he needed me. What about what I needed? What about my feelings? This one-sided whatever we were was over. I’d make sure of it.

My eyes searched the room and found Lauren, who was watching us with rapt attention. I took two steps toward her before he stopped me. Again. I had no idea if he was drunk or not. Cole didn’t normally drink during the season, and his breath hadn’t tasted like alcohol when he kissed me, but then again, my taste buds were full of beer, so I couldn’t be positive.

“What if I’ve changed my mind?” he asked, and my heart pressed against the cage that held it.

“You wouldn’t. And I’ve never asked you to.”

It was the truth. I had never asked Cole to change his mind when it came to us and being in a relationship. He had always told me that he didn’t want a girlfriend until he was drafted, and I understood his passion and drive, respected it even. Cole knew what he wanted, and he was going after it. I liked that about him.

But the honest-to-God truth was that it hurt. Him choosing baseball over me year after year sucked. Especially when other guys on the team found a way to have both. I heard myself making excuses for him, to either make myself feel better or to justify the fact that I continued to let him come around. I knew that if he’d really wanted me, he would have broken his self-imposed rules for me. And if he’d really liked me, he would have figured out a way to have us both. But he never did.

“I hate the idea of letting you go,” he said, his voice low as if he wanted no one else to hear.

Even while we were in the crowded room, surrounded by people, he made me feel like some dirty little secret.

The words hit me with the force of a blow. He hates the idea of letting me go. I rolled the sentence around in my head, repeating it three times, each time making me angrier than