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“Do you ever wear a shirt?” He huffs a laugh. A genuine, beautiful laugh that he needed. “Thank you for that, but no, not around you anymore, Doc. I see the way you look at me.”
“Please. Stay here with me tonight, Kenny.” I nod. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Whatever I’m feeling for Kennedy is far more serious than the once superficial crush I had on the girl. I didn’t know her then, but now that I’m learning exactly who she is, I more than like what I see.
Her auburn hair is split into two braids, falling over her shoulders with pieces pulled out and framing her pretty face with those freckles on full display. They trail down her bare arms and feet, where her toes are painted—I’m just not entirely sure of the color.
Miller shoots me a knowing look because the two of us should win an award for our talents of teaming up against my brother.
I shoot her a warning look, but it doesn’t hold much weight when I know I’m staring at her like she’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. She’s got this playful smile on her mouth and a sparkle in her eye as she teases me.
At that, Max melts forward, leaning into Kennedy, putting his head on her shoulder, and hiding from me. “Hey, man. That’s my wife, not yours.” “Mine,” he says, finishing with a giggle.
Monty is in his forties, solid mass of muscle, covered in tattoos, and intimidating as fuck if you don’t know him.
Dilfffff
“Oh, now you want to talk to me, huh? First you steal my girl and now you want my help to get out of bath time?” I laugh incredulously. “I don’t think so, little man. You’re on my sh…poop list.”
Max’s head falls back in a fit of giggles at the word. “Poop,” he repeats. “Amazing.” Kai’s tone is all sarcasm. “Exactly the word I was hoping you’d add to your vocabulary. Your uncle is about to be on my poop list for that. Say good night to the boys, Bug.”
Max waves goodbye at me, then to Kennedy before bringing his chubby little hand to his mouth and blowing a sloppy kiss her way. “Oh, come on!” I protest. “I’m right here, man!” Kai shakes his head with a suppressed smile and Max’s laughter follows them all the way down the hall to his bedroom.
“Jealous of a two-year-old,” Kennedy says quietly. “That’s a new look for you.”
“I’ve been jealous over you for years, Ken. Couldn’t care less how old the guy is.”
He brings his attention back to us. “You three idiots can all shut the fuck up. Travis, when you’re done running sprints tomorrow, then we can talk about who needs a walker. Cody, if you need medication to get your dick up, just say that. Nothing to be ashamed of, but you don’t need to pretend to have found them when we all know those are on a subscription delivery to your apartment. And Isaiah, I’m going to restrain myself, so I don’t embarrass you in front of your wife. We all know you do that plenty on your own.” He sighs, looking down at his daughter. “I’m so looking forward to this year’s
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Lmaoooooooo
I want Kennedy to thrive in the position she trained for. I want her to get away from Dr. Fredrick. I want her to be comfortable in her own skin, to understand what it means to feel loved and cared for. I just wish she could do all those things with me.
“Trust me, Kenny. I always want you to come. As your husband, it’s my responsibility to make sure you come.” With the back of her hand, she smacks me in the stomach. I chuckle.
Lmaoooooo
“Oh, don’t go soft on me now, Kenny. I wasn’t just being nice. I was hitting on you. Blatantly, might I add.”
“Do you think I’m cold?” for only me to hear. I could fucking kill him. With the back of my hand, I test her forehead. “You feel pretty warm to me.”
“But it also feels like I won the fucking lottery knowing you’re no longer hesitant towards me. I like that you’re a tough one to crack, because when I say something stupid and get to see you smile, I know it’s only for me. And that smile, it’s all warmth.”
It’s been years, and there hasn’t been a single thing Kennedy has done or said that’s kept me from coming back for more.
“Besides,” I continue, toying with the ring on her finger. “Winter has always been my favorite season anyway.” She bursts this unpolished, un-Kennedy-like laugh, her smile I was hoping to see coming back to life.
There’s no denying it. I’m an absolute fool when it comes to this girl.
I hope and pray that for her, it is, and then maybe her happiness will be the thing that gets me through missing her the way I know I’m going to. Tonight is going to fucking suck, and it’s even worse knowing she’s going too.
A white, beaded dress has the privilege of molding to every inch of her body before skimming the floor. It cuts in and wraps around her neck where she’s holding the fabric together for me to secure. Her hair is curled in big waves and pinned to one side, the way she typically wears it when she’s dressing up, and her jewelry is all silver, minus the gold band and purple stone on her left ring finger.
Her focus is on the ground as she holds the back of her dress together, so she doesn’t realize that I’m fucking speechless and unmoving, glued with my ass to the counter because this woman is the most stunning person I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I still don’t know how I got so lucky to call her my wife—even if she thinks that part is temporary.
“The zipper is kind of a bitch because of all the beading. It needs a good tug.” I toss my head from side to side. “If...
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“I can either go out there with this hanging on my hips or you can zip up my dress, but just a heads-up, Rhodes, I’m not wearing a bra.” Fuck me. That image goes straight to my cock and even though I’m dressed to the nines, topped with a fucking tie, my body has no issue get...
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“Yeah, not a chance.” I round her body, her back to me as we both face the mirror. “The first time I see you fully naked, I sure ...
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watch her throat work its way through a swallow when I trail the pads of my fingertips down the soft curve of her spine, taking my time finding her zipper. I slip my fingers into the fabric, letting my knuckles graze against her lower back. I’m sure to keep a connection the entire time I slowly pull the zipper closed, and don’t lose contact when both hands smooth over the now closed dress, wrapping around her hips and pulling her back to me.
Regardless of her heels, Kennedy still only meets my chest, and it takes everything in me not to just pick her up and carry her to keep her from getting that pretty gown dirty.
Kai clears his throat before leaning down to the mic, pulling out his notecards from his suit jacket, then bracketing his hands on either side of the podium. “First off, I want to say thank you to the Remingtons for hosting this night. I’ve worked under different team ownership before, have had teammates of mine tell me about their experiences, and it’s no question that here in Chicago, we’re lucky to have such generous team owners. So, thank you.”
“I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to come here tonight. My teammates who weren’t too stoked to dress up.” The crowd laughs. “The team staff who we couldn’t play this game without, and my family who are the center of my world.” His attention goes right to Miller.
Kai exhales a deep breath, clearing his throat. “To my son.” His attention swings to Max with a smile. “Who is about to pass out on Monty’s shoulder because it’s past his bedtime. You are by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. I once thought that my life goal was to play this game, maybe break some records, and hope that my body would allow me to do it long enough that I got my fill, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. You are everything I didn’t know I needed, and you bring this contagious joy and meaning to my life every single day.”
“There are not enough words I could say to thank my teammates for getting me through his first year. When I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, you all were there, offering babysitting or bringing me groceries. Cody even learned how to change a diaper for me, and I’m not sure he’s ever fully forgiven me for that one.”
“But the biggest person who helped me with him that first year was this guy right here.” He points to Monty. “Before I was picked up by Chicago, I had only ever played for field managers or coaches who were just that—coaches. Outside of baseball, they didn’t necessarily worry about you or care about you. But this guy.” Kai clears his throat and I just know he’s trying to choke back his emotion. “This guy is not only my coach, but he’s also my sounding board, he’s a father figure to me and my brother, and most importantly, he’s my friend. They don’t make them much better than Emmett Montgomery,
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“Which brings me to Miller.” Kai’s got a smile on his face when he turns his attention to her. “Goddamn, I love this crazy woman.” A small laugh settles over the crowd. “You are the second greatest thing to ever happen to me and I know you understand what I mean when I say that because you feel the same way.” Miller quickly nods in agreement, looking up at him. “Who would have thought that a single elevator ride would bring us to where we are today?” He chuckles at the memory. “Thank you for loving me. For loving Max. Thank you for coming home when you were ready. Thank you for making me laugh
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Swooninggggg
Kai pauses, looking right at me. We talked earlier this week. I know this announcement is coming, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. “I’m officially announcing my retirement from professional baseball.”
I’m looking forward to supporting my future wife in her career and getting to work on giving Max some siblings.”
“I feel honored that I’m stepping away from this game to be a present husband and father. It’s truly my favorite job I’ve ever had.”
“There’s one single reason I have loved this game for my entire life. It’s not the winning, the strikeouts, the fans, or the glory. I have loved baseball because of my brother. Isaiah was four years old and I was six when we first joined the same t-ball team. He wasn’t technically old enough yet, but I told our mom I wasn’t going to play unless he was out there with me. And it’s been that way for us ever since. He and I together.”
I hate you for this, I mouth to my brother on the stage. He laughs, tears still falling down his cheeks because he’s never been afraid of admitting when things are sad or hard or hurtful.
“As much as I love this game, what I’ll miss most is sharing the field with you. Traveling with you. Spending every single day with you. How lucky am I that I got a best friend and a brother all at once? There are things no one else will understand besides us. Things we experienced, people we lost, and the entire time, our goal was to be here, in this league together. Well, we did it, little brother. You and me, and you were right. It feels good when you end it like this.”
Sobbing
She pulls my hand to her mouth, placing a kiss on the back of it before resting it on her lap, covering it with her other hand as well. I’m glad she didn’t ask if I was okay, because the only answer I have is no. I’m not okay in the slightest. My brother is leaving the team next season and so is she.
Kai has been so busy since his speech, talking to teammates and staff, so Isaiah took it upon himself to take Miller for a twirl. Their friendship is easy. I suppose because they’re similar in a way. Free-spirited, relatively easygoing, know how to be the life of the party if needed. It’s evident how much they care for each other, and I think their mutual appreciation is due to knowing how much the other cares about Kai.
Kai softly chuckles to himself. “Years ago, we used to talk about what retirement would look like for us one day. I was fucking terrified of the idea because this is all I’d ever known. All I’d ever wanted and worked for. But Isaiah said he looked forward to it. ‘Imagine that when this all ends,’ he would say, ‘that you’ve met your person, they’re at home waiting for you to be done, and now you get to have this entire life with them. Think of how good that’s going to feel.’” Kai smiles to himself, watching Miller on the dance floor. “He was right. It feels really fucking good.”
My head jerks back. “What exactly did he want?” “A family. To settle down with one person. You know, all the domesticated shit I’m about to do.” “Isaiah Rhodes?” I laugh in disbelief. “He once wanted that?” “Still does.” He says the words as if they’re so obvious, so apparent to everyone around him.
Kai turns to me. “You might not be aware of this, but Isaiah used to be a relationship type of guy. He always had serious girlfriends. Committed. Faithful. I didn’t once ever catch him looking elsewhere when he was in a relationship. It’s the same attributes that make him such a good friend, but yeah, the guy loved the stability of being in a relationship. Well, until he didn’t.”
“What exactly happened? Because Isaiah won’t tell me.” “That’s nice of him.” His tone is all sarcasm. “Doesn’t want you to know how much your stepbrother sucks, but I’ll be happy to fill you in. Dean went to a rival high school, but he had always had it out for Isaiah. I was older, so he didn’t try anything directly with me, but he would constantly go after my brother. It started when we were kids, the shit he would say…” Kai shakes his head.
“Our first game back after our mom died, I remember him mentioning something shitty about her while Isaiah was running the bases. A huge fight broke out. It never stopped from there. Any time our teams met, there’d be a fight. Then when Isaiah got a little older and started dating girls, it was a new way for Dean to fuck with him. Isaiah was this sweet, loyal kid, but I couldn’t name one single girl that my brother dated who didn’t fuck around behind his back with your stepbrother. Which yes, those girls are also at fault for doing that, but fuck Dean too because he went after them
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“You’ve got to understand, Ken, he was thirteen when our mom died. Then immediately after that, at the age he’s learning about relationships, every girl he ever had feelings for left him too. He’s a little fucked up because of it, and I don’t blame him. All the guy ever wanted was for someone to stay and love him back, but he never got that. He’s allowed to be jaded, and I’m allowed to hate Dean because of it.”
