Page 12 of Stealing Summer
Reese lifted his chin. “Lively. I like that.”
I smiled hesitantly, unsure what to make of his sudden friendly demeanor.
“So, your brother Parker’s going to be my new catcher this summer,” he said casually, while taking a sip of his drink.
I blinked in surprise. “How did you know Parker was my brother?”
“I asked around. I wanted to get all the details about my teammates,” he shrugged, putting a hand in his pocket. “Seems like he’s got a cannon for an arm. I like that in a catcher… Didn’t realize he had such a cute sister though.” His eyes trailed down my body.
My cheeks grew warm at the unexpected compliment, but I kept my expression neutral and glanced away while taking a sip of my drink. He was just trying to make conversation, I told myself.
“Whatever guy left you alone at this party must be crazy,” he added, his voice lower now.
No, he wasn’t making conversation. He was definitely flirting. Was he seriously trying to flirt after basically ignoring me earlier? I scoffed. “What makes you think there’s a guy? Maybe I came alone.”
“A girl like you?” One corner of his mouth quirked up flirtatiously. “Not a chance.”
I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. Reese’s confidence irritated me, no doubt about it. But the way he just looked at me made my heart race faster than I cared to admit.
“If you say so,” I said dryly.
“Come on, lighten up,” he urged. “It’s a compliment.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly Blair appeared at Reese’s side, slipping her arm through his. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over,” she flashed me a tight smile before turning to Reese. “Ready to take a shot with me, babe?”
Reese glanced between us, an eyebrow raised. “Yeah. See you around, Hartford.” With a wink, he allowed Blair to lead him away, her grip possessive on his arm.
I stared after them, my heart pounding against my ribs. What just happened? And the way he looked at me… Shaking my head, I turned and hurried off in the opposite direction. Was he just trying to be friendly now, and that was his way of showing it?
Willow made the rounds, introducing me to various people at the party. Their names seemed to slip from my memory as soon as I heard them. Eventually, I walked outside to the backyard where Parker and Boston were deep into an intense beer pong game. They had been at it for a while, going shot for shot on five cups in a triangle formation.
“Come on, Boston! Make the shot!” A teammate cheered enthusiastically as he jumped up and down. Caroline and her friends hollered, egging the boys on. I took my phone out to distract myself. Their shrieking was closing in on my last nerve.
I took a seat on the pool deck while Parker and Boston continued to play best-out-of-five. The flickering lights from the tiki torches were casting shadows on the water’s surface, and laughter resonated through the air. After a while, the wind started to pick up, blowing my hair into my eyes, so I used one hand to push it back. Hugging my arms around myself, I tried to ward off the chill that clung to my skin.
“You look cold. You want my hoodie?” Reese’s voice came from behind me, startling me out of my thoughts. I turned to find him standing there with his signature smirk, his eyes bright with amusement.
Then, he effortlessly shrugged off his sweatshirt, which seemed too easy for someone his size. The fabric slid up as he pulled the garment over his head, revealing a glimpse of what was underneath—his abs teasingly made an appearance, taunting me.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said, trying to sound indifferent. “I’m fine.”
“Suit yourself,” he nonchalantly placed the hoodie beside me on the deck just in case I changed my mind. Then he sat down next to me, leaving only a whisper of space between us. “You really don’t like me, do you?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” I tried to keep my gaze focused on the beer pong game instead of his intense stare. “You haven’t exactly been a saint when it comes to Boston and Parker.”
My thoughts drifted back to last summer. My phone had buzzed relentlessly in my pocket then, Parker’s name flashed on the screen.
“We’re gonna need a little help,” he huffed, sounding embarrassed about the words that were about to come out of his mouth. “Reese and his entourage pulled a prank—they swiped all our clothes from the locker room.”
“Wait, what?” I remembered asking him, unable to stifle my own chuckle. “All of them?”
“Every. Single. One.” Parker sighed. “Boston’s fuming, and dude, we’ve got nothing but our gloves and cleats!”
That mental image had me biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud. Imagining them in this predicament was both startling and oddly satisfying. It was uncalled for and cruel, but I knew that since we were still in the area from the game, they had us to bail them out of this unfortunate predicament.
“Are you serious?” I managed, wondering how Reese even pulled this off.
“Dead serious. They snatched everything when we were in the shower. The rest of the team left already.”