The Slider (Boys of Summer Book 5) Page 11

  As I ate my fruit, I thought about what I wanted to send back. I wanted it to be nice and flirty without going overboard. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off.

  Me: My day just got better. :) I can’t wait for next time, either.

  Short, sweet, to the point. I hit send and locked my phone before gathering my things together.

  I wasn’t able to check my phone again before heading back to my spot, but I hoped I’d have something waiting for me when I got off work later that day.

  The rest of the day flew by, and sure enough, there was a text from Jacob waiting for me.

  Jacob: Want to try for breakfast Saturday?

  I blanched at his question. I usually worked at Java Hut on Saturdays to help my parents out if needed, and this was one Saturday they’d asked me to come in.

  Me: Rain check? I have to be at Java Hut that day.

  Jacob: Sunday?

  I bit my lip as I considered. I wasn’t supposed to go in that day. Dad was getting Noah. I could totally make that work.

  Me: It’s a date.

  23

  Jacob

  “Did she like it?” Derek asked as he walked by where I was sitting on the bench after our game.

  A game that we won. The other players were cheering around me as I yanked my cleats off.

  “She did,” I confirmed.

  He nodded and grinned before walking off.

  What I hadn’t admitted to Zoe the night before was that I'd had help figuring out where to take her for our date.

  It had been so long since I’d planned a date that I didn’t know the first place to begin.

  I mentioned it to Alvarez to get his take, who then mentioned it to Derek, King, and Chase. And the next thing I knew, we were in a group chat with them tossing ideas out.

  It was King’s idea to go to the park. He’d taken Charlotte a few times, and she liked it. Charlotte was down to Earth and seemed like she’d get on with Zoe, so it made sense to go for something she suggested.

  Now I felt pressure for a second date, though. I already knew where I wanted to take her for breakfast, but I worried that eating at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen wouldn’t have the same wow factor the concert in the park would.

  And I was definitely overthinking this.

  “Great game, Vaughn,” King said, holding a fist out for me to bump.

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  He jerked his chin up and continued to his cubicle.

  I traded more compliments and congratulations with other players while I stripped out of my uniform and got ready for my shower.

  By the time I emerged from the steamy room, the locker room was already clearing out, though I could still hear teammates in the conference room and in the tunnel leading to the dugout.

  This was the first game we’d won in a while, so everyone was riding the high from the win.

  I couldn’t deny the exhilaration I felt.

  We’d had a few shitty seasons since the owner had put pressure on us to perform better, so getting the win tonight against one of our biggest rivals was a big deal to us.

  I was sure some guys were going to get shit-faced at The Splinter in celebration.

  I was just ready to head home and collapse on my couch.

  I’d played a great game today, but I was exhausted. We fought for every out and run we got.

  I finished getting dressed and grabbed my gear, tossing a wave to the guys still hanging out in the locker room.

  A few minutes later, I was pushing out into the early spring chill. It always surprised me each year when it was warm during the day, but cooled off quickly at night.

  Being under the lights didn’t help either because I was sweaty from the game, so I didn’t notice it.

  But I noticed it now.

  I shivered as a light breeze blew and walked to my car a little faster.

  “Jacob.”

  The soft feminine voice made me slow as I turned toward it.

  I froze as I realized who was calling my name, and cursed myself for not paying better attention.

  “Lexi.”

  She walked closer to me, a grin on her face.

  A quick scan showed me she looked much the same as the last time I saw her. Tight jeans, soft sweater, big hair.

  She was just as gorgeous as she’d been when we started dating.

  But I felt nothing for her except irritation.

  “I’m glad I caught you.”

  I stifled the sigh that threatened to break free. The last person I wanted to see tonight—or any night—was my ex-wife.

  I waited for her to continue.

  “I’ve been trying to call you,” she started.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  She blinked at me, her mouth parting. She cleared her throat and ran a hand over her hair. “I wanted to talk to you. I think we have some things to discuss.”

  I arched a brow. “Do we? I thought we finished all that six months ago when we signed the line saying we were no longer married.”

  Though the lighting in the player lot wasn’t the best, I could still see the color creeping up her neck at my comment.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  I titled my head to the side. “What do you mean? We were married. We’re not anymore. What else is there?”

  Lexi took a step toward me, but I quickly took another one back. I wasn’t keen on having her in my personal space.

  She froze and stared at her feet, her shoulders dropping forward. Then she looked at me through her lashes.

  I wasn’t sure what she was trying to play at right now, and I wanted no part of it.

  “Look, Lexi. We have no reason to continue to talk to each other. We’re divorced and have been for months. I’m not sure why you want to talk to me, but I honestly don’t care.”

  Lexi was looking at me straight on now, frowning. “You have to, though! You said you would do anything to fix our marriage.”

  I took a step back like she’d struck me.

  “Yeah, I said that over a year ago,” I said slowly. “Before you left me to move in with your sister. Before you refused to tell me what was wrong, if anything was wrong, so we could work on it together.”

  Lexi’s lower lip trembled, and that was when I knew I was well and truly done with her. Used to be, that lip tremble was enough to set me off to do whatever would make her feel better.

  But I felt nothing looking at it now. It just made her look like a brat that wasn’t getting her way.

  “I was confused!” she burst out, her eyes glistening now.

  I studied her, not sure if she was being fake or not. She’d never faked tears before. That I knew of, at least.

  I sighed. “Say whatever it is you want to say so I can get home. I’m tired.”

  Her lip trembled, and a lone tear tracked down her face. I tamped down my annoyance. Hopefully she’d spit it out so I could move on and forget seeing her tonight within the next few minutes.

  “I made a mistake,” she said in a shaky voice.

  She said nothing for a few moments, likely waiting for me to say something, but I wasn’t giving her anything. I was only standing here to get her to leave me alone.

  “I shouldn’t have divorced you.” She sucked in a shaky breath, and I sighed.

  Seemed she was going the theatrical route.

  “I was just feeling… neglected. All you ever cared about was baseball and your game footage. You spent so much time in that office of yours that I never felt like we connected anymore. I was married to you, but baseball was your mistress.”

  I stared at Lexi, trying to process what she was saying.

  She continued. “I’d ask you to do something with me, but you always blew me off for something baseball related. There’s a barbecue, a team dinner, the guys want to get together, you needed to watch footage. You never made time for me.”

  Tears were streaming down her face by this point, and I knew they weren’t fake now.

  I cleared my throa
t and glanced around us, noting that we were the only two people out here. I was thankful because I didn’t want any of my teammates to witness this.

  It wasn’t because I wanted to keep it a secret, but because this would be embarrassing for Lexi. Hell, it would be embarrassing for anyone in this situation.

  “Why didn’t you say something while we were married?” I finally asked. “Yeah, you stopped coming to baseball things, but you always said it was because you had work or were busy. I never pushed it. I tried to go to whatever things I could with you, but I sometimes couldn’t. You know that. Baseball is my career.”

  Lexi glared at me. “You should have realized! I shouldn’t have to tell you to spend time with me. You should want to.”

  I couldn’t deny what she was saying about me wanting to spend time with her. It was true.

  And it wasn’t something I’d thought about too much when we were married. I enjoyed spending time with her at home and out. But mainly, I just wanted to be around her, wherever we were.

  But the other stuff? I had an issue with that.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face and stared at Lexi. “Why are you telling me this now?”

  She huffed and shook her head. “Because I’m still in love with you. Because I thought that if I pushed a divorce, you’d realize that you wanted to keep me and not go through with it.”

  I stared at Lexi, not sure what she wanted me to say here.

  “So asking for a divorce was a game to you?”

  She huffed, shaking her head. “No. I was hoping you’d open your eyes to what was in front of you!”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. So it was a game, but she didn’t want to admit it. Great.

  I sighed. “I still don’t get why you’re telling me this now and not a year ago.”

  We stared at each other, neither of us speaking.

  “Because I’m still in love with you,” she said after a few beats, taking a step toward me.

  I didn’t step back this time, and she must have viewed that as an invitation to come even closer and reach for me.

  I stepped back then. I had no desire for her to touch me. I ran a hand through my hair and looked away, taking a moment to get my thoughts together before looking at her again.

  “I get that. And I hate that you’re hurting because we’re no longer together. But it doesn’t negate the fact that I had no idea you felt that way about stuff until right now. It doesn’t explain why you waited over a year to tell me you were unhappy and why.”

  “Because I realized I needed to give some. I needed to tell you what was bothering me so we could work on it. I made a mistake. We should have never finalized the divorce.”

  I honestly didn’t know what to think or say.

  “Then why did you?” I asked her in a flat voice. “I begged for you to work with me as we got closer to our divorce date, but you refused.”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

  I shook my head, disgusted with this entire conversation.

  “Look. We’re divorced. We’re done. There’s nothing you can say or do that’ll make that change. You need to move on.”

  Without waiting to see her reaction, I turned on my heel and stopped just short of sprinting to my car. I didn’t want her to follow me to continue the conversation. I just wanted to get home so I could think about the bombshell she’d just dropped.

  By the time I got in my car and backed out, Lexi was gone, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  But I had a feeling that tonight was just the start and that it would take a lot more to get Lexi to back off.

  24

  Jacob

  It had taken a few days for me to shed the funk that seeing Lexi had put me in. Thankfully, it didn’t affect my game play, but it was infiltrating other parts of my life.

  I couldn’t help turning over what she’d said to me and what she was angling for.

  She wanted me back. She never wanted me gone. She was just discontent with my perceived slights toward her.

  A year ago, I would have jumped for joy. Hell, even six or seven months ago.

  But I wasn’t now. I was ready to move on. As much as I’d loved Lexi while married to her, looking back, I could see how we weren’t all that compatible.

  I was better off now.

  As I parked at Sunrise, I tried to push thoughts of Lexi away so I could focus on Zoe.

  I didn’t want my ex-wife to taint our date.

  All thoughts of Lexi fled my mind as I caught sight of Zoe walking toward me with a big smile on her face.

  Spring had finally sprung, so it was warm, and that was reflected in what she was wearing.

  It was some kind of sundress that hugged her breasts and upper body before flaring out.

  She looked hot as fuck.

  “Hey, you,” she said, smiling as she stopped a few feet away. “You ready for some amazing breakfast?”

  I smirked and nodded. “You’ve been here?”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, pulling the door open.

  I reached over her to hold it as she walked inside.

  “I grew up nearby, so this is a staple in my family. Any special occasion calls for a biscuit from here.”

  “I forgot you’re a local.”

  She laughed. “Most people do. I think it’s because there are so many people that come through because of the college and the team, that it’s easy to forget there are a lot of people that have been here since birth.”

  We joined the thankfully short line and soon had our order in hand as we walked to one of the booths lining the front wall.

  “This was one of the first places I came to when I moved to Somerville,” I told Zoe as I unwrapped my biscuit sandwich. “I went to Carolina and there’s one of these right down the road from campus. Nothing quite like a biscuit after a long night of drinking.”

  Zoe grinned. “I hear you on that, though, I didn’t discover that until I was old enough to drink.”

  She winked at me, and I laughed, shaking my head.

  “I was pretty excited when I saw the second location. Once I got settled, it was one of the first places I came to with—“

  I abruptly stopped talking, realizing what I was about to say.

  Zoe shot me a look. “What were you saying?”

  I cleared my throat and took a bite of my biscuit to delay having to say anything.

  But Zoe was still looking at me expectantly. So I knew I wouldn’t get out of answering.

  “I was going to say this was one of the first places I came with my ex-wife, Lexi.”

  Her eyes widened before she quickly dropped her gaze to the table.

  An awkward silence stretched between the two of us, and I hated myself for not thinking through what I was saying.

  I didn’t hide that I was married before, but bringing up my ex on our second date was definitely a faux pas.

  “Let’s just get it on the table,” Zoe said, looking back at me. “I know you were married and that she’s still in the area, right?”

  I nodded and picked up her thread. “Yeah. We met at Carolina our sophomore year.” I cleared my throat and took a sip of my drink before continuing. “We got married right after graduation because I was drafted, and we wanted to stay together.”

  I paused a beat before saying, “Our divorce was finalized just over six months ago. The night we met was right after, only a few weeks.”

  Her eyes widened. “That soon?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” I chuckled and shook my head. “It was so weird for me. I’d just signed divorce papers I was pissed about signing. I didn’t want to go out, but my friends forced me to. And I met you. And you were… someone I didn’t know I needed or wanted in my life.”

  Zoe grinned at me as I continued.

  “Then we didn’t see each other for a while. But you were on my mind. So when I saw you at the fundraiser again, I couldn’t help trying to talk to you. Even though you gave me attitude, you were just like I remembered. And that made you
stick out to me.”

  “Can I ask why?” Zoe asked.

  I sighed and studied Zoe as I considered how much I wanted to reveal about my marriage.

  “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to,” Zoe said.

  I shook my head. “No, I want to tell you. I know we’ve only known each other for a little while, but I want to tell you about my ex and our marriage because, as weird as it sounds, this feels right.”

  Zoe nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  I looked away from her quickly, getting my thoughts together and taking another bite of breakfast before deciding to lay it all out there for her to know.

  “We were married, happily, I thought, for around seven years. Just over a year ago, she handed me divorce papers and said she wanted out. Wouldn’t say why, just said it wasn’t working. Until I actually signed those papers, I wanted her back.”

  Zoe winced at my words and I wished I hadn’t said them, but they needed to be said. She needed to understand.

  “I don’t feel that way anymore,” I assured her. “I’m so over her, it isn’t funny.” I blew out a breath. “Going through the divorce, as much as it sucked at the time, really helped me to see what she was like when we were together.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She likes to play games to get what she wants.” I paused, considering if I wanted to mention the night before or not, but decided I didn’t want to start our relationship with secrets. “Take last night, for example. She was at the field and found me after the game when I was trying to head home.

  “She’s been calling me to talk, but I’m not taking her calls. This was her bid to get me to let her talk. She told me she thought we’d never go through with the divorce and that I’d realize it was only something to get me to notice that she was unhappy.”

  Zoe stared at me for a few moments. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded, and sipped my drink. “Yeah. Over a year after she first asked me for a divorce, she finally admitted all this.” I barked out a laugh. “It’s bullshit.”