18
“She’s traveling with the fucking team.” Corey slammed in to Will’s living room an hour late without so much as a hello.
The she in question was tying him in knots. Somehow, even though she was dating another guy, he was still an ass for the Diablo incident. The incident she twisted in her head to be a big joke on her. That was so far from the truth he didn’t even know how to correct it. How did he tell her it was easier for him to use the anonymity of the game to let her see him? How did he tell her she was all he thought about while she was dating someone else?
“Hi Will, how was your swim meet?” Will mumbled. “Oh, it was crap.” The one-person conversation continued. “That’s too bad. So sorry I’m late. I should have called,” he confirmed to himself. “I agree, but life just got away from me.” Will sighed, not even looking at Corey.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Corey asked.
“Nothing,” Will assured him. “I ordered pizza. Since the clock’s about to start for Seattle, dinner was definitely off the table.”
“I really hope you have beer in the fridge,” Corey said and went for a cold one before coming back to the family room. “You know why she’s traveling with the team?”
“I’m going to assume we’re talking about Taran, because she’s the only thing that exists in your world anymore.” Will reached for the remote and smashed the mute button.
“Tillerson,” Corey ranted.
“Your new catcher?”
Corey slammed his beer on the coffee table. The liquid bubbled up over the lip of the bottle and cascaded down and onto the table. Will jumped up, returning with paper towels.
As Will mopped up beer, Corey continued. “Tillerson. He’s like twenty-two. And she’s dating him.”
“There is no state in which that’s illegal.” Will’s voice seemed annoyed, which was out of character for him. Normally, Will was pretty chill. Obviously, Taran dating Tim bothered him as well.
Corey glared across the room. First Danny, now Tillerson. He didn’t understand. If she wasn’t looking for a relationship, why in God’s name did she keep dating everyone and his brother?
“And according to her, the entire front office and the whole coaching staff approves of this relationship.” It had taken everything in Corey not to go after them when they sauntered off down the tunnel to have their romantic dinner.
Taran felt the lust that spewed out between the two of them; he knew she did. And as much as he watched the interaction between Tillerson and Taran, there was no heat. Nothing.
“That’s a weird thing for her to tell you. I mean, it’s a weird thing for her to even ask any of them.” Will’s brown hair fell down into his eyes, and he brushed it back. “Who does that?”
Corey had no idea what Will was saying.
“She was standing in the locker room, watching his every move like he was the most interesting creature on the planet. Rambling in some code about wallpaper.”
Will full-out laughed at that.
“What is so funny?” he spat out through gritted teeth.
“She’s writing a story about Tillerson. She’s not dating him.” Will shook his head.
Corey’s gaze snapped to Will’s. “How do you know that?”
“Oh, suddenly you hear me.” Will snorted.
“What do you mean? Of course I hear you. How do you know who her next story is about?” he asked his best friend again.
“I don’t know it’s her next story, but that is exactly what she told Clayton. She’s the wallpaper, meaning she didn’t want to be part of anything going on in Clayton’s world while she shadowed him. And truthfully, it makes more sense that she’d get front office approval to write a story on him. No one asks the team owner to date a player,” Will explained.
Corey’s chest expanded with a breath for the first time in almost two hours. The blinding anger vanished. “Writing a story,” he said, and he replayed everything that had happened in his mind. He laughed. Of course, she was writing a story about Tillerson. Every thirty days, she’d said. It was a monthly magazine. Corey glanced at the time. “Dude, sorry we don’t have time to eat. I got stuck at the stadium.”
Will nodded. “Pizza.” He pointed the tip of his beer bottle to the table.
“Oh, great!” Corey said, reaching for a slice. His mood had done a complete one eighty. “Why is the television muted? Don’t you want to hear Clayton get selected?”
Will looked annoyed, but he grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV. “So Taran’s traveling with the team?” The tone he used made it seem like Corey should be concerned about this.