Spring Training by Stacey Lynn Rhodes

you have to babysit me or something.” Emery’s trademark frustration with Alex was evident on his face. Honestly, it would piss her off sometimes if she didn’t know that Emery would be the first to heatedly defend Alex against anyone else.
    “That’s not it at all. I’ll talk to him,” she soothed and flapped her hands at him. “Go—shower. Dinner’s ready anytime.”
    “Awesome!” He disappeared down the hall and less than ten seconds later the shower could be heard.
    Teri turned to face Aaron. “Hey there.”
    “Hi.”
    The flat greeting was a bit out of character, but she didn’t know him well enough to call him on it, so she proceeded as though she hadn’t noticed a difference. “Good to see you. Um, I made dinner.”
    “Thanks, but I told you you didn’t have to do that.”
    Teri began to get irritated by the abrupt change. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I thought it would be nice to have dinner in tonight. Plus I enjoy cooking for more than just myself. I sort of miss it now that I’m an empty nester.”
    “So you don’t cook for Alex?”
    She frowned. “Well, sometimes, maybe a couple of times a week usually, but our schedules don’t always coincide, especially this time of year. It’s been a while.”
    “Is Alex another ballplayer then?”
    It might have been her imagination, but that came across with almost a sneer. She had to smile a bit, though, since the thought of Alex playing baseball was beyond humorous. The boys couldn’t be more different in that respect.
    “No, he’s doing tax—”
    Aaron cut her off, “Accountant. Smart guy instead of a dumb jock. I get it. No need to continue.”
    The interruption was the last straw. “What the hell is your problem?” she demanded. “How could you think that I of all people think jocks are dumb? Is your blood sugar low? Or are you always just an asshole after practice?”
    “How am I being an asshole? Because I don’t want to hear you go on about Alex doing taxes?” The very reasonable tone of his voice was negated by the glare he sent her way.
    “I can’t believe this! Now you’re yelling at me for answering a simple question? I can’t believe I stayed here for you!”
    “I never asked you to. And I’m not the one raising my voice.”
    She pressed her lips together. That had come out a bit loudly, and the last thing she wanted was for Emery to hear her screeching at Aaron…even if he deserved it a bit.
    Teri tried to put herself in Aaron’s shoes. Maybe she’d been a mom too long. She didn’t think she was like some parents who went on and on about their kids’ accomplishments, but it might seem that way to a young man who’d never had children. She swallowed her anger and tried to take the high road, even though what he’d said about not asking her to stay stung.
    “My apologies for yelling. You’re right—you never raised your voice. But obviously something has you upset with me, and I think I know what it is. I just want to get along until I go tomorrow, so I’ll watch what I say. Okay?”
     
    Aaron couldn’t believe how sideways the conversation had gone, but he’d be damned if he’d sit there and watch Teri go all soft in the eyes about another man—someone who was there in her real life, someone she’d be returning to tomorrow.
    It made him a bit queasy to consider how quickly he’d grown attached to Teri.
    Stupid .
    Stupid to feel jealous after such a short time and no words about the future, and stupid to still be standing there, sweaty and dirty from practice while he made things worse with his stupid mouth.
    He’d never been very good at arguing. To say that his parents’ relationship was dysfunctional was an understatement. His father dictated, and his mother kowtowed. No deviation was permitted.
    Aaron swallowed as he considered that perhaps he was trying to fit himself and Teri into that box. He wouldn’t do that, would he? Not knowingly, but who knew? It wasn’t like he knew