Arranged love

I remain silent.

“Why won’t you just tell her how you feel?”

“What do you want me to say, Haven?” I lift my arms out wide, and then they drop to my sides.

“Is this about your pride?” she wonders.

“No.” I snort, falling down into a chair opposite her. My legs are too tired to stand anymore. “Truth.” I sigh. “Because if I tell her how I feel, then she’ll stay. And I won’t be like him.” I shake my head. “I won’t be like her father and keep her prisoner.” Once this shit with her family is handled, she and I will publicly announce that we’ve ended things. Then she will be free to go on and live her life how she wants.

“Jesus,” she hisses. “Is that what you think love is? A life sentence.”

I don’t answer her. Instead, I take a drink of my water.

“Being in love”-she pauses-“is like knowing the sun will rise tomorrow.” Looking at me, she sighs. “It’s nothing like a prison, Dillan. Mia has never known what it feels like to have someone love her. Not like the kind of love I know she wants. And don’t give me that shit where you say you don’t know how to love.” I open my mouth, but she continues, “Loving someone is putting them first.”

I flinch at her words; how close they are to what my father used to tell my brother and me.

“And you’ve already done that with Mia. So don’t be so hard on yourself, Bones.” She gives me a kind smile. “Definitely don’t ignore her. She’s been ignored all her life.”

Haven gets up and goes to walk out of the kitchen but stops. “Hope you don’t mind, but Mia set your study up for me to stay in tonight. So I hope you’re not home to work. I’m tired.”

“No,” I tell her, and with that, I hear her walk up the stairs to go to bed.

Taking another drink, I decide to blow off some steam. I need to think and free my mind. So instead of going to bed, I make my way to the basement.

Flipping the light on, I look over the four batting cages as the lights buzz. Baseball was my dream. At one point, I thought it would be my life, but deep down, a part of me knew that would never happen. Then I got injured and was told I’d never play again. My dreams of going pro were over.

My father was thrilled because he wanted me at Kingdom as much as possible. Honestly, I’m surprised he even allowed me to attend college. To him, it wasn’t needed. He had already established Kingdom to hand over to Grave and me, so why waste time with a degree?

Removing my shirt, I grab a bat that hangs on the wall and open up the cage. Stepping inside, I don’t even bother with gloves or a helmet. I never do.

I walk along the inside of the cage to the far end and turn on the pitching machine. Then I make my way back to the front and take my stance, ready to knock the fuck out of them.

MIA

I WAKE UP to see I’m alone in bed, but I’m not surprised because Dillan is avoiding me. Getting up, I use the restroom and check my cell to see if he’s called or texted. Nothing.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Sighing, I decide to make my way to the kitchen to grab a drink. I’m headed back to his bed when I see a door slightly open underneath the stairs that I haven’t seen before.

I tiptoe over to it and softly pull it open the rest of the way. A set of black carpeted stairs lead down to what I’m guessing is a basement. I see the lights are on. Thinking I should go back to bed, I hear a cracking noise.

Shutting the door behind me, I walk down the stairs to an open room. And just as I suspected, it’s a large open basement. It has black-painted walls and a gray epoxy floor with a high ceiling.

Dillan stands in what looks to be a rectangular cage that is made up of floor-to-ceiling netting. He holds a baseball bat in his hands while only dressed in a pair of jeans that sit low on his narrow hips.

A device at the other end shoots out a ball, and he swings at it. The crack noise follows as his bat makes contact with the ball, sending it flying across the cage.

He readjusts the bat, bends his knees, and another ball flies directly at him. Once again, he hits it, making a grunting sound.

I find a long bench against the wall underneath a rack of baseball bats and sit down.

He hasn’t noticed me. But I’m easy to ignore.

Another ball shoots out and he swings, missing this one. He lets out a curse under his breath as if he’s playing in a game and letting his team down.

The next ball is launched at him, and he swings, hitting it.

I watch the way his back muscles tighten in his stance. The way his jaw sharpens right before he swings. And the way his abs tense when he sucks in a breath.

The man is gorgeous. It’s so unfair how attracted I am to him, knowing that he’s just going to walk away from me once this is all over. That my time with him is limited, and who knows when that will be.

He hits one more and then stands to his full height. Dropping the bat to hang down by his side, he turns to exit the cage, and his eyes land on mine, making him pause.

I stay silent. What is there to say at this point? He’s avoiding me, and I’m stalking him. Seems pretty obvious to me who is the one obsessed here.

He clears his throat and exits the cage. Walking over to me, he hangs the bat up and grabs a towel off a shelf, wiping his sweaty face.

“Do you come down here often?” I break the awkward silence.

“Not as much as I’d like.” He surprises me by answering.

“It’s nice,” I say stupidly. It’s exactly what I’d expect a King to have.