Page 37 of Challenge Me

“Hey,” I said a little awkwardly.

“I’m a busy guy, Amir. What do you want?”

I removed a knife from my pocket and balanced it in my palm. The handle was sleek black, but the blade had an iridescent finish.

A smile curled his lips. “A duel?”

“No,” I scoffed. “I thought maybe it’d help.”

He flipped open the butterfly knife so smoothly that I figured he must’ve done it before. When he twirled it around, dancing it over his fingers, I decided to take a step back.

“Help with what?” he ventured, more subdued than usual.

I gestured at my eyes. He touched beneath his with a frown.

“And maybe consider it a peace offering,” I added. “For what I said the other day.”

“It didn’t bother me.”

“Sure, but it bothered me. I’m not a negative person, you know. You just . . .”

“Get on your nerves?”

I smiled. “I’ve been sort of defensive lately. Remember, I found you harboring a conniving journalist who wants to ruin my career.”

“Why does she hate you so much?”

I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my ankles. “I don’t know that she hates me. She’s always chased the worst stories. Maybe she hates her own life.”

“Or she hates gay people.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Sounds like a holy mission. Get ‘em all out of sports, because obviously, you don’t belong in such a manly profession.” He formed a cross with his fingers and made a show of stepping away from me. “Get back, demon. I don’t want to get infected the way Trav got you.”

A laugh escaped me, and it brought a softer smile to his face.

He held the closed knife against his chest. “Thank you.”

“Will it help?”

“I’m sleeping just fine.”

“Then give it back.” I held my hand out and lifted a taunting brow.

He flipped it open again and tapped the flat of the blade against his lip. “I don’t think so, baseball man. Stick to the bases and bullpens that you’re used to.”

“Are you saying I don’t know how to use it?”

“You held it like it was going to bite you.”

“A bat works just as well for home intruders.”

“Maybe, but I like it quick and dirty, not loud and crunchy.”

My nose scrunched up. “Thanks for that visual.”

“We all saw what happened to Glenn.”