As Henson got closer, the strong scent of burning wood grew heavier and filled his nose. A fluttery feeling swam around his stomach. Another aroma mingled with the burning wood smell, something earthy, like the way the forest smells after a hard rain. That deep, rich odor broke whatever spell Kam was under. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what that smell was exactly.
"Hi there." Henson held out his hand. "It's my pleasure to meet you, Kamden."
Up close Kam could see that Henson's eyes were a crystal-clear blue, and a rush of heat tickled at his neck. "Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you as well." Kam reached out and took Henson's hand. The moment their fingers connected, it was as if a spark shot through Kam. His grip tightened as if he'd been shocked by a live wire.
"Call me, PJ." Henson's hand tightened on Kam's.
Kam saw something flash over Henson's face. His eyes flared a bright blue for just an instant.
"Until you're on our roster, we don't have to be so formal."
"Yes, sir." Kam pulled his hand free from Henson's. He narrowed an eye and sniffed the air again. He did it in a subtle way. The smell coming off Henson, as nice as it was, was also different, not entirely human.
"Hello, PJ. It's nice to see you again." His father stepped forward and shook Henson's hand.
Kam couldn't take his eyes off the other man. He wasn't sure what Henson was but he was certain about one thing. Henson was a shifter.
"Nice to see you again as well, Caleb." Henson looked away from Kam to his father. "I'm really happy to meet Kamden finally." Henson glanced over at Kam.
"Me, too." Caleb patted Kam on the back. "I hope he decides to go here in the fall."
"Likewise." Henson crossed his arms over his massive chest and smiled over at Kam.
The weight of Henson's stare was just too much and Kam had to look away. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him. Being around other guys had never affected him like this before. Hell, he was straight as an arrow, but suddenly he was looking at this man, Henson and found him extremely attractive.
"Shall we start the tour?" Sean asked, looking over at them.
"Yes, sir." Kam walked alongside Sean, doing his best to keep his distance from Henson.
For the next forty minutes, Kam was shown around the baseball stadium and locker rooms and even got to look inside the training facility the players used that was attached to the stadium. Kam had to admit the school was impressive. Kam was really starting to regret not at least looking at Hemsworth before he chose to go out of state to attend college. The ball field was beautiful, and from what Henson and Sean had said they really took care of their athletes. They wanted to win games, yes, but not at the expense of the players getting hurt. Not a lot of schools were like that.
After the tour Henson excused himself. He had a coaches' meeting he needed to get to. Once he was gone, Kam was able to breathe. That strange butterfly feeling went away and he could take deep breaths without his dick trying to get hard. But along with that sudden relief came a bad case of longing. As crazy as it sounded, even to his own ears, he kind of missed Coach Henson. He ached with the need to be close to the older man.
"So, Kamden," Sean said once they were back in his office, "if you decide to transfer to Hemsworth from Louisiana to finish out your last two years of college, we'd love to have you. You can use the one-time transfer exception to transfer schools without losing a year of eligibility. We can also offer you a full scholarship. We don't typically do that for transfer students, but Coach Henson really went to bat for you with the administration office."
"Wow." His dad nudged Kam in the knee. "That's not a bad deal, Kam."
"It really isn't." Sean pulled out a folder and handed it over to Kam. "Kamden, I know your parents live here in town, but a dorm room is provided with the scholarship. Since you're coming in as a junior you can get a single and avoid having a roommate."
Kam schooled his features. He didn't want to give away how excited he was. He could transfer schools without losing playing time and still get a scholarship. It was ideal. Hemsworth had a great criminal justice program. If the baseball thing didn't work out, Kam wanted to become a cop just like his dad and his brother.
The only thing holding him back from saying yes was Henson. Kam couldn't explain his reaction to the other man, and it was driving him crazy. Kam had always been into women. He had never looked at another man in that way in his life, and now all he could think about was how Coach Henson's lips might feel pressed against his. It was maddening.
"Kam, what do you think?" Caleb asked.
"It sounds great." Kam sat straight in his chair. "But can I think about it? Just for a day or so?"
"Sure you can." Sean gave him a tight-lipped smile.
Kam stood up and shook the older man's hand. His father was talking to Sean about something going on in town, so Kam excused himself and headed back down to the baseball field. He remembered the way Lisa had led him earlier.
The sun shined bright above him and there was blue skies as far as the eye could see. Kam smiled as he looked out over the field. No matter what this strange feeling between him and Henson was, Kam knew he'd be going to school here in the fall. The opportunity to be at home with his family was too great not to attend school here.
"It beautiful out here, isn't it?"
The sound of Henson's voice met Kam's ears before his scent did. Kam felt his knees go a little wobbly, and he grabbed the railing that wrapped around the dugout to keep from falling over.
"Very." Kam willed his body to relax. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the metal railing, never bothering to turn around and look at the other man.
"Besides having a gorgeous stadium and state of the art equipment for our players, we're a really good team." Henson stepped up beside Kam and leaned over to copy his pose. "I have no doubt we'll make it to the College World Series again this year. We have a really strong team that I think you'd make a great addition to it."
Kam nodded his head still unable to meet the other man's gaze.
"And this is also a safe place for people like us. Don't you think?"
Kam's eyes widened, and now he did turn to look over at Henson. The man all but admitted to being something other than human.
"What are you?" Kam asked, his gaze darting all over Henson's face.
"Come play at Hemsworth and find out." Henson stood up, a cocky grin on his face. "It was nice meeting you, Kamden. I hope to see you again real soon." With that Henson walked away.
Kam stood there frozen in place watching Henson until he couldn't see the man anymore. Kam wasn't sure what was happening, and he no longer cared. He wasn't gay, and his silly infatuation with Henson would surely pass. All that mattered was that Hemsworth was a good school with an excellent baseball team.
Kam headed back inside, ready to give his answer to Sean. Playing baseball and getting a great education were what drove his decision-not Henson or finding out what his secrets might be. At least that was what Kam was telling himself.
Chapter Two
PJ walked as calmly as he could back down to his office. He was finding it extremely difficult. Kam's sweet scent lingered around his face like a bubble. The young man smelled like fresh, ripe oranges. PJ could get lost in that delicious aroma.
Once safely in his office, PJ shut and locked the door. He walked around and flopped down into his desk chair. He raised his hands to his face and rubbed at his tired eyes.
The moment PJ saw some game footage of Kamden Kline-Kemp he knew there was something about the guy. But it wasn't until he drove down to visit his brother in Florida did he actually get to see the kid play. When the game started and the Tigers took the field, PJ knew instantly why he felt this need to meet Kamden. They were mates.
PJ sat in the stands with more than a thousand people, and still Kam's sweet scent rose above all the others. It took everything in PJ to not push his way through the crowd and jump over the fence to get to Kam. And as he watched his young mate run across the field it was clear Kamden didn't have a single clue.
Being young and distracted granted Kamden a reprieve from scenting PJ out. He was a little hurt by that, but what else could he expect? Kamden had only just turned twenty and from what he could see he was as straight as they came. A gaggle of young ladies sat right near the dugout cheering Kamden on. Every time Kamden passed by he blew them kisses and waved. That pissed PJ off, but he had no control over what Kamden did. Kamden didn't know that they were mates, so he couldn't punish the man for his actions, at least not yet.