Wild Card: A College Sports Romance (Rake Forge University Series Book 1)

by Ashley Munoz

  “Don’t hurt me, Decker. I may seem tough, but my heart is made of glass, the beautiful kind someone worked hard to create with the sand and memories of the most painful moments of my life. It will shatter if you don’t handle it right.”

  I leaned into her touch, staring into her green gaze. I felt a little pinch in my chest at the things I was still holding back from her, but we had to take all this in stages, one step at a time.

  If I told her what I was hiding from her all at once, she wouldn’t even give me a shot. No, I needed to convince her I’d keep her safe, her and her heart. I might not have been perfect, but I’d be consistent.

  Instead of replying with words, I leaned down and carefully pressed my lips to hers. I wouldn’t hurt her, not when doing so would kill me in the process.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “You need to square your shoulders.” Decker stared down at me from under the bill of his Devils hat. He stood on the white rectangle in the middle of the dirt mound, gripping a baseball in his left hand.

  I eyed the size of the ball and lowered my shoulders.

  “Wouldn’t it make more sense to start me off on a softball, or maybe a tennis ball?” I winced at the overhanging sun, wishing there were a few trees around the field. Why weren’t there trees? How fun would that be to run and play ball through a fun forest? These guys were missing out on an awesome opportunity.

  I could see the smirk ghost along Decker’s jaw. He wore jeans and one of those baseball shirts like from The Sandlot. In fact, this whole look with a pair of high-top Converse looked like one of those cute kids all grown up. It had been two weeks since that night in his bedroom when I asked him to be careful with my heart and he promised me he would.

  Well, he hadn’t promised, exactly, but he had kissed me. Then he kept kissing me. I told him we weren’t having sex, because I honestly wasn’t ready to. I needed to know he was serious about me…about us. He did however wake me up with his head between my thighs and his teeth raking over my thong. I surrendered to an early morning orgasm courtesy of his expert tongue, and when he was ready to finish, he mentioned something about a fantasy and asked that I sit on my knees while holding my breasts together so he could come on my chest. Looking up into those eyes blazing with lust and need while he fisted that throbbing erection…it was a sight I’d never forget.

  There was something so insatiable about his hunger for me that lit me up. I’d never craved someone like I craved him. I’d never woken up wishing I were still in bed with someone, never nearly burst at the seams when someone showed up at my door or asked if I wanted to learn how to play baseball. This was all new and terrifying, but I loved it and didn’t want it to end.

  “You’ll do fine with the baseball, just remember to keep your eye on it. I’ll go really slow.” Decker brought my mind out of the gutter and back to the lesson he was trying to give.

  I did as he said, thankful Juan and Hillary weren’t here to see this. They’d never let me live it down.

  I watched as he brought his knee up in that traditional pitcher stance and, true to his word, lightly tossed the ball toward the plate I was hovering over.

  I watched it sail toward me, and as it got closer, I became increasingly nervous. Regardless of how slowly it moved, it was still headed straight for me. Nerves rattled my insides as I closed my eyes tight and swung with all my might.

  “Babe,” Decker droned in irritation.

  I opened my eyes. “Did I do it again?”

  “Yes, you closed your eyes again. You have to keep them open.” He ran over to grab the ball even though it was closer to me.

  “Maybe we should switch spots?” I offered, but he only swatted my ass, smirking while he ran back to his perch on the mound.

  We repeated this process a few more times over the hour before he finally gave up in need of sustenance. On our way from the field, I grabbed my purse and checked my cell. There was another text lingering on my screen, like there had been a few times in the last week. I’d responded to each of them, but as time went on, it was starting to feel strange that he was still doing it.

  Elias: Party girl, when you coming back to watch me practice?

  That was one I hadn’t responded to yet because it felt flirty.

  Elias: We’re having a team party this Friday night, want to come and check it out?

  I hadn’t brought up my article to Elias yet. We hadn’t really talked at all since that night we went out. Everything with Decker had felt like such a whirlwind, and I was merely responding to texts but wasn’t encouraging any future hangouts or anything. That said, here was this golden opportunity to attend a card game, right as I was on the tail end of finalizing my article. I would be an idiot to pass up the chance to go with a guide.

  Biting my nail, I turned to Decker and decided to bring it up. We hadn’t officially given each other a label, but we’d made confessions in his bedroom about him falling and me asking him not to break my heart. That had to essentially mean we were dating, right? He called me babe now and always tucked his hand in my back pocket when we walked or looked at books at the bookshop, plus we were physical in some capacity every single day. His mouth was either devouring my pussy or attached to one of my breasts, and I in turn had essentially turned into a Hoover vacuum with how frequently I was going down on him. I mean, that was definitely relationship material…borderline serious relationship material.

  Right?

  “Hey, so I wanted to talk about something with you…but I wasn’t sure how,” I hedged, keeping my eyes on the ground while we walked. His arm hung over my shoulders, and my arm was around his waist. It was one of my favorite positions.

  “Oh yeah?” He tugged on the ends of my hair before shoving that hand in my back pocket.

  “Um…yeah, so…” God, what if he ended things because I was still talking to Elias? No, I would not be in that sort of relationship. I’d never done anything romantic with Elias, and I could be friends with him if I wanted to, especially since Decker still had never explained their past to me.

  “Here.” I handed him my phone with the text still on it.

  He used his free hand to shove the bag of equipment higher on his shoulder before accepting my phone.

  After a few seconds of him reading, he handed it back.

  “So, you want to go to the game, to get notes for the story…that it?”

  I looked up, feeling hopeful. “Yes, exactly.”

  His gaze stayed fixed on the parking lot as we approached it. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Surely it wasn’t that easy for him to let me go with—

  “I’ll take you.”

  He smiled down at me with mischief stamped across his face. Those delicious lips slung to the side in a sexy smile, and all I could do was gape because he was handsome. Sometimes it hurt to look at him and believe he actually liked me, believe he was falling for me.

  “You’ll take me?”

  “Yeah…I mean, I can take you. No need to deal with Elias anymore. Actually…you know…” He cleared his throat, setting the equipment down. “At all.”

  I slowed my walk, spinning to face him as he settled items in the back of his truck.

  “So, I can’t be friends with Elias anymore?”

  “I just don’t see why you need to be. I can answer your questions.” He shrugged again, walking toward his door. I walked to mine, opening it and climbing inside. Starting the engine, he began backing up while I waited for him to answer me. “I won’t tell you what to do.”

  Okay…that was vague, but I supposed it was as good as I was going to get. I waited for him to take this opening and explain what had happened or tell me why he didn’t like Elias, but he didn’t. I tried not to care, but hurt leaked through my chest just the same.

  “So, what’s after graduation?” he suddenly asked while sipping on his soda. We’d stopped at one of those make-your-own-pizza places. He’d taken me on several dates over the past two weeks, but I loved that he didn’t insist on paying
for each one. I knew he didn’t have a lot of extra income from bits and pieces of conversations I had picked up on between Kyle and his mom. Being the daughter of a multi-millionaire, it was hard for me not to offer to cover everything. Still, I liked that he seemed okay with our balance.

  I sipped my lemonade and began explaining about Kline Global.

  “An internship? Gotta be honest, I didn’t see that coming.” He laughed, jumping up to grab our orders.

  Once he returned and we started on our pizzas, I eyed him suspiciously. “Did you assume I’d work for my dad?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. Isn’t Taylor getting a New York spot or something?”

  I continued to chew, trying to tamp down the confusion swirling in my mind. How did he know that…and how did I not know that? Was Taylor considering a spot in New York? What about… Now that I took a second to think about it, she hadn’t shared a desire to pursue anything after graduation except a trip around the Caribbean.

  “I don’t know,” I finally replied, trying to keep the mood light, but it was obvious that I needed to talk to my stepsister. We’d been out of sync since I started dating Decker. I’d barely been home, or I was tucked away in my room working on finals and my article. Some nights I spent over at his apartment, and other nights he’d be in my bed by the time I got home from the library.

  “What about you?” I returned the question.

  “Me?” He stalled, sipping his drink again. “I don’t know…I think I might take over my dad’s company. It’s been dormant for over a year, but nothing some good marketing can’t help.”

  “What about baseball? Not only going after it…I guess, professionally, but even if that doesn’t happen, isn’t that the entire point of being a Devil? Playing, having a good word put in for you, etc.?”

  I had gathered enough intel about the Devils that I now understood the draw of being part of an organization of its caliber. Their pockets had pockets, and their references were pure gold. Playing for them was literally like having a winning lottery ticket.

  Decker chewed, sipped his drink, and wiped his hands before he bracketed his plate with his arms.

  “I mean, that used to be my dream.” He shrugged like it was nothing. “But then Dad died, and I got hurt. I just…I don’t know, I guess I just set those dreams aside while I make sure my mom doesn’t lose her house.”

  My eyebrows caved as I thought over what he’d said, my heart aching to help.

  “Is she pretty far behind, or what’s going on with it?” I hoped it wasn’t rude to pry, but I had to know.

  His tense jaw told me maybe I had overstepped with my questioning.

  “It just all went to hell after Dad’s funeral, and the medical costs…we got hit by bill after bill, and instead of selling, my mom just let them bury her.”

  I understood that. Grief was too painful all on its own; add in having to give up the last piece of you that felt like the person you lost, and it would be too much at once.

  “It’s only been a year?” I carefully asked, softening my tone. I’d lost my mother at ten and had years to acclimate to her absence, but it still hurt.

  Decker nodded. “A little over.”

  Suddenly he stood, grabbing his garbage, effectively ending our conversation.

  “You done with this?” he asked kindly, like we were just going to push past the topic. I knew he needed to, so I smiled and let him take our things, all while secretly wishing there was a way I could ease some of his burden and he’d trust me enough to let me.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Did you grab me any donuts from that one spot?” Marcus asked while wiping his face and neck with a towel. He’d just run eight miles and was curious about donuts. He would be my best friend for that reason alone, aside from being a kickass roommate and all around decent human.

  I pulled the small bag out of my bag and tossed it over to him.

  “Sweet.”

  He chewed a few bites while I tried not to shift uncomfortably. The school gym was shitty in comparison to our team workout facility, but sometimes it was just easier to pop in over here versus driving across campus. Marcus and I had both been given special release to live outside of the team house. He’d never told me exactly what provisions he was allowed to leave on, saying it wasn’t his story to tell, but I was grateful to have a roommate who understood the pressures of being on that team.

  “So, how did the appointment go?”

  I resisted the urge to run my hands through my hair and let out an annoyed sigh. My day had been fucking long as ever.

  “Good. Really good actually.”

  “Will they let her refinance?” he asked hesitantly.

  I nodded my head. “It almost seemed like they weren’t going to at first, but I don’t know. Someone made a call and an assessor is going out to the house next week, but they gave her the green light.” It felt like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew it didn’t fix all the problems, but it was a step in the right direction. “Either way it will buy her time. I’ll be graduated by then, and I can move back home, maybe take up Dad’s landscaping business.”

  I considered again the idea of doing that instead of pursuing something that might make me more money, or even baseball. But I’d been injured for over a year, so there were no scouts looking at me; I’d be lucky to land in Triple-A ball, if anything, but I wasn’t sure that was even something I wanted anymore. The more I thought of taking over my dad’s business and settling down, the more calm I became. That had to point toward something, right?

  Marcus shook his head, snapping his jaw closed. “You don’t want to do that, man. I know it. I hate that you’re just accepting that you can’t play ball. How did your last physical therapy appointment go?”

  I let out a heavy sigh, feeling a little too mothered by him. “It went fine.” I was on the cusp of being completely finished with therapy appointments. Just a few more months.

  “Does he think you can play professionally?” Marcus sounded hopeful, and if I had been a better friend, I’d have felt happy in that hope. I’d have been grateful for a friend who cared about me the way he did. I also wouldn’t have lied to him.

  I shrugged, hands deep in my pockets. “They said it’s too soon to tell.”

  The way his head lowered and the pensive look on his face told me he didn’t believe me.

  “What about your other therapist?” He grabbed his water bottle and took a large drink, keeping his calculating gaze on me.

  He knew I wasn’t telling my therapist shit. Why even bother asking?

  “Good…yeah.” I nodded. “Real good.”

  “So, you talked to your therapist about the game then?”

  “Yeah. She knows I can’t pitch.”

  “I’m not talking about baseball, man—I’m talking about the card game, and Mallory. There’s another game this Friday night.”

  “I know. I heard about it.” I glanced around, curious who else might be listening to our conversation. There was always someone listening.

  “The fact that Elias keeps having meetings while you can’t attend or moving them so they’re not anywhere near the team house is total bullshit. I know Coach doesn’t know he’s doing that.” He scoffed, rubbing his chin.

  “You know I don’t care. I don’t want to go anyway, but Mallory wants to.” Marcus had met her a few times, and he liked her, but he was also wary of her because she was technically a reporter.

  “Mallory wants to go?” He reared back like he was shocked.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “You mean you don’t know?” He stood, watching me like I was a zoo exhibit.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  He let out a sigh and rubbed his neck. “I would have said something, but you keep going over to her house. I haven’t seen you in days.”

  “Just tell me, Marcus.” I was getting irritated that he wouldn’t just cut to the chase.

  “It’s been leaked she was
the one in that room instead of Taylor Beck. It’s also been leaked that she’s writing an article about the team.”

  My stomach dropped out. If that were true…if they knew it was Mallory, then…

  “Who else knows?”

  Marcus watched me for a second before shaking his head. “Everyone knows, man. They know she’s after the story she isn’t authorized to write. They’re going to shut her down.”

  My mind raced while I tore through the options available to me. I didn’t think they’d hurt her, but they would make it to where she couldn’t write her article. Fuck. I had to try to fix this.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Why do you think they wanted us here so early if they’re not even here?” Taylor asked incredulously.

  It was early, and my dad and Jackie still hadn’t come out to the veranda to start brunch with us. We usually tried to get together every Sunday, but the previous weekend hadn’t worked for them because they’d taken a quick trip to the Keys. Now it was Friday and we were here at eight in the morning. Both of us had classes later, although I didn’t know if Taylor had been going to hers. Every time I was home, she seemed like she was there too…even when she should have been in a class.

  It was odd.

  “I don’t know. His event thing is right around the corner…we could have just postponed,” I said, leaning forward to sip my mimosa.

  “Exactly!” Taylor jutted her hands out in front of her like I’d just said exactly what was in her head.

  “Do you have a date?” It was a topic I’d been trying to avoid since we’d never talked about that photo she had taken with Decker that night, or the fact that I’d made it seem like he was into her then suddenly he wasn’t.

  Taylor sipped her drink, cautiously eyeing me over the brim of the flute. “I don’t know…I mean, I was going to ask Decker, but then you seem to be having lots of orgasms with him, so I don’t know.” She shrugged like it was no big deal that she heard me having orgasms through the wall. My face burned at the idea that she had heard me.