The Sweet Spot (All About the Diamond #1)

by Naomi Springthorp

  “Are you saying you want us to be exclusive? Like you’re my boyfriend?” I question, looking like a teenager.

  “Yes, I guess I am,” he confirms.

  “That might be okay,” I say with a huge grin. I need to break up with my baseball fantasy boyfriend. It seems he’s become real.

  “Don’t you get it? I love having you in the stadium during games. I love hearing you yelling and cheering for me. I love that I’m not going home to my empty apartment, I’m going home with you. You won’t be on the road trip with me. You won’t be in the stadium. I won’t be able to hear you cheering for me. I’ll be alone in a hotel room. I won’t wake up to find you next to me, saying sweet things in your sleep. I won’t start my day with the taste of you on my lips or the feel of your silky skin under my hands. Damn it! You’re not the only one in this!”

  “You’re the only woman I can be a baseball player with and you want to be with me for me. I want to be a baseball player when I’m with you and nothing else. You’re making me fucking crazy!”

  “I need to go for a run,” he says and goes to change.

  “You just said we shouldn’t waste the time we have tonight. Use me to release the frustration,” I say demanding.

  He walks back to me, burning with flames in his eyes and heat radiating off his body. He takes complete control immediately. His strong hands gripping me tightly, his mouth claiming me like never before. I tingle down to my toes and the heat builds in my happy places. He stops and searches my eyes, unsure. As if, his plan changed and he has no ability to keep his original course or even chart a new one. Some other force is influencing him and he can’t deny it’s powerful requests. He wants me and he wants me now, but it’s different. He needs me. He says more with his hands on my body than any words could convey. Claiming me with his lips, his hands move on me, undressing me with a light touch. He guides me mindlessly to the bed and there are no words for his body on top of my nakedness. He removes his pants as his kiss grows more demanding. His tongue dives deeper into my mouth. His passionate caresses. His body a pure ball of fire. I want him so bad it’s unbelievable. He drags his rock solid cock across my opening, and he releases some type of caveman response to my wet heat against my lips. He very slowly slides in until he’s buried all the way inside me. I shudder, whimper, not of my own doing and he stops to enjoy the moment. Continuing to claim me with his mouth while we’re one, he starts to move slowly on top of me. His eyes closed, fully invested in our connection, our smooth skin moving against each other, the heat between us that neither of us seem to be in control of. He pulls his lips away from mine and watches me with the happiest face I’ve ever seen, as he strokes slowly, deeply, deliberately, without growing intensity. His forehead leans against mine, his breath is uneven and sends tingles down my neck as each breath reaches my skin. The slow sensual connection has taken over. Each stroke pulling us closer. My hands on his back, tracing the definition of his muscles up to his shoulders. He puts his arms around my shoulders and holds me tight to his chest. His heart beats strong and steady. He sits back on his feet, pulling me with him and continuing the pace, guiding my hips with his hands. My mouth is at his neck and I can’t help myself, I lick him across his collarbone, nibbling along the way. My hands on his head playing with his short hair and rubbing his head. The fire between us is an inferno waiting for the house to collapse.

  “Sherry, tell me there’s only me,” he says softly.

  “It’s only you, Rick,” I reply trying to find my voice.

  “More, tell me more,” he requests out of breath.

  “You're the only man that’s ever been in my bed. I’ve never brought anyone else home with me.” I admit without thinking. “No one has been inside me for years except you—even in my dreams,” man I need to shut up. I start to wonder what I say when I’m asleep if I say this when I’m awake. But forget it and blame it on the man currently making love to me for making me brainless. Stop and listen to your thoughts, Sherry! My brain tries to get my attention. Deeper than you thought? Duh, you’re in love with this guy and he’s going to leave! Your dream man may be real, but real life comes with it and he’ll leave taking your heart with him. I ignore my brain because I don’t want to give him up. I want this. I want this moment. He’s only going to leave for work. He said he’s not leaving me.

  “Oh, Sherry. I love the way you feel on me. Your every shudder and shake is driving me crazy. I’m losing myself.” He says low and raspy. “I love your hands on me.”

  I search for his eyes and reach up to kiss his lips. We close our eyes as our lips meet and I see stars. Stars shining everywhere against a dark night, shooting stars flying through the background. Our kiss breaks. We both cry out as we lean on each other and whisper to each other.

  “Never think I don’t need you,” he rasps sincerely.

  “I’ll always be here for you. Only you,” I promise.

  “Only you,” he repeats to me as he lays me down. He bends over me, continuing to slide in and out of me, and absorbing every orgasmic pulse as we ride it out together until we are no longer able.

  This was different. We went to bed and he held me close like he has the other nights. There were no words, but the noise from all the thinking was deafening.

  Chapter Twelve

  Rick wakes me by kissing my neck and running his hands over my naked body. I open my eyes to see the daylight of early morning clouded by marine layer out my window. He rolls me to my back and disappears under the blanket to play with my body. He starts at my breasts, squeezing, licking and sucking them into his mouth.

  “You said no sex on a game day,” I remind him.

  “I’m a rule breaker when it comes to being away from you for the next ten days,” I hear mumbled under the blanket.

  Rules are made to be broken, so who am I to argue? I enjoy the attention he’s giving me. Loving his hands and tongue on me, in me, everywhere. He kisses me from my breasts down my side, all the way down the outside of my thigh and leg to my toes. Repeats the process on my other side, then starts alternating from right leg to left leg kissing his way up the inside of my legs. He gets to my knees and stops to lick and suck. Continuing he drags his tongue up the inside of my thigh, stopping to kiss me there just before he reaches my promised land. Licking and sucking on the uppermost part of my inner thigh. Driving me up the freaking wall with sensation. He cradles my ass in his hands, lifting me for his mouth to pleasure. His mouth on me is exquisite, kissing, licking, sucking my clit. His tongue delving inside me, tasting my wetness. He slides a finger inside me, and bends it at the knuckle to reach the perfect counter point to his tongue on my clit and I combust hard without warning, screaming out his name. He peeks out from under the blanket and puts his lips on my neck, sucking lightly as he enters me, filling me immediately. I’m already on the edge of a second explosion when he starts to move, dragging his cock across my clit with each stroke in and out. Harder and faster with each pass, I come over and over. No longer in control and his to play with, he tosses the blanket to the side and lifts my legs up, then pushes them back so my feet are at my ears. Allowing him to push in deeper than ever before. Once he’s there he pounds into me hard, separating my legs for as much access as possible. His balls start to smack against me and he bends me even further. He’s so deep with each stroke, I’m uncontrollably releasing cries of pleasure every time he pounds into me. I’m grasping at the bed with my fingers wrapped in the sheet, wanting to reach for him and unable to move. He circles my sensitive nub and sends me skittering into darkness. He falls over the edge, my body pulling him with me. I hear him call out my name and there’s only darkness.

  The alarm goes off a couple hours later and I never open my eyes.

  “Babe, I need to get to the stadium early. I’ll miss you while I’m gone and I’ll be listening for you to cheer for me today. Don’t get up. Thank you for the best sex ever. I’ll call you tonight,” he whispers. I smile and he kisses my cheek. Then he was gone.


  I don’t want to face it, so I stay in bed and sleep until I smell coffee.

  When I finally get up Sunday morning, Rick had already left for the stadium. I find an envelope with my name on it and a box left next to my “Everything is better at the beach” coffee mug. I open the envelope to find a card with a modern art style palm tree and a hula girl on the front. Inside the card was preprinted simply “Aloha” and he had written:

  Sherry,

  Aloha means hello, goodbye and love. I hope you know which definition I have in mind. It’s get-away day and I’m not wanting to leave, but it’s my job. I want to take a trip with my woman in the off season, something for us to look forward to being just us. I’m thinking somewhere with a beach for maybe two weeks. I think you know a travel agent that can take care of this for me? I will do anything to make my girl happy, so whatever she wants goes. I prefer a resort with room service and a gym. I hope you like this small gift and don’t forget me while I’m on the road.

  Love,

  Rick

  The small square box was simply a white cardboard gift box with a bow stuck to the top. I open the box to find a baseball bracelet made with baseball stitching on baseball leather. I’ve always loved those when I see them at the stadium. As I take it out of the box, I notice he has handwritten on the inside of the bracelet, a hand personalized inscription. It’s the two lines from “Thinking Out Loud” that confess his love. I scream out in joy and tears instantly run down my face. I love that he quoted Ed Sheeran—it must be our song.

  I reread the note and he’s planning on spending time during the off season with me, he’s not leaving. And, I’m going to Hawaii for two weeks with my Seno. I can’t wait to plan the trip! He’s going to love it as much as I love him! Stop! Hold the phone! Back that up! I love him?

  I jump in the shower, get ready as quick as I can, throw on my Seno jersey, fasten my new bracelet around my wrist and head to the stadium. The trolley is pretty empty because I’m going earlier than most of the crowd, but that doesn’t keep it from feeling like it’s taking forever to get there. I’m at the gate waiting to get in when it opens. I check the field and the bullpen to see if Rick is out, but it’s Sunday and there’s no batting practice on the field. I make my way to the first base wall where the players sign autographs, hoping he’ll notice me there when he comes out to warm up the pitcher. He never signs autographs at the wall. He’s all business before the game. But, it’s the autograph wall or waiting in the stands next to the bullpen and I can’t put my hands on him through the chain link fence of the bullpen.

  A few minutes go by and the players start coming out to stretch. Saben walks up to the wall to sign autographs. I check to make sure Rick is in the lineup today, and he is. Saben gawks at me oddly when I don’t want his autograph. The starting pitcher, Josh Kranston, walks out of the dugout and straight toward the bullpen. A couple more of the players not in the starting lineup today come over to the wall to sign autographs. Finally, Rick comes out of the dugout focused on his pitcher who’s stretching outside the bullpen. He didn’t turn and notice me there, so I yell his name—but he doesn’t turn around and why would he? Fans do this every game.

  “Rick! I love you!” I yell at the field. He keeps walking toward the bullpen, but the rookie is there for the assist yet again. Cross runs to catch up with Seno as he approaches second base, they exchange words and he points at me standing at the wall. Rick turns and runs toward me.

  He reaches for me at the wall and says, “Rook says you were yelling “I love you” to me. Is that true?” His face is twisted up.

  “Yes. I love you.”

  “I love you, too…” I cut him off and see his smile climb into his eyes.

  “Now, go get to work,” Before he runs to the bullpen, he grabs my face with both hands and plants a kiss on me like no other. At least three times more potent than his don’t-forget-me kiss. There’s hooting and hollering around me, from the players stretching on the field and from my peeps in my seating section. Apparently, the stadium had started to fill up while I was on my mission.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The game was great! Nothing better than a sweep! Though, I must admit the details are fuzzy. My brain may be sex-fried or is there such thing as a sex hangover? Anyway, Seno went after one of the opposing players who was trying to steal home, doing his best imitation of dodge ball on the base path and tagged him out. A fantastic play, they replayed it on the big screen three times. Rick also hit a double, getting two RBIs, walked and grounded out to short. Martin was a triple short of a cycle and the rook, Cross, hit a 2 run homer as well as stealing second base and then third base when the catcher tried to throw him out and ended up airmailing the ball to center field. The final score was 7-2 Seals.

  The cleaning crew at the stadium gets into it and supports the team when they get a sweep. Awesome to see them wandering through the crowds of people as they leave the stadium with brooms, sweeping up in front of all the fans for the visiting and losing team.

  I walk down by the dugout to watch Hannah do her on field interviews. She’s got Cross and Martin to interview today. Seno sees me and waves me closer to the dugout surrounded by a sea of people trying to get autographs. He tosses me a ball and gets this dirty grin on his face. The ball has a message scribbled on it:

  Meet me at 317 in twenty minutes. Love—R

  I give him the okay sign and he disappears into the locker room.

  I watch the interviews, and hoot and holler for them both, especially the rookie. Cross waves and walks over to me when he’s done with his interview. He reaches up to the stands and gives me a big hug. “Great work today, kid!” I say to him encouragingly. “Soon all the other teams will be scared to have you on the bases.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate the support.” He looks around and continues, “Is what’s going on with you and Seno real? It’s so quick.”

  “Yes, it’s real. It’s scary because it is so quick. I guess when it’s right, it’s right. Thank you for getting him to go out last weekend. It seems like so much longer than a week.” There I go rattling on again. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

  “He looked at me like I was crazy when I told him you were yelling at him pregame. Like you’d never say those words to him and then after he basically attacked you at the wall, he was walking around like the king of the field,” he laughs.

  We parted ways and I went to the elevator, trying to make my way to the top deck and section 317. I press the call button and the elevator is already going up. The door opens and looking back at me is Rick. I step into the elevator and it continues to go up. Rick pulls the stop button and the elevator stops between floors, only us in the elevator.

  “I want to talk to you before I leave for the road trip, but I have a thing about elevators…” his words drift off as he grabs me and holds me against the wall of the elevator with his body, kissing me hard and full of desire. He stops kissing me and holds me close, whispering in my ear, “I love you, Sherry. I’ve never said that to another woman. I don’t want to be with any other women, only you.”

  “You make me crazy happy and I’m scared of how much I need you. I only want to be with you. I love you, Rick,” I listen to the words come out of my mouth and can’t believe they’re mine. I never thought I’d be in this place. In love. Let alone needing a man or experiencing my fantasy in real life. Right there in the elevator I start to sing to him. The lines from “Thinking Out Loud” that resonate with me because love is mysterious and I’ll never forget the first touch of his hand or kissing under the stars on the bleachers at the Embarcadero.

  He cuts me off with his hands and lips on me, dancing in the elevator to the song running through my head. Our song. “I don’t have much time and I don’t want your last memory of me to be sex. Please know we’re more than that, you're special to me and I never want to hurt you.” He releases the elevator and walks me out of the stadium.

  Tears roll down my face because I’m such a fucking g
irl and I can’t help it. I don’t want him to leave and he has to for work, so my team can keep winning. I don’t want to be upset. I don’t want to be a whiny girl and I definitely don’t want him to see me like this, but it’s too late. His face twists at the sight of my tears streaming down my face. It’s not what I want him to remember. I’m independent and don’t need anyone, or maybe didn’t need anyone until him. He puts his arms around me one last time and squeezes me tight.

  He whispers in my ear, “It’ll be okay. I promise. I’ll be back. I’ll call you when I get to the hotel tonight. I love you, baby.” He gives me a quick kiss on the forehead and turns to run back to the clubhouse before they send the hounds out to hunt for him.

  The trolley is pretty much empty on my way home. At least that’s in my favor, less people to witness me blubbering like an idiot.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I get home and throw myself into my work. It’s Sunday, but I’m behind due to being distracted by a certain baseball player. I check my emails, my social media and phone messages. Everything is going smooth. I do have a few clients to plan vacation options for, including my new client the professional baseball player who wants to take his woman on a trip for a couple weeks during the off season. Whatever his woman wants she gets, he said. I’ll start with trip options for that vacation. I research the locations I want to go to and ultimately end up with a couple different options, both Hawaii. I type up an email and send it out to him:

  Mr. Seno,