As he showered and got dressed slower than he normally would when he knew he’d be seeing Addison after the game, something suddenly came to him. AJ was notorious for not remembering small details, so it didn’t surprise him that he hadn’t even thought of this.
In one of his long Skype conversations with Addison, they’d talked about their love-life history. Addison spoke of the brief time she’d dated before she’d gotten pregnant, and then her love life sort of went dormant for years. She said because of her experience dating baseball players and because she knew what many of them were like she’d sworn off them. Years later she had met other guys within the industry because of her dad, not necessarily players, but she said even that ended when she moved to Chicago and away from her dad’s connections. She’d also explained why she’d been so chummy that first day with so many of the players. She knew several of them from way back in their minor league years when her dad was still coaching there. AJ had let it go and not bothered mentioning she seemed too friendly with them.
She hadn’t been specific about any of the ones she’d dated. Since she’d told him she hadn’t dated anyone one currently on his team, AJ hadn’t asked. After envisioning her with other guys after that conversation was done, he’d told her he didn’t care to hear about the details, so she’d spared him. But was it possible she’d dated this guy and now here she looked so damn happy to see him again? So happy she’d forgotten all about AJ? The visual of how infuriatingly chummy the two seemed, had him clenching his teeth even harder.
Speeding up now because he was suddenly even more anxious to speak with her, he threw on his jeans and shirt and finished getting ready. Thoughts of how they’d planned out tonight only pissed him off even more. Normally, her parents went to dinner before heading back to their hotel after the games. Addison usually accompanied them. Because AJ had expressed such anxiousness to see her tonight, she’d talked herself out of dinner, saying she had a report she needed to have done and emailed by midnight and would just grab something and eat back in her room. But Clair would be going with her grandparents, and Addison would wait until AJ texted her to head to his room.
It usually took the coach a while before his wife could drag him away from the stadium and off to dinner, so AJ and Addison had some time before her parents and Clair got back from dinner. Only now he had a feeling their talking would take up some of their precious time together because he was not letting this go.
Chapter 13
AJ
Like a kid waiting for Santa, AJ kept checking the peep hole on his hotel door to see if she was there yet. This was third time in the last twenty seconds or so. As usual, when she was finally there, he opened the door before she even knocked. As agitated as he still felt, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. His lips were on hers the moment he pulled her into the room. The only thing he didn’t do was pick her up and take her straight to his bed like he usually did when she snuck into his room. Instead, he spun her around and pinned her against door. Only instead of talking like he’d been more than anxious to do, he couldn’t keep his mouth off hers long enough to say anything.
“Jesus,” he finally whispered against her lips between kisses. “I’m supposed to be pissed at you, but I can’t stop kissing you.”
He felt her go a little stiff, but he continued kissing her, only she wasn’t quite matching his intensity anymore.
“Pissed?” she asked, her brows pinching as he pulled away slightly.
“Yeah, pissed,” he said, staring into her eyes. “Very pissed.”
She stared in his eyes, confused. He’d had a feeling she might be, but he expected her reaction to be a little more at ease. Maybe even think he wasn’t serious. She hadn’t actually done anything wrong, right? Like given that guy her number? Then he’d be beyond pissed, but the almost panic in her eyes completely unnerved him.
“You know why, right?”
Her continuing to stare at him without so much as shaking her head or nodding in response only raised his level of suspicion further. Obviously, she had an idea why he was angry. But if it were just that, that he was pissed about her choosing to hang out with that fucking ump instead of coming over to see him, nothing else, she wouldn’t appear so panicked. With that alarming thought, he backed up.
“Tell me about it, Addison,” he said, searching her overly troubled eyes. “You and him—”
“We’ve been over this already, AJ, and you said you didn’t want details of my—”
“How long?” he asked, feeling every nerve ending coming alive. “How long did you date him?”
“Not long,” she said.
The confirmation had him seeing red again. The memory of her big smile and how she’d made herself so comfortable with the guy only heightened his anxiety.
“Were you in love with him?”
“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “I told you. I know now I’ve never been in love.”
“You still have feelings for him?”
“Absolutely not,” she said with conviction, but AJ wasn’t buying it.
“Is that right?” he asked, raising his voice and turning away from her because he didn’t even want to look at her anymore much less touch her. “Is that why you forgot about me today? Because you were so enthralled about seeing and talking to your fucking ex when you got there you didn’t bother coming over to see me?” Once again, he felt like a child ready to throw a fit, and he was certain he sounded like one, but when she didn’t respond, he spun around. “Is it?”
Those last two words didn’t carry the same fury as his previous questions. He cursed his brother and Lorenzo for unintentionally planting seeds where there shouldn’t be any. Before the day he’d been privy to Lorenzo’s story of his ex and witnessed for himself Kelli’s odd behavior, he’d never been an insecure guy. Maybe it was just what Addison did to him. He’d since established she made him feel things no other girl had ever come close to making him feel. Whatever it was it had his heart going crazy, and he waited with bated breath for her response.
“You know you’re terrifyingly adorable when you’re jealous,” she finally said, taking a few steps toward him. “I never knew there was such a thing as terrifyingly adorable.”
“That’s not an answer,” he said, still breathing hard but a bit hopeful since her words were playful even if her tone wasn’t.
“Of course I didn’t forget about you.”
“I saw you with him, Addison,” he said, feeling his muscles go as tense as they had when he had watched her as the visual assaulted him once again, so his next words were through his teeth. “You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face.”
“Danny’s married now, AJ,” she said, coming even closer now and placing her hand on his arm. “Has been for a few years. He was telling me about his kid, and I’m sorry, but I can never quite wipe the smile off my face when I speak of Clair. You know that better than anyone.”
She brought her hand to his face, and he pressed against it, closing his eyes and bringing his hand over hers. He needed the relief from the tension he’d built up all night. “You don’t plan on staying in touch with him, do you?” he asked, remembering how they appeared to have exchanged information on their phones.
“No.” She shook her head, surprised by the question. “I don’t think his wife would approve of that, and I know my boyfriend wouldn’t.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t,” he said, pulling her to him. “Not at all. I saw you two doing something on your phones.”
Her brows rose and she smirked. “Were you really watching that closely?”
“I was,” he said without hesitation. “I was waiting for you to be done with his ass and come over to me”—he squeezed her a little tighter and pressed his throbbing cock against her—“where you belong.”
Her eyes widened a little at the feel of his erection, but they were also instantly pleased. “I’m sorry our kid-bragging went on a little longer than I’d planned.” She tilted her head with a pout, bringing
her hand down to the aching bulge over his pants. “I tend to get carried away when Clair is my topic. So it shouldn’t surprise you that we were showing off kid photos too. But I promise you I won’t be keeping in touch with him in any other way than to say hello if I ever run into him again.” She brought her hand away from his face to help her other one undo the top button on his jeans and begin to unzip him. “And now that I know how much it bothered you, I promise to keep it short the next time I do run into him.”
“Very short,” he said, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth. “I already hated him before I knew he was someone you’d gone out with. I won’t be able to stand the sight of him now.” She giggled at that, but AJ didn’t even crack a smile. “I’m serious, Addison. He’ll probably be there for the rest of the series. You two yapped it up enough today—”
Addison plunged her tongue into his mouth as her hand wrapped around his dick, making him moan loudly in response. He took a few steps backwards as she shoved him along, stroking his full-blown erection now. She probably thought his warning wasn’t as earnest as he meant it, but he’d never been more serious. She pulled his pants and underwear down, motioned for him to sit on the edge of the bed, and then got down on her knees between his legs.
He didn’t dare ask if she’d slept with Danny. The last thing he needed was that visual in his head, especially since he’d likely be seeing the guy again real soon. But now that he knew this was her ex, he absolutely needed to get this straight. He’d felt ready to snap his fucking bat today. He didn’t want to blow their cover if he saw her giggling with him again. AJ had seen the way the guy looked at her.
“Addison, I’m not kidding—”
His head fell back when she licked his shaft, making him groan; it felt so damn good. Okay, maybe he could wait and discuss this later.
Addison continued to lick, making his legs weak with every stroke of her tongue. Then she went for it, taking him so damn deep he almost lost it right there. She stopped for a moment and looked up at him, licking her lips. “I think this is what you need and my way of making it up to you about this afternoon. I wouldn’t have taken so long if I’d known how upset you’d be.”
Before he could respond, her mouth was on him again. He ran his hand through her hair, loving the visual of her head bobbing up and down on him. She did so until he began to come undone. Squirming because he knew he’d be a goner soon, he warned her, but just like the last time, it only made her suck him harder. In the next second, he was done and he came with a loud groan.
She’d been right. This was exactly what he needed. The pent-up tension he’d worked up from the moment he’d first seen her today drained beautifully from every muscle in his body. Addison finished him up as impressively as she had the first time she’d done this, and once again, he tried not to give too much thought to her skilled tongue.
Curse Nathan and Lorenzo for even making his head go there. Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply, enjoying the afterglow as she licked him clean. “Damn Kelli—”
His eyes flew open when he felt her finger nails dig into his thighs. “Kelli?”
“No, no, no!” he said, reaching out for her arm because she was already jerking away from him. “Kelli’s my brother’s girl,” he explained as she yanked her arm away.
“I know that. And that’s who you’re thinking of when I’m—?”
“No!” he said even louder.
She was on her feet now, and he got up, fumbling with his pants, but he caught her before she could head to the door and blocked her, standing in front of her.
“He’s having issues with her,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes, not sure if he should be completely honest, but she appeared ready to slap him, so he was going to have to bite the bullet. “She’s been acting shady, and seeing you with that guy made me think of her today. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. All I knew is it was driving me fucking insane, and just now I was appreciating how damn good you are at that . . . and I guess I subconsciously thought of her again. I’m sorry.”
She stared at him, her eyes still ablaze. “My being good at that made you think of your brother’s shady girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t even be saying she’s shady. I hardly know her. The last time I saw her was that day you and Clair were over at my place. Not sure if you noticed, but she took a lot of calls in private, and I guess my brother was irritated by it.”
He spoke even faster as he explained about when he got back from dropping her and Clair off: how Nathan and Kelli had made a hasty exit and Lorenzo had given his input.
“I’ve never been an insecure guy, Addison,” he said, his voice now pleading because she looked ready to walk out and his time with her tonight had only just begun.
After the day he’d had, AJ knew if the tables were turned he’d be on fire, so he didn’t even mind pleading his case this frantically. He couldn’t believe what a fucking idiot he was to have done that. “Everything I’ve felt for you from the beginning has just been so ridiculously . . . frantic.” He stared at her, hoping she could possibly understand because even he couldn’t. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt for any girl. I swear to you I don’t even know where that came from, except that my head’s been all over the place today. I’ve been an idiot obsessing about stupid theories and comparing my situation to my brother’s and Lorenzo’s with his ex, but I would never think of either of my brothers’ girls like that. You have to believe that.”
With a deep breath, her glare finally softened a bit. “If you ever—”
“Never again!” he said quickly and kissed her then wrapped his arms around her. “That’s for damn sure.”
This time he did pick her up, and thankfully she didn’t fight him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, leaning her forehead against his. “I think it’s safe to say this will probably go down as one of the weirdest days you and I will ever have.”
“I hope it’s not just the weirdest but the worst. This wasn’t a fun one for me, Addison. Well”—he smirked—“it got better for me there for a minute until my dumb ass almost blew it. But I think I know how to make it up to you.”
She smiled, squeezing her legs around him a little tighter and rubbing her crotch against him with a moan. “Hell yeah!” he said, picking up his pace toward the bed. “Time to turn this day completely around.”
Chapter 14
AJ
To AJ’s surprise, the next day during batting practice Bigsby came over to apologize for the incident on the field the day before. Like AJ had figured, the guy had only meant to mess with him in his usual not-so-funny way. Just like his shit talking always did, his attempt to lighten things up had come across too heavy-handed, and he said even his sisters in the stands had pointed it out after the game.
AJ told him not to worry about it, he’d probably overreacted because he hadn’t been in the best of moods, and they both let it go. When he finished talking to him, AJ walked over back to where Clair stood with her papa. She was eyeing Bigsby and the other opposing team members on their way back to their side of the field in that same wary way she had the day before, probably even more so now.
Yesterday AJ had begun to think he’d imagined the overly cautious way she’d eyed Bigsby. Then his mind had been quickly preoccupied with Addison and the ump. Tonight he figured her evil eye was even more intense because of the brawl in yesterday’s game.
AJ smirked, amused by the expression on her face as he ambled up to her. “Are you really that superstitious about mingling with the opposing team members? Because that’s one hairy eyeball you’re giving them.”
She shrugged as the expression on her face softened. “I have a lot of superstitions. Most I came up on my own. But this one is one of my mom’s big ones. She always says it’s bad luck to intermingle with the other players, especially the catchers on the other team. Growing up, she said she always thought somehow they’d be able to read her. She might unintentionally give up
one of Papa’s secrets or something. Makes sense to me, especially given all the stats I have here.” She pointed at her notebook. “And here.” She pointed the pen at her pretty little head. “So I stay far, far away from all the opposing team players, but especially the catchers.”
AJ laughed, shaking his head. “Something tells me you’re too smart to unintentionally be giving away your papa’s secrets. But I won’t argue with your superstitions.”
He hadn’t given another thought to Clair’s reluctance to mingle with opposing team players until the last game in the St. Louis series, but only for a few heart-stopping moments.
Except for the day Addison had come down on the field to chat it up with Danny before the game, the following games of the series she hadn’t made it down from the stands at all. Her mother’s leg was acting up again, and she said she didn’t want to leave her alone in the stands. It was disappointing to have to wait until after the games to see her. At least in Los Angeles, their next stop, he hoped he’d see Addison more often.
That last game in St. Louis he’d been lost in thought getting his gear on, when he noticed Clair standing next to him but saying nothing. “Clair Bear”—he looked down at her—“I didn’t even see you there. You’re so quiet.”
She was staring out at the field, but he could tell she wasn’t looking at anything in particular. “If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to tell anyone? Not Papa and especially not my mom?” She glanced up at him, her big normally cheerful eyes uncharacteristically serious.
AJ squatted down to face her and searched her troubled eyes. “Well, that depends, sweetheart,” he said, feeling his insides heat a little.
Remembering her superstitions and how Addison had planted the seed to the biggest one—no intermingling with opposing team members—he wondered now if what had crossed his mind for a fleeting moment might not be true. Maybe Addison’s superstition was actually her way of protecting Clair but sparing her the ugly truth. It’d make perfect sense that Addison might feel concerned about her little girl around so many men while her papa was often distracted. It was an ugly thought but sadly reality dictated caution. Maybe Addison felt Clair being around the team members with her dad was safe enough but to allow her to mingle with a bunch of strangers was pushing it.
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