“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“How much I’m regretting saying I wasn’t up to fooling around tonight,” she admitted.
“It’s okay,” he said. “There’s always tomorrow.”
He moved closer and settled her in the crook of his arm, placing a chaste kiss on top of her head. His breathing evened out, and soon she heard his soft snore. Well, crap. She supposed she’d made this bed, and she’d just have to lie in it. All night.
15
Ty woke to Harper’s fingers running gently up and down his chest, playing with the sparse hairs there.
“Hey,” she said, her chin moving against his pec.
“Mmm.” He kissed the top of her head. “How do you feel?”
She shifted up onto her side, a smile playing at her lips. “Well, a lot better than you found me yesterday, that’s for sure.”
“You were pretty wasted.” Ty lifted her chin so her eyes met his. “I’m sorry all this has happened.
“I told you last night to stop apologizing. This is a good thing for me.” She placed her hand over his heart, and he pressed his on top, holding her there, where she belonged. “It may not have been exactly what I had in mind, but…I think it’s going to be okay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” She snuggled closer. “And if you get traded, I can come along. I can write anywhere. If…if that’s something you think might be good.”
He turned to his side and pushed Harper to her back. “Might be good? It’d be perfect.”
Her smile lit the room, and he leaned down to lick her lower lip before pressing his mouth to hers. She pulled away. “Wait, let me brush my teeth. Morning breath.”
“I don’t give two shits about morning breath.” He kissed her again, and she opened for him as he thrust his tongue inside, exploring, tasting. She wrapped one leg around his hips and rolled him over before sitting astride him, her crease cradling his hard-on.
He broke the kiss to pull her T-shirt over her head, followed by his own. Her breasts were perfect, the nipples a pale shade of pink and standing out and proud. He reached out to touch one, and she moaned her pleasure.
“Oh, God, that feels so good.”
Ty pulled her down to him, replacing his fingers with his mouth and tongue, sucking on first one nipple, then the other.
“Harder,” she gasped. “Please.”
He did as he was told, and Harper began to move her sweet pussy back and forth over his cock. “Wait, wait,” he croaked. “I want to feel you.”
He hooked his thumbs in her lacy panties and worked them down over her hips, sitting up to push them all the way off her before yanking his boxer briefs off and tossing them to the floor. She sat back astride him and, oh God, her wet, hot body fit around his cock perfectly.
“Condom,” he chuffed. He rolled until he was on top of her, then pulled one from the bedside table, tore it from the packet, and slid it down his member before positioning himself back between her thighs, pressing his dick to her opening.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he slid inside. “You’re so tight. So good.”
She tried to push her hips up to meet him, but he stopped her. “No, I want this to last. If you start that, I’ve got maybe sixty seconds.”
She sighed. “God, Ty. I want you so much.”
He couldn’t say anything, trying to think of something to keep him from going off right then, her sexy voice, her hot pussy around him, pulling him deeper. “Just give me a minute,” he growled. “I just want a minute to be inside you.”
Time slowed, and what had been hurried sex transformed into lovemaking. He caressed her soft skin, kissed and nipped at the curves of her breasts. Ty pulled from her and moved lower until his head was between her legs, building her to climax with nips and sucks to her clit. She grabbed his head and pushed herself against him, arching her back to get closer to him. She wanted more, wanted him inside her again.
“Please, Ty,” she gasped. “Please fuck me.”
“My teacher has a dirty little mouth,” he murmured as he crawled back up her body and plunged inside over and over. Harper bit her lip in an effort not to scream out as her orgasm overtook her. Ty came soon after, and they lay there for a few moments, him on top of her, inside her. His weight was reassuring as he pressed her into the mattress. She wrapped her arms around him, and they turned to lie facing each other.
“Thank you,” he rasped. “That was…amazing.”
He placed featherlight kisses across her face, and she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of sex and Ty. “Yes, it was,” she said.
After showering together—who knew sex against cold tiles could be so hot?—they sat down to eggs and bacon Ty made for them. “Want some juice?”
“I didn’t know I had juice. Or bacon and eggs,” she said, popping the last of a crunchy slice in her mouth.
“I made a market run last night, after you went to sleep,” he said, pouring them both a glass. He set hers beside her plate. He’d made a market run. A guy had shopped for her. Seriously, this was a good man right here in front of her.
“Thank you.” She grasped his hand and brought it to her cheek. “For taking care of me.”
“My pleasure,” he replied with an eyebrow waggle. “Now, eat up. You need your strength for later and I have to get to practice before I drag you back to bed and show you just how well I can take care of you.”
Twenty minutes later, she watched as he drove away. Yes, she’d fallen hopelessly in love with a baseball player. She just hoped it wasn’t the biggest mistake of her life, because she could tell he wasn’t ready to leave the game, despite being told by his coach he was done. She’d bet just about anything on that fact, but she couldn’t stop herself from loving him. Her heart wouldn’t let her.
16
The season was finally over, and as predicted, the Blues didn’t make the playoffs. They’d started their season well, but injuries piled up, and it didn’t help that Morgan had a lousy game at home plate. Ty couldn’t help himself—he was a little gleeful at his teammate’s misfortune. They hadn’t been in a position to make it to the Central’s Wild Card game anyway, with or without the win. The Cubs sealed their fate by sweeping the Cards and taking over the wild card position by two games the week before.
Ty sat back at the center island in his kitchen, sipping his beer and watching as Harper went about making them a Thai peanut noodle salad she’d seen on FoodNetwork. Since moving back in with her mom and stepdad, she spent more time at his place than theirs. He couldn’t blame her. Moving back in with your parents at nearly thirty? Awkward. Or so she’d said.
The way she was looking at him right now, her eyes all soft and sparkling. Her smile spreading wide. He wanted her here with him, all the time. “I like seeing you in my kitchen, being all domestic.”
“Watch it, bud.” She grinned before giving her full attention to the bunch of green onions she was chopping. “I’m not here to be your chief cook and bottle washer. Or your mommy.”
He put his beer on the counter and rounded the island, wrapping his arms around Harper and nuzzling her neck, moving his hand up to squeeze her breast. “I could never think of you as my mother.”
She put the knife down and turned to snuggle against him and give him a mind-blowing kiss. “I certainly hope not,” she murmured.
“Hey, I know this is quick, but we kinda talked about it before. I have a phone interview on Thursday with that school down in Texas, the one my brother is working with,” he said, inwardly wincing at what her response might be to his next question. “You think you’d be okay with moving down to a tiny town in Texas? Leaving your mom and the rest of your family and friends here? I mean, do you watch any horror movies at all?”
She pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes, searching. “Are you serious?”
The shock on her face was priceless, yet there was something else there that looked almost like hope. Like she wouldn’t say no if he asked h
er outright. She must be insane. God, he hoped she was.
“Would you move to Texas with me?” he asked. “I know it’s a lot to ask you to leave everyone and all. But they can come visit, and you can come back anytime you wanted. It’s only an hour-and-a-half flight from Dallas to Memphis. I’d be happy to pay for tickets.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this… but yes, I would come with you. I don’t want to do this long-distance thing.” Ty whooped, and she put her hand over his mouth. “Stop, the neighbors will think we’re having sex.”
“Who gives a shit? My girl is coming to Texas with me.”
As he let her go and danced a jig around the island, she shook her head and blushed at his crazy display . “I don’t know why you’re surprised. I told you I could write anywhere. I’ll follow you anywhere, my love.”
“You will?”
“Of course,” she said. “I’m a starving artist. I need a Medici to fund my creativity.”
“So, I’m just an ATM card to you, am I?”
She approached him where he stood with his hands resting on his hips. She pulled them around her waist and pressed against him. “Honey, you’re way more than an ATM card to me, you know that.” Then she pushed him away and teased, “The money is just a fringe benefit while I write my book.”
“And how’s that coming?”
Harper had decided to write a biography about her father and his fall from fame. “It’s going okay. I have no idea why Mom kept all those clippings and all the other information about his career, but I’m glad she did.”
“Maybe she kept them for the day you were ready to remember him,” he said. He watched as she pursed her lips to consider his suggestion.
“Maybe. It’s very eye-opening, for sure,” she said. “I had no idea he was so famous. If he was that good, why did he get traded all the time?”
Ty shook his head. “For some guys, that’s just the way their careers go. They fit a specific part of the team plan for a couple of seasons, then GMs change or owners change, or they decide to go a different direction. Like what happened to me.”
“I’m sorry they let you go, Ty.” She sounded sincere, but he knew she was a little relieved she wouldn’t be following in her mother’s footsteps, loving a man who couldn’t let go of the game. He could let go. He just wasn’t completely sure it was his time yet. He felt better after doing a little rehab for the last month, and squats had helped keep the joint limber. More than it had been all season. “But you know what? I’m really proud you decided to become a coach and teacher. You’ll be great at it. You’re so patient and kind…”
Ah, yeah, that. Shit. He hadn’t told her yet, but the Blues hadn’t exactly let him go. They were shopping the last year of his contract around, and he knew they’d approached a couple of teams and were waiting to hear back from them soon. Maybe even today. He should let her know that little tidbit, but…he wasn’t sure he would take the offer if it came. Blues suits had offered to trade or buy out, and he’d told them he’d prefer the buyout, but they were considering the trade anyway, just in case they could get something more out of it. Another year in MLB, one last chance to prove he was still good, was so damned tempting.
He should tell her. He wanted to tell her, but he was afraid of her reaction. If it was never going to happen, and he was reasonably sure it wasn’t, then why upset her? But she’s going to be more upset if you don’t tell her, that little voice inside his head told him. He wished that voice would shut the hell up.
“This looks great,” he said a few minutes later when Harper set the plate of noodles with peanut butter sauce in front of him. It sounded weird, but, “Tastes awesome. Just like that Thai place you like down on Poplar.”
“Really?” She took a bite. “I think you’re right. Maybe I need to write a cookbook.”
“One book at a time, babe,” he teased.
They’d just settled in to watch Avengers: Endgame—Who knew his girlfriend liked superhero movies?—when his phone rang. He picked it up from the table but didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Ty Johansen?” On his affirmation, the man continued. “This is Kevin Mackie from the Atlanta Storm. How are you tonight?” Ty stood and walked to the deck. Shit. It had gotten so late in the day, he hadn’t really expected to hear anything. Where was Denny, his agent? Trade calls usually came through him or his GM.
He stood on the deck, hand splayed on his hip. “Mr. Mackie, how can I help you?”
“Well, it’s more how we can help you,” the man who was the GM of the team said. “We’ve spoken with the owners of the Blues, and we’ve decided to buy out your contract. I asked them to let me speak to you personally. You’ll be playing for us next season. Hope you’re as excited as we are to have you as our backup catcher.”
“Backup?”
“Well, yes,” Mackie said. “Lopez is our starter, but he’s had some injuries this past season and will be doing some rehab through Spring Training and April, at least. We thought you’d fit in with the rest of the team and be able to start until he’s back up to full strength. You’re familiar with Atlanta since you started your career here. We thought you might like to end it here as well.”
“Well, thanks, Mr. Mackie, but—” But what? This was the kind of news he’d been secretly hoping for. Ty wanted another season, just one more, and this was his opportunity, but he wasn’t sure how Harper would react to the news. He was torn. On the one hand, this was exactly what he’d wanted, until he thought it wasn’t going to happen. Although he was excited about the prospect of going home and becoming a teacher and coach…what did he really want? How would Harper take it if he accepted the offer? They already had plans…
“Take a few days to consider the offer, and then you can get back to me at this number,” Mackie said, basically forcing Ty to agree. “We think you’ll like it here, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. If you feel it’s not for you, then we’ll discuss that too.”
Ty pushed the End button and looked up to find Harper standing in the doorway. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “That was a job offer.”
“From the school in Texas?” she replied, sounding confused. “You haven’t even interviewed yet.”
“No…” he began carefully. “The owner of the Atlanta Storm. He offered me a job catching for them. One season.”
“Ty, I thought you had your plan all laid out.” She left the doorway and came to stand in front of him. “Tell me you’re not considering this.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. How could he not even consider it? What could he say to make her understand this was important to him? “It would only be for one season, backup catcher. I wouldn’t even play every game, at least as soon as the starter came back. It’d be just when they need me.”
Harper shook her head as if she couldn’t understand. “I thought you always said if a catcher didn’t start—”
“I know what I said,” he snapped, immediately regretting it when she saw her flinch. “I’m sorry, honey, but this is an opportunity to retire with the team I started out with. Other guys would kill for the chance to do that.”
“But you’re not other guys, Ty,” she said softly. “You’re my guy. What about moving down to Texas, being near your family, teaching?”
When he didn’t answer right away, because he couldn’t come up with a good response, Harper went back inside and grabbed her purse from the hook in the kitchen pantry. “Look, think about what you want. When you decide, let me know. For now, I just need some time to think about going from a boyfriend who was about to retire and get away from this, to one who’s going to give it one more season.”
“Wait, babe,” he said, following her inside and to the front door. “I haven’t given them an answer.”
“You don’t have to, Ty.” She turned to him. “I can see ‘yes’ plastered all over your face. Then it’ll be the next team, the next city, and another season. I’ve been t
hrough this before, remember?”
“Harper, wait.” Outside again, he hustled after her. He had to make her understand just how important this chance was. Their future plans would still be there once the season was over He caught up with her at the car. “You can go with me to Atlanta. I know a great apartment building downtown, over some little shops. You could write, and there are a lot of publishers there—”
“No, Ty. I’m not my mother. I’m not going to follow you around all over the country, drag our babies from city to city.” Harper shook her head, looking away from him. She turned back. “We discussed this. You decided to try coaching. I agreed to pick up and move to Texas, not Atlanta.”
“Your mom didn’t follow your dad around the country.” How could she not understand his desire to go as far as he could go? Come full circle? “She forced your dad to choose. Don’t force me to choose, Harper. I want to talk about this. Explain—”
“I shouldn’t have to force you,” she said, and he could hear the tears in her voice, hated that he’d put them there. “We had a plan.”
“Harper, plans can change.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Be flexible, just this once.”
But she didn’t say a word as she got into her car and left him, standing in his driveway. She was being unfair, she was being childish, labeling him as her father. Didn’t she understand this was his career? He had to give it one more year. Then he’d be done.
Just one more season.
Ty stood there for a moment and watched as her car disappeared down the street before stalking back inside. This was so unfair. She was being unfair. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he picked up his cell and dialed his agent.
“Hey, Denny. Talk to me about the Storm offer.”
Elizabeth set a cup of scalding-hot tea and a plate of cookies in front of Harper. Her mother was a firm believer that tea and cookies fixed everything wrong with the world.
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