Chronicles of a Hot Mess

by S. E. Rose

  She hung up and looked over at him. “Well, I guess the model Kevin was using for the shoot tomorrow came down with a stomach bug and is in the hospital on IV fluids. Must have been one hell of a virus,” she said with a shrug.

  “So, no New York tomorrow?” he asked. She shook her head.

  “How about a dinner date then?” he asked her before he could change his mind.

  “Uh, sure,” she said. “I just need to figure out when Gran Mill is coming home. I’ll have to let you know. Wait, don’t you have to be in Newark?”

  “It can wait a day or so,” he said slowly. “I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow, alright?”

  She nodded and got out. He followed her up to the door and pulled her into an embrace.

  “I had a great night, Lyla,” he breathed against her lips.

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  “Good,” he said as he kissed her slowly and her body melted against his.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she pulled back and gazed up at him.

  “Yep, tomorrow,” he repeated as she unlocked the door. He held it open for her and was about to shut it when he heard noises coming from the living room. On instinct, Amery threw his arm out in front of her and stepped inside. He walked a few steps and peered around the wall into the living room and stopped abruptly.

  “What the...” He trailed off as he froze in the entrance to the living room.

  There was the sounds of clothes and bodies moving, and Lyla stepped up behind Amery and peeked around him to find Ward and Nate, half-naked and clearly caught in the middle of something as they both looked sheepish, yet not nearly as embarrassed as they should be.

  “Seriously?!” Lyla said in a raised voice. “I mean, seriously? Can no one in this motherfucking house just have sex in their bedroom? What is wrong with you people?”

  “Chillax, Ly,” Nate sighed. “We didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

  Lyla held out her hand to stop him. “Yeah, well, we’ve heard that before.”

  Nate and Amery burst out laughing at that, and Ward gave Lyla a confused look.

  Lyla shook her head and turned to Amery. “I’m so sorry. I swear my home isn’t normally the brothel that it apparently has been presenting itself as over the past week or so. I’d make an excuse for Nate, but...” She paused, and Amery looked down at her trying to contain a smirk.

  “Well, I mean if I batted for that team, I’d do Ward, too,” he said laughing as he made his way to the front door.

  “Ward, you need a ride, buddy?” he called out.

  “Uh no, I think Nate and I are grabbing brunch. He can drop me off later,” Ward said.

  “Don’t forget about practice this afternoon before the game. I think everyone is meeting there around one thirty,” Amery reminded him.

  “Fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck,” Ward cursed. “OK, a ride would be great.”

  Amery escorted Lyla back to the front porch, so they could give Nate and Ward a moment of privacy. Lyla hung her head, and Amery lifted it up to look at her.

  “I’m really sorry,” she apologized again.

  “Stop,” he said sternly. “Nate and Ward are just having a good time. There’s nothing to be upset about. Honestly, it’s pretty funny. I mean, all that has to happen now is one of them walking in on us.”

  Lyla’s face flushed when he said that and he grinned at her. He gave her another quick kiss before Ward came out followed by Nate.

  “I’ll text you about tomorrow,” he said as they got in the car. Ward gave him a shit-eating grin.

  “You are such a cocksucker,” Amery said, shaking his head.

  “Literally,” Ward answered smugly.

  “TMI, dude, TMI,” Amery replied with a groan.

  “Soooo...how was your night?” Ward asked.

  “Fine,” Amery answered.

  “I take it the lovely Ms. Perkins stayed over at your place,” Ward prodded.

  “Yes.”

  “Wow, super chatty today. Did we stay up past our bedtime, cupcake?” Ward asked with a grin.

  “Fuck off, Ward,” Amery cursed as he drove them to the stadium via a coffee shop.

  “Geez, Am, back off. We both got laid and we both had a good night, right?” Ward said.

  Amery gave him a look and rolled his eyes.

  “Well, right?” Ward asked again.

  “Yes, OK.”

  “Alrighty then, Mr. Grumpypants,” Ward said as he turned on the music in the car without asking Amery. Amery wanted to punch him, but he refrained. Ward was just being Ward.

  “When are you heading out to Newark?” Ward asked as they approached the city.

  “I was going to leave tomorrow morning, but Lizzie has some two-day conference later in the week that happens to be there. She wanted to see if I was still going to be in town. So, I’m going to push my travel back to Wednesday.”

  “Oh, how is Lizzie?” Ward asked. His friends had met his whole family and his former teammates loved his youngest sister, besides being the adorable young girl in blonde curls with the big blue eyes, she was also a total smart-ass, who could hold her own against the biggest badmouth and she swore like a sailor. The guys had loved her to death when he first joined the team and that affection had only grown stronger. He was hoping as his sisters were getting older, perhaps they would have more in common and could hang out more often. He was always jealous of his friends, like Kent and Ward, who had big families or close sets of siblings. He partially blamed himself. He’d been such a jackass in his youth, cocky and full of himself. He knew he was a baseball star even before he graduated high school, and when he made the Majors at a young age, well that only ballooned his ego even more. He hated that an injury had cost him his career, but at the same time, he was removed enough from it now that he could clearly see what an ass he had been. He was a better person now and for that he was grateful. His younger self would have never been attracted to a woman like Lyla, but now he could see a future with her. He shook his head at the place his thoughts had taken him.

  “What?” Ward asked, giving him a strange look.

  “Oh, nothing. Just thinking about life,” Amery lamented as he pulled up to drop Ward off.

  “You have it bad, my friend,” Ward laughed.

  “What?” Amery asked.

  “You really like Lyla, don’t you?” he asked.

  Amery shrugged.

  “Fine, be that way, but I see the way you look at her. She’s not just another piece of ass for you. Looks like the Grinch grew a heart,” he teased. After his injury, Amery had thrown himself into sexual escapades to drown his sorrows and his closest friends knew that was all it was, a quick fix, a balm on his emotional wounds.

  “Get to practice, dick,” Amery said.

  Ward grabbed himself and winked at Amery. “But it’s a mighty fine dick,” he said laughing as he walked away. Amery just shook his head.

  Chapter 22

  He started back toward home, Normally, he would stay for the game, but he had other plans today. He needed to get ready for his trip if he was going to see Lyla tomorrow. He called Derek and his general manager to let them know his change of plans, and then he made some more calls to sort out his schedule for later in the week. Fortunately, he only had one kid to see and he played on Wednesday.

  He was getting close to home when he decided to stop for food. He pulled into a deli and as he was going to walk in, he glanced down a few shops and noticed an animal rescue. He found himself walking inside it and then a small, black, fluffy creature caught his attention. It looked up at him with charcoal eyes and meowed, and he became a believer in love at first sight.

  “Can I help you?” asked a middle-aged woman with graying, black hair and giant black glasses.

  “I’m interested in adopting a cat,” he answered, staring at the kitten, who stared back at him.

  “I see Onyx has taken a liking to you,” she said as she opened the cage and pulled out the small kitten. She held it out t
o him and he took it and brought it against his chest. The kitten was no larger than his hand and it curled up and started purring. It had a loud motor for such a little cat.

  “I do believe he has chosen you,” she said with a nod.

  He gave her a skeptical look, but then glanced back down at the small bundle of fluff in his hand, and his heart melted.

  “How do I adopt him?” he asked as he stroked the soft fur on Onyx’s head.

  The woman, whose name was Patty, produced a form, and he filled it out and then paid her the adoption fee. She gave him some coupons to a pet store across the street and placed Onyx in a cardboard pet carrier.

  He went to the pet store after swinging by the sandwich shop and proceeded to buy enough toys, beds, scratch posts, and treats for an army of cats. By the time he got home with Onyx, he felt as exhausted as poor Onyx looked, well how he looked until he woke up and discovered his new abode.

  Amery wasn’t sure what set off Onyx, maybe it was the ceiling fan or the blinking light on the alarm panel, who knows, but Onyx opened his big charcoal eyes, took one look at his new house, and then went completely apeshit. He jumped on a table, knocked off everything on it. Then he jumped on a table along the wall and crashed into a half-dozen pictures, two of which came crashing down on the table. Then he ran across the back of a sofa, leapt off a lamp, which promptly fell to the floor in a giant crash, which apparently scared the ever-loving shit out of the cat because its tail became the size of a giant pinecone. He proceeded to scamper along the floor, military style, until he reached an opening under a side table, and he shrunk beneath it against the wall.

  “Crap,” Amery muttered as he attempted to coax Onyx out of his newfound hiding place. Onyx stood strong and wouldn’t budge. Amery tried to move the table, but Onyx only freaked out more.

  “Come on, buddy. It’s OK,” he tried to coax him out in a soothing voice. His phone pinged, and he picked it up with a sigh and saw a text from Lyla.

  Lyla: Thanks for last night and sorry about this morning. I’m still mortified and yelling at Nate, who basically is like a male peacock and doesn’t care.

  Amery chuckled and called her.

  “Hey,” she answered cheerfully.

  “Hey. I know I just dropped you off a few hours ago, but I have a surprise and...well, I’m sorta having an issue with your surprise. Do you think you could come over?” he asked her.

  She laughed. “Uh, sure. Should I be concerned?” she asked in an amused voice.

  “Nope, I don’t think so. Well, maybe. Just come over,” he said.

  She laughed again. “OK, give me twenty minutes and I’ll head over,” she said.

  “Uh, could you try to hurry?” he asked in a pleading voice.

  “Oh, uh, yeah. OK,” she said confused.

  “Great, thanks,” he said relieved.

  He sat for the next twenty minutes trying to coax Onyx out, but he wouldn’t budge. On occasion, he looked up at Amery and gave a pathetic squeak, but then when Amery would try to pick him up he would hiss. He heard the doorbell ring, and he looked back at Onyx.

  “Uh, I guess, stay there,” he said shrugging as he went and opened the door.

  Lyla examined him as he stood before her and he felt a little self-conscious, which was very unlike him.

  “So, where’s this surprise?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Follow me,” he said, and they headed into his family room. He pointed toward the table and she looked, and then looked back at him. He took her hand and pulled her down and pointed to Onyx.

  “Oh my,” she whispered. She looked from Onyx to Amery and back again.

  “Lyla, meet Onyx. Onyx, meet Lyla,” he introduced.

  “You got me a kitten?” she asked, her voice rising several octaves.

  “Yes, well, I guess I got us both a kitten. I just saw him, and I knew he belonged with me, but now, maybe it was a mistake. Something scared him, and he’s been under there for a long time,” Amery explained.

  Lyla lay down on the ground and put her head on her hands and stared at Onyx.

  “Hi there, Onyx. You are very beautiful,” she said in a soft voice, just a hair above a whisper. She kept murmuring to the kitten, and after a few minutes, Onyx slowly made his way out and into Lyla’s arms. She curled her hands protectively around him and his loud purring started up again.

  “He’s so tiny,” she said, looking down at him.

  “You said you always had wanted a cat,” Amery offered as his only explanation.

  She grinned and then frowned. “I can’t keep him at the house...Gran Mill,” she explained.

  “You can keep him here,” Amery offered.

  “Really?” she said excitedly and then lowered her voice. “Really?”

  “Of course,” he said, and he reached out and stroked Onyx’s soft fur.

  They sat on the floor, and Lyla gently set Onyx down. Pretty soon the three of them were playing, and Onyx was making himself right at home. Amery watched Lyla as she laughed and played with Onyx. It was almost magical, watching her look so alive and happy.

  “I know I said tomorrow for a date, but...stay,” he said.

  “I, uh, OK, maybe,” she answered as she snuggled with Onyx.

  He smiled at her and ordered them Chinese takeout. They sat on the floor and ate the takeout from the containers while playing with Onyx until he passed out in the crook of Lyla’s knee.

  “He’s so freakin’ adorable!” she exclaimed and then covered her mouth with her hand as she realized how loud she had been. He grinned at her.

  “I don’t know what the fuck came over me,” he admitted. “One second I was just going to grab a bite to eat, and the next second I was walking into a pet rescue and adopting him.” He shook his head at the craziness of it all.

  “Is it weird that I’m like totally in love with him already?” Lyla asked as she picked up the sleeping kitten and held him to her chest.

  “Nope, unless I’m weird too,” he said. “Here, let’s put him in his bed.” He reached over and took the sleeping kitten and gently laid him down on the small, circular bed he had bought. Onyx didn’t budge and the two of them stood there for a full minute just watching him like a newborn baby.

  “Thanks for coming over,” he said quietly as they picked up the food containers and headed back into the kitchen.

  “Sure. I mean you got me a kitten, so I kind of was obligated to,” she teased.

  She cleaned up alongside him and then with a glance at Onyx she reached for her purse that she’d left on the counter when she came in earlier. Amery put his hand over hers.

  “Stay,” he urged.

  Her head whipped up and she looked at him. “I...I should go to the office tomorrow,” she insisted.

  “Take the day off. Stay with me. I don’t have to be at work tomorrow,” he explained.

  “You’re trouble,” she said.

  “Not the first or last time I’ll be called that,” he said as he backed her against the table.

  “And that, I believe,” she laughed.

  “I’m serious, Lyla. I want you to stay again,” he insisted.

  She paused and contemplated his request.

  “Fine, but only because you might need help with Onyx. I do need to get home tomorrow though at some point. I need to get things ready for Gran Mill,” she explained.

  Lyla

  He was entirely too close to her and she had entirely not enough self-control. She leaned up and kissed him. He didn’t move, his hand stayed over hers as their lips pressed together. She licked at his bottom lip and he growled and hoisted her up onto the counter.

  “I don’t have any clothes here, again,” she murmured against his mouth. He laughed and pulled back and grabbed his phone. She put her hand out. “Oh no, you aren’t getting me more clothes!”

  “Too late.” He shrugged as he picked her up. She swatted his chest.

  “You are incorrigible, you know that?” she sighed.

&nbs
p; He shrugged again. “Perhaps.”

  “No perhaps. You totally are. Seriously, you need help,” she said.

  “I do need help and I think you are just the person to give it,” he said in a low sexy voice, and she quickly forgot about the damn clothes.

  He carried her to his room. She wanted to protest, to say she could walk, but then a part of her really liked being carried and specifically really liked being carried by Amery. She held on tightly as he reached for the doorknob. She trailed kisses along his jawline, feeling the rough hair scratch against her soft skin. She was quickly becoming addicted to him. She wanted more, so much more. She froze on that thought. So much more. No, she couldn’t think that way. She was a passing fad for Amery. A fun story to tell at parties someday. That was all she was, and she needed to not get so wrapped up in the idea that this was a permanent thing. She didn’t need her heart broken in the midst of everything else going on in her life.

  “What’s wrong?” Amery asked as he pulled his head back to gaze down at her.

  “Nothing,” she whispered, looking down at his chest. She felt his right hand come off her ass and then it was lifting her head up, so she was forced to face him. She swallowed hard when she saw both the lust and concern in his eyes.

  “Lyla,” he commanded in a rather domineering voice.

  She shrugged, and he sat them down on the bed. He held her there, and she looked back into his eyes.

  “What?” he asked as he caressed her chin and cupped it in his hand.

  “It’s silly. Nothing. I just think too much,” she muttered.

  “Nope, not going to work. Talk to me, angel,” he coerced as he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

  She focused on his mouth and not his eyes. “I...this...I really like you, Amery,” she whispered, finally feeling brave enough to confront him visually.

  He grinned at her. “I really like you, too,” he said. “Why is that a problem?”

  She sighed. “It’s not, I guess. I just...oh, it’s nothing. It’s silly,” she said.

  “Nope, tell me,” he commanded.