“Cassie,” I heard James but didn't turn back to him.
“I'm fine, James,” I said. “Apparently I have someplace to be.”
I walked out the door, pulling it shut behind me. Then I walked toward Sammie's van. She'd already gotten the kids in and was getting in herself.
“How do you do that?” I asked, as I walked over and got in the other side.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Get everyone moving so fast?” I asked.
“It's easy,” she said, as she started backing down the driveway. “Did he have someone sit next to you and feed you too?”
Her words hit me like a punch in the gut, and I knew I didn't hide it.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I know this isn't easy for you, but you're making it so much harder than it needs to be. You really were a spoiled brat, Cassie. I love you. I'm not going to lie to you. Being a mom is hard work, but it is worth every single bit of what you put into it. You and the kids deserve to be happy. I hope you make the right choice.”
Sammie pulled into the lot of her favorite place and parked the van.
“I'm not going in there,” I said. “I thought we were going out.”
“This is out,” she said with a smile, as she got out before getting the kids out. “You're going in.”
“No,” I said.
“Okay,” she said, just before closing her door. “I'll have one of the guys come out and get you then.”
Then she was gone, and the kids went with her. She wouldn't, would she? I hurried out and shut my door behind me. Then I took a deep breath.
“Please don't be here,” I whispered, as I walked toward the building very slowly.
Chapter 3
Parker
I was at one of my favorite places doing what I loved almost more than anything. When I wasn't working or hanging out with the team, I was at Sammie's place. Being there was different than being anywhere else. It was a place I could go to get away from my thoughts, a place where there was no expectations. When I was there, it didn't matter how good a throw was or if I hit the ball far enough. It wasn't like that at all. When I was there, it was all about fun, learning, and bonding. It helped being around people I felt actually gave a shit about me as a person.
Sammie knew exactly what she was doing when she'd opened the place. That woman had a love for the game like none I'd ever seen. It might have helped that her father, his best friend, and her husband all played professionally at one time or another. I honestly believed Sammie could have kicked any of their asses. Her being four months pregnant didn't change a thing. She was always there and always involved. She'd built the place up from nothing, and she worked her ass off doing it. The kids that came after school and during the summer just wanted to learn and have a good time. I'd seen so many great relationships start with the toss of a ball. We're talking kids from all different financial backgrounds and groups. They all came together in one place, and each of them loved the game. There was no doubt in my mind that some of the future Pirates were right there in that building, and I was there as often as I could be to help guide them and make them stronger.
I hadn't been as lucky as James. Where he'd found a woman that loved him for who he was and not his paycheck, I'd found one that would take me for everything she could get. She was the worst of the worst. I payed dearly at least once a month when it came to her, and I swore I would never be that stupid again. How a woman could use her children to get money, I would never know. I'd also never understand how someone could use my career to fund her over-the-top lifestyle but use that same career to prevent me from seeing my kids. It hadn't always been that way with her. There was a time I actually thought I loved her, but that time was long forgotten. It hadn't taken long for that love to turn into something much different. My shit's been locked up tight since her, and that was exactly how it was going to stay, forever.
Throwing the ball back and forth with one of the people I respected most wasn't a bad way to start the day. Lance Smith was one of the greats in my eyes. I'd watched him pitch through the television when I was just a little guy myself. My dad liked the game, and even though he never lived in the state, he was a Pirate fan. I wasn't that old when Lance had decided to stop playing, but I'd remember him forever.
I was going to be like him one day, I'd tell my dad that all the time. When I went out to throw the ball around in the yard, Lance Smith was the one I thought about. I played ball in elementary, junior high, high school, and college. It was my only sport, and I put my all into it. The day I finally met Lance, I was so damn excited. When I signed with the Pirates, he was there. It felt like some kind of sign, but it didn't take long for me to realize it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with James. That fucker was lucky. His dad and Lance were friends, and his dad had been a Pirate too. He'd left the game just before I started watching, so I hadn't seen him play myself.
Back to Lance. He was all over James, like the guy was his own personal project or something. Playing alongside James meant seeing Lance often. James and I became pretty decent friends, so when Sammie started her place, I was right there to help as much as I could. That meant seeing Lance often as well. He was definitely a great player, so throwing the ball around with him was a great start to my day.
I heard the kids before I saw them. Jillian was something else. She ran right by me and straight for her grandpa. He scooped her up in his arms and kissed all over her face. She giggled and squirmed until he finally put her back down on her feet. Jenny and Jeff were right behind her waiting for their own wave of attention. Lance did not disappoint either. He was just as good with them as he had been with his own flesh and blood. Sammie walked over with a smile, and I couldn't help but wonder again why I hadn't been lucky enough to find someone as good as her. Lance was right there asking her a million questions about how she was feeling. He was about his kids all of the time, but let one of them be pregnant, and look the fuck out. I had to feel bad for James on that one. Sammie was definitely a daddy's girl. Shit! Lance had even broken James' nose when he found out that he'd been touching his little girl. That man loved his family. They were his everything.
I was relieved to see Sammie alone with the kids. Nothing against Cassie, but the woman got to me. I'd heard so many things about her over the years. James had no problem talking about his sister and her better-than-everyone-else ways from time to time, especially when she'd dropped out of college and married some rich guy that was old enough to be her daddy. That was how James had phrased it anyway. The guy wasn't being a dick, he was just pissed that nobody could stop her from what he'd said was the biggest mistake of her life. I hadn't been sure how much of his talk I'd really believed, not until I'd met her anyway.
Cassie walked into Sammie's place dressed like she was going out for a night on the town. Then she'd plopped her ass on a bench and stared down at her phone like her two kids weren't hers to deal with. You could tell the woman was pampered. It was like money oozed off of her. I didn't like it, not one bit. I'd known who she was the second my eyes landed on her. Sammie warned me that she was going to bring her, so I guess that helped a bit too. When I watched out of the corner of my eye, and the woman never looked up from her phone, I couldn't help but fuck with her, and she surprised me. Each time James had mentioned her, he'd mentioned her always doing what her husband said, even giving up contact with her own family. He'd made her seem quiet and shy, but that was not the woman I met, not at all. She had a cocky mouth that gave me just as much shit as I gave her. She'd even made fun of my jersey, and she'd done it with the straightest face. I wasn't used to being talked to the way she'd spoken to me, and it took all I had not to take the damn woman over my knee and demand she give me the respect I deserved.
The second time I'd seen her she was just as irritating, yet completely different. The way her hands felt when they landed on my skin and the way her eyes moved over my body had my cock instantly ready and willing. Instead of wanting her over my knee, I wanted her someplace els
e entirely. Her reaction didn't help one bit either. I felt that shit running right through her. If I'd slid my hand between those clenched thighs, those panties would have been soaked. Something told me that it had nothing to do with who I was and everything to do with her needing a good, hard fucking, but there was no damn way I was going to find out. First, she was a gold digger. Been there, done that, and never doing it again. Second, she was family to some of the best people I knew. There was no way I was going anywhere near that, especially not for a quick fuck. I could get that shit by the bucket load just by walking into a local bar and making myself known.
When I saw her for the third time, she was in the parking lot of the restaurant, and she looked like she was going to lose it. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. The rest of her crew had gone to Michigan, but she'd stayed back. There she was, with her three kids, on Thanksgiving, eating out at a tiny restaurant. Her keys had fallen, and her baby bag had smacked her in the back of the head. I could see it in her ready to cry eyes, taking her three kids to dinner had been a full time job. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't like she'd never had them out before. Her little girl had to have at least been three.
Once the kids were in the car safely, we talked for a few minutes. She actually thanked me for my help, and it seemed sincere. She responded with another it's complicated when I asked about her family, so I gave her one in return when she asked about mine. When I asked about her husband, I'd totally shocked myself. I didn't care about him, not one bit, and I didn't care about her either. I could never care about someone that would care more about my bank account than they would me, and from what I'd heard about her, she was definitely one of those. I'd made the mistake of caring once, and I was still paying for it. The only good that came out of it were my two kids. I barely got to see them, and each time, it was a fight. I would never put myself and especially not another child through that again. My focus was on my career and my babies. Well, they weren't babies anymore, but they always would be to me.
Jillian and Jenny came running over to me and did their best to knock me over. I did my whole fake you got me thing and landed on my back on the ground. Both of their little bodies had just landed on me when I heard Lance growl out.
“What the fuck happened to you?”
I looked up and over the shoulder of one of the girls to see Cassie stop frozen at his words. She was the same person, but she looked so different than she had just days before. There was no hiding that she was broken. I'd seen it before. Shit! I'd even felt it myself. The crazy part was that she looked just as sexy in those jeans and a t-shirt, with no makeup, as she had when she was dressed for a night on the town. Wait! Sexy, oh hell no. I shook my head, moved the girls off of me, and got to my feet. I definitely needed to hit the bar soon.
“Whose ass do I need to kick?” Lance asked sternly, as he pulled her in for a hug.
“You're funny, but I'm fine,” Cassie said. “I'm going to go sit down.”
There was no smile on her face, as she walked over to the same set of bleachers she had before and sat down. She knew I was there, I knew she did, but she didn't even bother to look my way. It took all I had not to say something to her, but I didn't, not with Lance there. I wanted to turn around and walk away, but I couldn't. Both of her kids were right there waiting for me to play, and I couldn't turn them away. Her head was down, but I could see her looking up at me through the hairs that had fallen in her face.
“You want Uncle Lance to play with you?” Lance asked, as he walked over.
“No,” Jenny said. “Parker.”
“What?” he asked in a shocked tone, as he bent down and began tickling Jenny with one hand and Jeff with the other. “You have to be kidding me.”
Jillian came over, and we all began playing together. I had my back to the bleachers, but I could feel Cassie's eyes on me. I bent down behind Jenny and held her hand with the ball in it. When I pulled it back and then pushed it forward, releasing the ball, sending it flying, Lance barked out with a laugh.
“Come on, Pete. Don't teach her how to throw like that. She's my niece, remember?”
When I heard the burst of laughter come from the bleachers behind me, I turned fast, and my eyes went right to hers. Cassie's hand flew up and covered her mouth. My eyes narrowed, and I didn't give two shits who was there when I growled out.
“What's so funny, princess?”
Her eyes went wide, and she shook her head quickly. My steps were huge, as I stomped toward her. I could see in her eyes that she was doing everything she could to fight back her laughter. It was taking all I had not to laugh just watching her, but I held my shit together. I knew exactly why she was laughing. I'd seen that same reaction before many times, and normally it pissed me the fuck off, but something about watching her was different. It made me want to laugh right along with her, but she didn't need to know that.
“What is so funny, princess?” I stretched each word out in a deep, rough tone, as I looked right into her eyes.
“Your name is Pete?” she said as more of a question while squeezing her eyes closed and breaking our connection.
“It is,” I answered, as if I had no idea what it even meant to her.
“So, I guess your last name is Parker,” she said with a little giggle she couldn't hold in.
“Seriously,” I snapped. “Are you five?”
“No,” she said nervously. “I just.”
I didn't let her finish.
“Are you seriously sitting there laughing at my name, princess?” I asked sternly.
“I'm sorry,” she said, trying to put on a straight face but failing miserably as a smile slowly crossed her face.
It actually made me feel good for a moment to know that I somehow caused that smile. Something was going on with her. I wasn't sure what it was, and I didn't dare ask Sammie or James. I was pretty sure it had something to do with her husband and possibly her parents as well.
She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and bit down. It was honestly taking all she had not to laugh again. I slowly leaned down close to her ear so only she could hear me.
“You know it's my teeth you want wrapped around that lip,” I whispered into her ear. “Keep fucking with me, and you're going to find out exactly how that feels.”
She let out a breath, and her body shook. I felt that shit. There was no way I could miss it. When I pulled back, I looked down to see her thighs clenched tight. My eyes went back to her face. All humor had left her. I leaned back in a bit.
“I've heard every joke there is about my name, princess,” I said with a smirk, before using a tone filled with warning and promise. “You will call me Parker. If you even think about calling me anything else, you should also think long and hard about the consequences to that action, and there will be consequences.”
I moved to take a step back. If I didn't, I was going to grab her hard and kiss her even harder. I needed to get away from her. Jenny was right there, blocking me from moving away. She looked up at me with the most serious look on her face.
“Is your name Pete?” she asked.
“It is,” I said, giving her my full attention, but not missing that Cassie could still feel my words on her.
“I thought it was Parker,” Jenny said. “Even mommy said it was.”
“Oh yeah,” I said, curious to see what else Jenny would say.
“Yep,” she said. “She said it while she was sleeping, more than one time.”
“Did she?” I asked. “She said my name in her sleep.”
“Yep,” Jenny answered. “Oh well.”
Then the little girl turned and took off back toward Lance. My eyes moved slowly over to Cassie, and the moment our eyes connected, I noticed her cheeks turning more red by the second.
“Were you dreaming about me, princess?” I asked, as my tongue came out of my mouth and slid from one corner of my lips to the other.
“What?” she asked, her tone totally betraying her. “No! Of course not. No way!
I would never.”
Without even finishing her sentence, she stood up and took off toward the front door of the place, leaving me standing there with my cock rock hard. I knew I needed to walk away. I needed to go back out on the field and get back to what I'd been doing before, but I couldn't do it. Without thinking twice about it, my ass took off out that very same door she'd just gone through. I didn't care who saw me. That shit didn't matter. The only thing that mattered in that moment was getting to her. I knew I was making a huge mistake. If it had been anyone but me, I would have grabbed them by the back of their shirt and talked some sense into them. It was like I could see it all happening, in slow motion, to someone else, but there was no way I could stop it.
Chapter 4
Cassie
So much for him not being there. I didn't look back as I took off out that front door and around the side of the building. There was no way I wanted Lance or Sammie asking anything about what they might have heard in there. I leaned back against the building, took a deep breath in, released it as slowly as I could, leaned my head back, and closed my eyes.
I'd known he was there as soon as I walked in, I felt it. Then I looked over to find him on his back with the two girls laughing away on top of him. When Lance made those comments, it only reminded me that I'd gone there looking like total shit. My hair was just plopped on top of my head, and my face was free of all makeup. I couldn't tell you the last time I'd left home looking that raw and real. Home, I thought. Was it home? It was Sammie and James' home, but it wasn't mine. Shit! I squeezed my eyes tighter and Parker's wicked grin popped into my mind. When he'd said those words, the ones about me calling him Parker and the warning that came with them, I honestly could have come on the spot. How sad was that? Just the sound of his rough warning, so close to my ear, had me ready to grab the back of his head and kiss him. It didn't help that he'd tasted so damn good in my dream. That only made it worse. I was still envisioning exactly what he'd do if I called him Pete when Jenny threw my ass under the bus. She told him I'd said his name in my sleep. Then she added that I'd done it more than once. The way that sexy smirk stretched from one side of his face to the other had me wanting to either smack the shit out of him or call him Pete a million times. I'd never felt that way before, not ever. I honestly felt like I was in high school, as I pictured myself saying his name over and over again just to see what he would do.
Out of My League: Complete Box Set Page 9