Spring Training

by KB Winters

  “Good evening, miss,” a friendly man greeted as he held open the door for me.

  I nodded. “Evening. Uhm, can I just see a menu? I think I’ll order something to go.”

  “Of course.” He reached into a cubby on his side of the podium and handed me a leather bound menu. “Take-out orders can be made with the bartender.” He pointed through an arched entryway.

  “Thank you,” I replied, taking the menu and heading in the direction of the bar. The place was moderately busy, but the bar was nearly empty when I stepped inside. I ducked into the nearest booth and peeled back the cover of the menu and began perusing my choices, each one sounding more delicious than the one before.

  I was lost in my choices, mentally debating between macaroni salad or a baked potato on the side, when a smooth, buttery tone interrupted my thoughts and sent my heart careening into a cement wall, “Hey there, cowgirl.”

  I dropped the menu. It landed with a thump on the table. My eyes flew to the sparkling set across from me and my mouth dropped open. “What are you doing here?”

  Trey Delgado leaned back in the booth across from me and grinned. “Same thing you’re doing, I’d imagine.”

  I sighed. Of course. Mr. Jones had mentioned that my hotel accommodations would be close to the team’s but not at the same hotels. Likely because of the price. I just never imagined they’d be staying at the hotel literally a hundred feet or so away from mine. “You’re staying at this hotel, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” His smile darkened. “You want a tour of my suite? You’d like it. I guarantee it.”

  I grimaced. He clearly had a high opinion of himself. “Arrogant much? And no, shockingly enough, I don’t.”

  My fingers tapped on the spine of the thick menu as a new mental debate started in my head. Damn he was hot. I couldn’t decide if I should stay and order something to go, pretending he didn’t bother me—or cut my losses and run back over to the fast food joint. After seeing all of the delicious choices on the menu—and the man sitting across from me—I knew a cold basket of chicken fingers wasn’t going to satisfy me. But it would probably be less trying than sitting here with Trey hanging over me, sweet talking me non-stop, trying to get me back up to his hotel room.

  Decisions, decisions…

  “Your call. I’ll keep the offer open in case you change your mind.”

  “Well that’s a relief,” I scoffed.

  Trey smirked at me and gave an exaggerated glance around the bar. “Where’s your camera guy?”

  “Oklahoma City. Why?”

  “You two a thing?”

  I curled my lip back with disgust. “Are you for real? Just because I have a guy for a camera man, you think I’m sleeping with him? Kinda chauvinistic, ya think?” Ugh, men like Trey pissed me off. It was like a girl could only get ahead in this world if she was putting out for it.

  He chuckled and swiped the menu from my hands. “What looks good?” he asked, dropping his attention to the menu options. “Besides you?”

  I grabbed the menu back and spun it to face me. “Dude, I’m so not in the mood for smart assed company.”

  My heart hammered in my chest, and I knew I was giving up an opportune moment to ask him some questions and worm my way into an exclusive interview with him. But there was something about him that just worked me up—emotionally and physically—and all I wanted was for him to go away. I was flustered, angry, and hot for him all at the same time.

  Trey looked at me for a long moment, a twisted smile still quirked on his full lips, his eyes sparkling like fucking diamonds. After a few seconds, he dropped it, and looked at me with something I was tempted to confuse with sincerity. As if that was possible for a man like Trey. “Wow. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot here. Josie, right?”

  “Yes, my name is Josie. How impressive that you remembered.” I fisted my hands around the edges of the thick menu cover. I hated not being able to control my thoughts around this man.

  “How could I forget? Let me buy you a drink and dinner or something to apologize.”

  I leveled him with an unblinking stare. “For what?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said you want to apologize. I’m asking for what. What makes you think you need to apologize?”

  He stumbled for a moment and I internally gave a fist pump of triumph. Boom. I’d thrown him off kilter. “I just mean you seem pissed off about something…”

  “And you think it’s your fault?”

  He chuckled. “Isn’t it? Or you just go around with a bad attitude all the time?”

  I scoffed. “Attitude? Dude, you walked off the plane like you owned it. You act like the whole world revolves around you. I came to have a nice quiet dinner and here you are.” I shook my head. “This isn’t about you.” Or those beautiful muscles straining your shirt.

  He frowned. “Damn, woman, what the hell did I do to you? Usually I don’t get this level of shit until day two…”

  I snapped the menu closed. Trey winced at the slapping sound and it sent a tiny thrill through me. “You’re a funny guy. You won’t even make it past day one.”

  “Wanna bet? You’re in my hotel bar. I’m not in yours.” He laughed. At me. Damn him!

  I leaned over the table and dropped my voice. “I’m just doing my job, Mr. Big Shot. And I got a little hungry. I’m not here picking up last week’s has-beens.”

  “Ouch!” he grabbed his chest with his hand, faking a heartbreak. “Baby that hurt!” he laughed. “So what are you doing here? Besides eating? And breaking my damn heart?”

  “You are too much, Trey Delgado!” I said a little louder than I’d wanted to. “I’m a reporter. And yes, I’m following the team. But that’s a far cry from stalking you. I’m not even staying at this hotel! I’m across the street. Just here for a quiet dinner. Although, I think I can safely say that’s not happening,” I added, giving him a fierce glare.

  “A sports reporter, huh?” He leaned back in the booth and crossed his arms. “Then why haven’t I seen you with the other sports reporters at practice? I haven’t seen you talking to the team, the coaches, or even the owner. If you’re really following the team, why weren’t you there?”

  Damn, so he had a brain somewhere in his beautiful delusional self. “I’m new to this gig. I’m doing the ten city tour with the team and then I’m done. I’m not a sports reporter.”

  He considered me for a long moment. “You’re here because of me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Right back into ego-maniac territory, huh?”

  He shrugged. “I’m just calling it like I see it. You don’t have a support crew with you, you’re not a sports reporter, and you’re doing the ten city tour and then you wanna jet. Doesn’t scream sports story to me. Something else is cooking up in that pretty little head.”

  I flicked a glance to the beads of condensations rolling down my water glass. I refused to get all flustered and embarrassed in front of him. When I returned my eyes to his, he was wearing an infuriating little grin. I leaned back in my seat. “Fine, you caught me. I’m here to fawn over you day and night, follow you around like a little lost puppy, so you can tell me all your secrets. Oh, wait a minute. I don’t have to, because your clusterfuck of a personal life is already front page news. On every news channel and tabloid cover in grocery stores and mini marts from coast to coast,” I retorted, drenching my words with as much sarcasm as possible.

  Instead of being repelled, he just laughed. “Did you just say clusterfuck?”

  “I did. You do know what that means, don’t you?” I turned to get the attention of a passing waitress and placed my order—emphasizing with a side glance at Trey, that the order was to go—and Trey took the chance to order himself a beer. Something fancy, high-brow. I didn’t care much for beer and where I came from, people were just as content to crack open a can of Budweiser than to go for some small batch, craft beer with a hipster label on the bottle.

  Before the waitress left, Trey gl
anced at me. “You want something to drink? On me.”

  I shook my head, and looked around at all the empty tables in the room. Could I just get up and walk away? Would he follow? How long was my food going to take? I sighed and changed my mind. A drink might be just what I needed to calm my nerves. “Actually, you know what, I’ll take a hurricane.”

  The waitress noted it down and backed off, smiling with the promise the drinks would be right out. Trey smirked over at me. “A hurricane. That sounds like the perfect drink for a girl like you.”

  “Why’s that?” I squirmed in my seat under the dark stare and half-cocked smile he was giving me.

  “You have an effect on guys like me. We know you’re trouble, but wanna chase the storm anyway.”

  I laughed, the sound a hollow, bark. “I’m trouble?”

  He grinned wider. “One hundred percent.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not trouble. I’m tame, at least compared to your usual type…” I added, leveling him with another long glance, seeing if he’d take the bait.

  He shrugged. “Maybe that’s why you’re trouble. With my so-called usual type, I know what I’m getting into. But you…you’re a firecracker—must be the Oklahoma in you. But, there’s definitely something sexy and hurricane-ish about you and it’s making me very curious.”

  I stared at him, turning over his words, but then broke away from his dark eyes. I laughed and shook my head, marveling that I’d almost let myself get sucked in to those beautiful milk chocolatey pools. “Damn, you’re good. I’ll give you that. But sorry, Trey, I’m not going to fall for your lines.”

  He chuckled and paused while the waitress returned with our drinks. He took a long sip from the top of his beer and I twirled the straw through my drink. “All right, you’re a no-BS kinda girl. I get it. So tell me something about you.”

  “Like what?” I took a long sip. Where was my dinner? I needed to get out of here quick—or I wouldn’t be able to tear myself away from him.

  Chapter Eight

  Trey

  “What do you want to know?”

  I shrugged at Josie and tore my eyes from her bee-stung lips long enough to come up with a reply. “Anything. Where you’re from, what you like to do when you’re not working, brothers, sisters? You know. That kinda thing.”

  It wasn’t my usual tactic, but then again Josie wasn’t a usual girl. She’d already proven to me that she was immune to my normal lines and appeal—or at least she faked it really well. And apparently…she didn’t give two shits that I was a pro-athlete and had tons of money. Most girls would jump all over me when they found out. She probably wouldn’t be impressed that I had a beach house in SoCal, a garage full of near-priceless cars and bikes, or that I could take her to red carpet events and buy her diamonds the same way people buy a pack of gum at the grocery store.

  Nope.

  And I had no idea why none of that impressed her, but the bottom line was—it didn’t. And for whatever reason—the standoffishness, or the attitude—I didn’t know what, but it made her all the more appealing to me.

  Josie took a sip from her hurricane, wrapping those damn sexy lips around the tiny straw. My cock went to attention and I resisted the urge to shift in my seat. She didn’t need to know how insane she was making me. I already had a shocking lack of an upper hand in the conversation.

  “I grew up on a big ol’ ranch about an hour outside of Dallas,” she said, pushing her drink from hand to hand on the table in front of her. Was she nervous? Good. I liked not knowing where the night was going to end up. The unpredictable nature of Josie only added to the anticipation for what it was going to be like when she was mine.

  “Dallas is nice,” I replied.

  She nodded, still giving me a skeptical eye. “Yeah, my parents are still there. As well as all three of my older brothers.”

  “You’re the baby?”

  She laughed softly. “Yup, and the only girl.”

  “Aha. A princess, I bet.”

  She gave a playful eye roll. “Sometimes, yes. But I was never into pink everything and tea parties or whatever. Most of my friends growing up were into pageants and being little mini beauty queens. I would rather play in the creek, catching frogs, and making mud pies.”

  I chuckled at the image of little Josie with pigtails, covered in mud, up to her waist in a pond. “A tom boy?”

  “Totally. I had to keep up with my brothers.” She smiled and her eyes had a glossy, far-away look for a moment, like she was wandering down memory lane. I studied her delicate face and wondered what it would feel like to get my lips on hers. They probably tasted like candy. “Anyways, I went to college in Oklahoma City and did my internship at the station, channel six. And I’ve been there for two years now.”

  I gave a nod as she rounded her eyes back to mine. “That’s cool. Do you miss the ranch? Or you like the city?”

  She took another thoughtful sip. “I miss it, but the city has an energy that’s hard to replicate out in the country.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You’re a country boy?”

  I laughed. “No, not exactly, but I did grow up in a small town. It wasn’t country, per se, but it was small and quiet and nothing ever happened. To go from that life to being a pro athlete, touring the country, and living in a place like California, it’s like I’m on another planet.”

  Josie laughed and I memorized the sound. She was even more stunning when she smiled. Her eyes sparkled and reflected light like they were made of precious stones. “I’ll bet. Does your family still live there?”

  I shook my head. “Nah. I put my parents up in a sweet house in Boca. They wanted to live somewhere warm so with my first big endorsement deal, I picked them up a nice house in a quiet, gated community.”

  “That’s actually sweet,” Josie said, cocking her head to the side as though seeing me for the first time.

  “Yeah, I have my moments,” I teased, grinning at her. “I’m not the complete douchebag the media makes me out to be. The heartless monster.”

  She blinked and the amazed look left her eyes, but her soft smile remained. “Noted. So, what did your parents do before you moved them to Florida?”

  “My dad was a high school teacher, math. My mom stayed at home and did bookkeeping on the side. No one knows where my athleticism comes from. My dad’s a nerdy guy with thick glasses, more content buried in a newspaper or book than out on the field. My mom’s the same way. They’re quiet, conservative, and smart. I’m pretty sure most people think I’m adopted or something…”

  Josie’s brow wrinkled. “What do they think of all this, then?”

  “They’re proud of me,” I replied, glancing away for a moment. I shrugged and returned my eyes to Josie’s. “They like the perks of having a sports star for a son. My dad likes baseball.”

  “Do they come and visit often?”

  “Not really.” I took a beat and drank deeply from my beer. “What about you? What do your parents and brothers think about you being in OKC?”

  Josie laughed softly. “Well, my dad tries to invent a new bribe every couple of months to get me to move back home to the family ranch.”

  I grinned. “Really? Like what?”

  “His latest pitch was that he would have a house built on a few acres, with a pool, and a horse pasture all for myself.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “He’s relentless. He paid for my college and never complained, but I don’t know…I guess he never thought I’d take that degree and turn it into a real career. I don’t know why.”

  So that was it. She grew up with money, so my money or house wasn’t a perk to this crazy beautiful lady. “Hmm. So what does he want you doing instead? Barefoot and pregnant?”

  Josie laughed but then cringed, her freckled nose wrinkling ever so slightly. “He wants me to get married, have a house, with some horses and yes, I’m sure grandchildren would be in the top five things on his list.” She sighed deeply. “It’s suffocating.”r />
  “I bet.” I spun my beer bottle slowly in my hand. Before I could think of something to add, or change the conversation altogether, the waitress reappeared with a foil wrapped to-go container and set it on the table in front of Josie. She thanked her and went to dig through her purse for her wallet. “Charge it to my room. Twenty-one fourteen.”

  Josie jerked her head up from her search and looked from the waitress to me and then back again. “No, no. I’ve got it. Just one sec…”

  I laughed as she fumbled through her purse. “It’s fine, Josie. Really.”

  The waitress looked my way and I nodded, shooing her off with a wave of my hand. Josie sighed and stuffed the gutted contents of her purse back together. “I didn’t want you to buy my dinner,” she said, pouting at me.

  “Why not? You let me barge into your night. It was the least I could do.”

  She looked at me, her expression firm, skeptical. “What do you want, Trey?”

  “Nothing. Although, I wouldn’t say no to a bite or two of whatever you got in there. Smells damn delicious. And I’m starvin’.”

  She laughed and peeled back the foil covering the top. “Well then eat!”

  The warm scent of garlic French fries spilled out and we both made identical moans. Our eyes flashed together and locked in place. Josie’s were wide and alarmed.

  “I have a firm, ladies first policy,” I said, my voice low. “Applies to french fries as well as…other things…”

  Josie blushed, her face turning a dark shade of pink.

  She blinked a few times, clearing her shock away, and then dug into the box. She snatched a fry and munched on it mindlessly. I laughed and dove into the box and snagged a fry for myself. “Damn! I’m gonna need to order some of these myself.”