Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel)

by Hale, Melissa

  After checking her new deadbolt for the hundredth time she finally crawled into bed. As she lay there trying to sleep, she thought about the previous night curled up on Ethan's couch whispering in the dark. Before she could talk herself out of it she grabbed her new phone plugged in on the nightstand and texted Ethan.

  "Are you awake?" It was less than a minute before she received a reply.

  "Yep." She took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding just from reading his text. This was getting ridiculous. "What's the matter can't sleep?" He asked and it made her smile.

  "Not for lack of trying." She replied.

  "I am sure sleepy time tea is out. Try warm milk?"

  "Tried hot chocolate, didn't work."

  "Bath?"

  "Yes."

  "I only know one other sure cure for insomnia."

  "And that is?"

  "...nevermind." Erica stared at the word a blush creeping up her cheeks as the meaning of the comment settled on her. He had been a perfect gentleman he hadn't even come close to trying to kiss her at the end of their non-date. She was relieved and oddly disappointed at the same time.

  "lol." It was as close to standard text lingo as she ever got. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

  "I was waiting for you to call me." Erica caught her breath at the rush of pleasure reading those words gave her.

  "You could call me." She typed, holding her breath. She didn't have to wait long but her phone didn't ring with a telephone call, instead it chimed with a video chat request.

  Video! As in he'll be able to see me! Decline!

  Her finger didn't respond to her panic and pressed accept instead.

  "I said you could call, this is not the same thing." Even as she said the words her lips curled up in to a smile of pure pleasure at the sight of his face.

  "I know but this is better." His voice was husky, as if he'd been asleep and she could see he was in bed.

  "Ohmigod, I woke you up." She gasped.

  "Nah, I'm awake." He smiled. He was so sexy it made her dizzy. She was glad he wasn't there in person.

  "I've never done this before."

  "You're a video chat virgin?" He grinned and she laughed.

  "You know I would not have chosen to make my video chat debut in my jammies."

  "You're beautiful." The words and the husky voice made the hair on her arms stand up.

  "Where are your jammies?" she asked before she fully realized what she was saying.

  "I don't wear jammies." He chuckled and she felt her cheeks heat.

  "Ohmigod." She groaned and covered her face and he laughed harder.

  "Don't worry, I'll keep the phone pointed up here, you can just tell yourself I have bottoms on." She groaned again and he laughed harder. She propped up the phone against the pillow next to her and sighed.

  "I am really sorry I woke you up."

  "I'm not." The laughter was gone from his voice now. "It's okay to be uncomfortable after what happened."

  "I took this self-defense class in college. I thought I was prepared but when... when he grabbed me... I couldn't remember anything I was supposed to do. I drew a total blank."

  "That's normal, Erica. There are plenty of guys that go into combat after all the training that Uncle Sam provides and still freeze up." She sighed but didn't respond. "I can teach you. I happen to know some self-defense."

  "Ethan," she sighed, "Aren't you tired of coming to my rescue?" The sound of her sighing his name caused a reaction all the way to his bones. He opened his mouth to respond and had to try twice before sound came out.

  "I don't mind, really. Don't think of it as me coming to your rescue, I'm just..."

  "Being a good friend?" she supplied.

  "Right, being a good friend." He said, though the word felt wrong in his mouth.

  "Is that a tattoo?"

  "What? Oh yeah it is." Grateful for the distraction he moved his arm forward so she could see the tattoo on his upper left biceps in the small video screen.

  "Oh it's a bulldog, that's so cute."

  "It's a devil dog, and it's not supposed to be cute."

  "Sorry, it's very manly." she laughed.

  "It's a Marine Corps tat. It is manly." The indignant tone of his voice made her laugh again.

  "Do you have any others?"

  "I thought you didn't want to know about the parts you couldn't see." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed again. It felt good, her earlier apprehension completely forgotten. "No that's the only one. On my eighteenth birthday I got the tattoo and I enlisted.

  "How long were you in for?"

  "Eight years. I fully intended to do twenty."

  "What made you change your mind?"

  "Got shot."

  "Really?" Erica gasped.

  "Yep, lost my spleen." He moved the phone so she could see the scar on his side and she couldn't help but notice the sculpted chest and abs on the way down. She had never spent much time mooning over the male body but his was impressive enough to make the warmth in her stomach turn into a full tingle.

  Ethan barely concealed his nervousness as he waited for her to answer the door. He couldn't hide the smile when she opened it. She was wearing a white shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, her hair was pulled up into a pony tail. She was completely makeup free and absolutely beautiful.

  "Ethan." There was a question in her voice even as she held the door open to admit him.

  "I am concerned about your conscience."

  "My conscience?"

  "Yeah, you're worried that I am doing too many favors for you. So I have come up with one you can do for me."

  "Does it involve that outfit?" She asked eyeing his baseball pants and untucked jersey.

  "It does as a matter of fact. I need a cheerleader."

  "I hate to break it to you but I was never a cheerleader." she laughed, "If you need a girls fast pitch softball catcher, I'm your girl. But I'm not a cheerleader."

  "Ah come on it's not like you have to actually lead any cheers. My buddy Jace is the first baseman on our team and he has a personal cheering squad, I catch a ration of shit from him after every game."

  "So you want me to come and cheer for you?"

  "Yep."

  "Are you any good?" She crossed her arms and cocked an eye brow.

  "Nope, I hope you have some acting skills."

  "All right, let me change and put some makeup on."

  "No time. Besides you look perfect, beautiful. Let's go."

  Erica fidgeted restlessly in the truck on the way to the park. She was more nervous about being around his friends than she had been about being alone with him.

  "Tell me about the team."

  "It is a coed team, made up mostly of people who work for my company, there are also some spouses and friends. We're not very good." He laughed. "Which is why we need all the cheering we can get." He laughed.

  He wasn't kidding when he said she didn't have time to change. The game was about to start when they got there. He grabbed a bag of gear out of the back of the truck and she headed for the bleachers. She felt a little odd not knowing anyone but it was nice to have a reason to stare at Ethan. He was certainly a fine specimen. He had talked to her and kept her laughing until she could barely keep her eyes open. Once they finally got off the phone she fell into a deep sleep, her apprehension about being alone forgotten.

  Ethan's team was up to bat first. She assumed the first guy up to bat must be Jace because three women in the top row began to cheer enthusiastically when he stepped up to the plate. She glanced up over her shoulder as casually as she could muster. There were two brunettes and a blond. All perfectly put together. It would appear than none of them had been drug out of the house without makeup. She tugged self-consciously at the hem of her shorts. At least she had shaved her legs that morning.

  "Just ignore them." Erica turned and saw an older woman to her right. "They get a little rowdy but they are more nuisance than anything else." She said when Erica met her gaze. Jace hit a
double on the first pitch and the girls cheered like crazy. Ethan was up next and there was some pointing and giggling from the peanut gallery but no cheering. Erica swallowed any potential embarrassment and yelled. Ethan glanced up at her as he approached the home plate and grinned. The woman sitting to her right looked at her again, this time she joined her in cheering. When Ethan hit the ball she put her fingers to her lips and whistled loud and long. It was a single. Now she had drawn the attention of the women on the top bench. She could feel their eyes on her and it made her supremely uncomfortable. The next batter hit a pop fly which was caught and he was called out. The next two batters struck out. Ethan never made it past first base and Jace didn't get off third. When Ethan's team took the outfield she was surprised to see that Ethan was pitching. She began cheering again reminding herself that he had spent the last two days helping her and putting her at ease. Cheering for him seemed a small price to pay. The woman on her right scooted closer and held out her hand.

  "I'm Norma." She smiled.

  "Erica." She shook the woman's hand and they began to chat. The next three innings went much the same. Ethan's team scored three runs, the other team scored two. It was in the end of the fourth inning that the catcher on Ethan's team went after a pop fly and collided with a runner trying to make his way home. The collision didn't look bad at first but when the catcher didn't immediately get up, Erica took a closer look. The catcher was clutching her knee. The runner she had collided with knelt beside her. After a moment he waved to the bench and the players surrounded her. Erica stayed where she was, she could no longer see the catcher, only the people surrounding her. After a few minutes the catcher emerged in the arms of the runner she had collided with. Erica couldn't suppress a smile, he looked as if he would carry her all the way home, or anywhere else she wanted to go. It wasn't until the rest of the crowd decided to disperse that Erica looked for Ethan. When she finally spotted him he was almost right in front of her. He smiled at her and she smiled back despite the fact that his appearance made her suspicious.

  "Remember when you said if I needed a catcher..."

  "No." She said before the words were all the way out of his mouth.

  "You can do it."

  "No I can't, it was girls fast pitch softball and it was years ago!"

  "I bet you still remember how, it's not much different."

  "Ethan I can't, I haven't even thrown a ball in years."

  "I'll help you warm up."

  "So what's the verdict?" Erica looked up at the new voice and saw the first baseman with the fan club. She realized with a start, she had seen him before. He had been in the coffee shop with Ethan. "Are you going to help us salvage the only lead we've had all season?"

  "I really can't, I haven't played in years."

  "Haven't you been watching Darlin'? You don't have to be good to play on this team." Ethan and Jace both laughed and Erica was warmed. They didn't take themselves too seriously. They weren't overly competitive. They were just out to have a good time.

  "All right." She sighed and the grin that lit up Ethan's face was worth it. "Does anyone have some gear I can borrow?"

  Jace took off to find some gear and Ethan held his hand out to her to help her step off the bleachers.

  Erica could not have felt more conspicuous or uncomfortable if she tried. The borrowed uniform and gear didn’t fit right. The pants were too tight in the hips and waist and the jersey was too tight in the bust. She felt like she was trying to wear an adolescent boy’s clothes. Thankfully the catcher’s gear covered up the most embarrassing areas. She stretched as much as she could in the tiny public restroom. She felt a little better when she sank down into the catcher’s stance. It felt natural, familiar. She could almost hear her dad cheering, yelling at her to keep her eye on the ball. Ethan threw her a few practice pitches and before she knew it she was behind a batter.

  Mercifully the game wasn’t too strenuous. She caught a couple of fouls and tagged out a couple of runners. All in all it was actually less intense than when she had played in high school but she could definitely feel the soreness in her legs. They won but as soon as the game was over Erica’s main concern was getting back into her own clothes. She hurried towards the same public restroom she had changed in previously and quickly stripped off the gear in the small space. She was tired, she was sore, she was sweaty and dirty. But oddly she was exhilarated at the prospect of celebrating with Ethan.

  When she was finally all put back together she exited the stall only to discover she wasn’t alone. The blond cheerleader from the bleachers was primping in the dingy mirror. She met Erica’s gaze and smiled.

  “Great game.” The perky blond said between lipstick applications.

  “Thanks.” Erica looked in the mirror and was slightly aghast. Her face was dirty and sweat streaked and her ponytail had loosened and let her hair slip free haphazardly around her face.

  “So are you Ethan’s sister?” The woman asked. Erica felt the barb, the question implying that she wasn’t hot enough to be a girlfriend or a date.

  “We’re friends.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. I guess someone should have warned you he really hates the cheering. Jace likes the attention but not Ethan.” Erica offered the woman a tight smile.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She left the bathroom not bothering to straighten out her hair or wash her face. She immediately regretted that when she found Ethan waiting for her just outside the bathroom. His face split into a wide grin and her heart stuttered. He was sweaty and dirty as well, but on him it was hot.

  “You were great.”

  “Yeah and I am going to feel it tomorrow.” She laughed.

  “Come on, the whole team is headed to Jack's to celebrate.” Jack’s was a popular sports bar. The last thing she wanted right now was to be seen in public.

  “Oh Ethan I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I need a shower for one thing.”

  “We all need showers.” He laughed. “Come on, you have to come, you’re our good luck charm.”

  “What?”

  “This is the first game we’ve won. You have to be the key.”

  “I don’t think so.” She laughed.

  “Come on, you have to be starving.” He opened her door and looked into her eyes. She felt a melting sensation that felt suspiciously like her defenses and relented.

  “Fine,” she sighed, “You win.”

  “I love to win,” he said and shut the door. Erica immediately pulled the visor down and looked in the mirror. She tried to do something with her hair but it was so dried from the sun and dust it was like straw.

  “I have an extra ball cap if you want.”

  “That would be great.” He reached behind the seat and tossed her a black ball cap. She turned it around and saw that it was a Raiders cap.

  "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

  "What?" He quickly looked over at her alarmed tone.

  "You are a Raiders fan?" She held up the cap and he grinned. "I can't wear this. I'd rather just have my dirty hair," she said haughtily and he laughed. He reached behind the seat and pulled out another cap, this one said Reynolds Security on it.

  "Better?"

  "Yes, thank you." she barely suppressed a laugh and he shook his head.

  By the time Erica had her hair tucked through the loop on the back of the cap they had arrived at their destination. The place was already crawling with baseball players that had left the field before them. They threaded their way through the crowd and managed to find an open semi- circle booth in the back. The waitress had just taken their drink order and dropped off chips and salsa when someone slid into the booth on the other side of her.

  “Hi Jace Carpenter.” He held out his hand.

  “Erica Sanders.” She shook his hand.

  “You’re from that great little coffee shop, right?”

  “Yeah, and you’re from the South and call everyone sugar.”

  “That’s right.” Jace la
ughed a big booming sound. “Thanks a lot for your help today. You’re good, we should draft you.”

  “Ha, no I don’t think so. I don’t think I am going to be able to move as it is.”

  "Well you don't want to stiffen up, you gotta keep moving, come on let's dance." He grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the booth. She glanced back at Ethan, he didn't look happy but he made no move to stop them. She reminded herself that they weren't dating, they were only friends, and let Jace pull her out onto the floor. She loved to dance, surprisingly it was one of the only times she wasn't self-conscious about her body. She used to go with Zoe and Suzy all the time. They hadn't gone out much lately. The music was catchy and upbeat. Jace was a good dancer but she was already tired from the game. She made it through the first song but pled exhaustion halfway through the second. When she returned to the table she realized that they hadn't ordered before she left.

  "I'm sorry, you didn't have to wait."

  "It was no problem. I'm not in a hurry." He smiled and she slid into the booth next to him. "You like to dance?"

  "I love to but not after playing baseball. I am such a wuss." She groaned and he laughed. Jace returned a short time after they ordered and slid in next to her.

  "Do you play darts?" He asked without preamble. She eyed him for a moment.

  "I can play darts, I can also play pool, and even pinball since I saw a machine over there, but not today, today I am not moving from this spot. Play darts with him." She pointed at Ethan and Jace grinned.

  "Nah, he kicks my ass." Jace grumbled. Ethan grinned and Erica laughed.