by Ana Shay
Tate: Send me one gorgeous. Let me know I’m not the only one getting hot over here.
My hand was already dangerously dancing around my thighs; I was hot and burning up looking at the picture he sent me. I shimmied the boxers down to my midthigh, then I placed my palm over my mound. My body jerked at the touch, already feeling on edge. I took the picture quickly because I needed some relief.
He wouldn’t see much in the picture, my thighs were bare, and my hand covered my center, but the placement of my fingers hinted at exactly what I was doing. Once I sent the message, I dropped the phone and closed my eyes, letting my imagination take over. I thought about Tate touching me like he did the first time he invited himself up. I mimicked the way his fingers danced across my slit as he entered me slowly, only to pull out and rub soft circles around my clit. I moaned his name, wishing he were right here, doing this to me. As I rubbed my clit faster, I thought about the way his tongue flicked against me. Then I slowed, just like he did.
With every motion of my fingers, I was closer to the edge. Tate was bringing me there with just the memories of him. I needed it to feel more like him, so I added an extra finger, stroking myself from the inside. That extra thickness was just what I needed. My body was vibrating now. My hips jerking up towards the touch. I knew I was close. I wanted to come. I needed it.
I moved my fingers quicker, biting down on my bottom lip, waiting for the crash of pleasure. I was on the edge. Just a little more.
My orgasm took over when I imagined Tate’s tongue skating across my sensitive nub again. My body slacked against the bed, my breathing was ragged as I tried to gain some composure from the most intense orgasm I’d ever given myself.
With shaky hands and a spent body, I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Tate: Oh man. That picture. Your fingers. Are you touching yourself?
There was a time delay from that first message to the next one.
Tate: You there? Because I may have just had a little too much fun imagining what you were doing while you weren’t responding.
Cali: Sorry. I was a little busy. I may have had a little too much fun too.
Tate: Glad to hear it. Must admit, I didn’t expect our text exchange to go that way.
Cali: Me either.
Tate: It was hot.
Cali: It was. We should do it again sometime.
Tate: Nah, next time I’m over just show me what you did. Then I’ll show you.
Cali: Sounds good.
Tate: Well, California. You’ve exhausted me. I feel so used and spent that I’m not sure I’ll be able to wake up for the All-Star Game tomorrow.
Cali: Hey! You can’t do that. I never would have sent you that photo if I knew it would affect your focus.
Tate: Typical. All about the baseball.
Tate: And orgasms.
Cali: Very funny. On that note, we both need to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow. I already know I’m going to have trouble getting myself out of this cloud of a bed tomorrow. Thank you again, Tate. I love it.
Tate: Anytime, Cali. Goodnight gorgeous.
Cali: Night
I tossed my phone on the nightstand, feeling slightly giddy as I sunk further into the
bed. That little encounter was unexpected, but much needed. The mattress soothed my aching muscles as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. Thinking of Tate, of course.
Chapter 28
Holding onto the lapels of my tux, I stretched my neck, trying to get comfortable. I may only be in this for a couple of hours, but I already miss my usual sweats. I tugged at the cufflinks, so the white of my shirt peeked out, just below my jacket sleeve. The last time I had to dress this fancy was when Sam dragged me to a stupid movie premiere. I already felt awkward and out of place with all those Hollywood celebrities, but she made it ten times worse when she asked me to talk to one of the producers for her. She wanted me to convince him they should create a show called Baseball Wives since when she tried, it seemed futile. That should have been a serious red flag, especially since we weren’t married, and I’d never proposed; but it was easier to go with her than deal with the wrath if I didn’t. What a stupid waste of time that whole thing was.
Grayson saddled up next to me, already smiling and waving at the crowd of fans that had shown up for the red-carpet event. This is the third time we’ve walked this red carpet together. First time as each other’s dates. Grayson usually flies solo because no woman can stand to be with him longer than thirty seconds, and for me, it’s because it’s the first time I’ve been able to come without Sam. She never wanted to miss an All-Star game. She’d spend two months before getting our outfits coordinated. At that point, I wouldn’t know if I was in the game or not; she’d buy them just in case. “I’ll never get tired of the all-star games.” He said proudly.
We waved at the cheering fans as we strolled down the expansive walkway. The setup for this game was incredible. “Don’t get too used to them, old man. Max could take your place in a heartbeat.” I said through my tight mega-watt smile.
He threw his head back, howling in laughter. “Old man? Firstly, I’m a few months older than you. Secondly, as if Max is anywhere near my level of greatness.” I suppressed an eye roll, knowing a camera would pick up on it. “How many times have I won the Cy Young award now?” He raised his finger to his chin in thought. “Oh, that’s right. Three times. How many times have you been MVP?” He knocked on my shoulder, still laughing. I shook my head, not bothering to answer. He could be an ass when he wanted. Like the time he told the batters what he was going to throw and put them off. Someone will knock him down a peg or two one of these days.
The place was littered with players from both sides of the league, their wives, and families in tow for the photos. My eyes were only searching for one person. Cali. After finding her door ‘catfished,’ she thanked me. When she saw the mattress, I got more than a text. I got a hot picture of her in some Catfish pajamas I didn’t even know we sold. All I knew is that I wanted to buy as many pairs as possible.
I admit I got carried away, and we may have had a little sext exchange. One that made painting that door all the more worth it and helped relieve a little stress before the game today. This morning, she sent me a picture of herself licking the catfish knocker. I know I’ve said before that anything she does can make me hard, but that was off the scales hot. She was definitely teasing me.
All the gifts and our little text exchanges have given me hope that maybe she’s willing to give us a chance instead of running away. I’ve made it clear to the press that I’m not interested in Sam, and the stories have died down since the All-Star hype increased. It feels like things are moving in the right direction, and I can’t help but think that maybe she’s finally coming around.
My eyes flicked around the venue, hoping to get a hint of her. Every time I saw a flash of blonde in my periphery, my eyes immediately whipped in that direction. I was always disappointed when it wasn’t her. “Come on; we promised we’d talk to Sienna before the other reporters.” Grayson reminded me.
The reporters were lined up on one side of the carpet, and our newest on field reporter, Sienna, was standing to the side. She had a small smile on her face when she noticed us coming. The bright red of her lips perfectly contrasted her impeccably coiffed brown hair and cat eye glasses. A little too glamorous for my taste, “Do you think she’d be up for a contract date?” Grayson whispered in my ear. We were close, but not close enough for her to hear that.
“Nah, I heard something is going on between her and - ” I couldn’t finish the sentence because my brain could only focus on one thing. Cali had tapped Sienna on the shoulder, moving her further down the line. The black dress she was wearing hugged every ounce of her curves perfectly. I’d never seen her in something so fancy. It made me want to accept some of those movie premiere invites again. Just so I could peel her out of a dress like that at the end of the night. It was the first ti
me I wanted this game to end so I could pick her up and take her home. She was so focused on Sienna; she hadn’t noticed me.
She was talking into the miniature microphone, balancing by her cheek, utterly oblivious to my stare, which was probably for the best. “Dude, you’re drooling so hard right now; we might need to get a mop.” Grayson laughed when he realized who I was looking at. “You’ve got it so bad. She must have a gold plated pu-“
I held my hand to his mouth, nodding to a couple of Brody Winterlite’s kids skipping past. “Hey Brody, looking forward to playing with you today.” I smiled, pretending my friend wasn’t about to defile his children with the filthiest mouth on the planet.
Brody waved, but his wife pulled him in another direction, giving Grayson an annoyed glare. He really didn’t work well with the fairer sex. “Your voice carries, G. Don’t say crap like that in front of kids.” He shrugged, tilting his head in Sienna’s direction.
“She’s waiting for us.” He was referring to Sienna, but all I thought about was Cali, who was still standing close by, talking to some other reporters. Grayson pulled me to the camera and hugged Sienna. I hugged her too, watching Cali scurry around behind her. She still hadn’t noticed me yet.
“Grayson, Tate. You both look fantastic. What are you wearing?” She specifically looked at Grayson’s dapper pinstriped 3- piece Gray suit. He went all out tonight.
“Brioni,” Grayson flashed a smile and the lining of his jacket at the same time. His number peeked out underneath, and I groaned audibly, knowing the camera might pick it up. “Do you like it, Enna?”
Oh God, he was giving the new girl pet names already.
The microphone was pushed into my face after Grayson and Sienna finished a back and forth that I didn’t listen to because I was too busy watching Cali flip her hair over her shoulder. “I have no idea who I’m wearing,” I admitted to the disappointment of Grayson while I played with the black lapels. At least, I think they’re black. They could be navy for all I know. “Chrissy picked it out.”
“Uh oh, did you just break all the Catfish fan's hearts?” She kept that well-trained smile on her face as I looked at her with a hint of confusion. I never got asked about my love life. It was a strict rule I have after Sam went viral. She wore a tight smile while she urged me to continue with her eyes. Then it hit me; my publicist must have talked to her. They want me to clear this whole Sam mess up.
“Chrissy isn’t my girlfriend.” I chuckled lightly, thinking of the 67-year-old grandmother who has better taste in men’s clothes than me. “She’s my stylist, and her husband is an ex-marine.”
Sienna squinted, “That was a good way to dodge the question, Tate,” She laughed lightly in that reporter way. I took my eyes off Sienna for a second, noticing Cali was watching. When our eyes met, it was like a bolt of electricity swept through my bloodstream. She offered me a half-hearted wave as her eyes dragged down my body, taking my suit in. Her eyes were wide, and she seemed to like what she saw. I’ll need to give Chrissy a bonus at this rate. Someone called Cali’s name, and she shook her head, turning to talk to them. I couldn’t hear what it was from here, but I imagined her honey-toned voice, and it made me a little hard.
“Tate?” Sienna pushed the mic further in my face while Grayson elbowed me, eyeing me with an annoyed glare. “If you want to know if there is someone special in my life, then you’re just going to have to wait and find out.” I could feel the evil grin growing on my face while I thought about what I had in store for Cali. She had no idea what was coming her way. Let’s just say the marketing department can’t wait for our baseball love story to unfold.
“Well, we all can’t wait to see what you mean by that.” She winked at the camera and then looked towards us. “Are you both enjoying yet another appearance on the All-Star team?”
Since the mic was still on me, I decided to respond. “It’s incredible. You just have to love every moment of it because you never know when it’s going to be your last one, so I try to soak it all in.”
Sienna giggled, “Ah, don’t say that. We’re hoping you’ll be here for the next twenty years.”
Grayson howled in laughter. “If old man Tate is still here in twenty years, the Fish have major problems they need to sort out.”
“What about you, Grayson? Starting pitcher for the National League must be an honor.” He looked her up and down, a wolfish grin growing on his face. “Oh, I’m extremely blessed to be standing right here, Sienna.” He cooed her name, and I was impressed because she seemed to have an uncanny ability to ignore him. I wish I could do that.
The crowd started chanting as my face appeared on the big screen above. “Do you hear that? They’re chanting MVT.” Sienna said. My new nickname, “If we go back to the regular season for just a second, Tate, you just hit your 34th home run last week. That ties with your career-high at this point in the season, and you’re six homers ahead of Brody. Do you think you’ll be able to maintain these numbers to get MVP?”
Grayson pushed me out of the way. “It is 100% about time Tate won that. Stats don’t lie. He’s going to be MVP this year. I would put my house on it.” I’d be flattered by his compliments if I didn’t know Grayson doesn’t own a house, just a bunch of apartments.
“Big words. We can’t wait to watch you guys play today.” She says, wrapping up the interview. Before we start with the next reporter, I take my time looking around at our pimped-up stadium proudly. Cali told me about how Larry nearly fell from the ladder while hanging the banners, how a green carpet arrived instead of a red one, and how she was arranging the seating plan for the photographers. I hadn’t seen her since Penn’s game, mainly because of all the work she was putting in here. As much as I enjoyed this, I couldn’t wait for it to be over so I could see her.
I knew I had it bad when I watched her walk away from the reporters and back into the stadium. She said she’d only be out front and visible for the first hour, then she had some back office admin tasks to do, so she would have to watch the game from the TV in there. I had an inkling she might be doing something else, but I didn’t want to push asking about it. Not just yet.
My helmet landed on the floor with a thud. We didn’t win. We weren’t even close. “You played well.” Brody Winterlite offered me a high-five, positivity radiating off him. He was too preppy for words.
I slapped his hand, “We all played well. It’s just the American league played better.” And that was the scariest fact of all. Because if we make it through the playoffs, we’re going to have to play one of them again. I can only hope our team is up for the fight.
Brody shrugged. “They’re a little too competitive sometimes, don’t you think?” I nodded, picking up my scuffed helmet from the floor. There were too many instances to count of their cockiness. One of their pitchers thought it would be fun to pitch with one eye closed. Another batter danced and did a ‘selfie’ as he walked the bases after scoring a three-run homer. I wish we’d beaten them.
“Baseball is about having fun. Remembering the times you watched it with your dad and playing with a group of guys.” He was right, even if he did sound like a sappy Hallmark movie. It’s just easy to forget when you’re so caught up in stats and MVP candidacy.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I wiped my helmet down before hanging it in my locker. I wasn’t about to admit it to Brody, but I was stressed about maintaining my streak of homers. Expectation was pounding down on me in all directions. This could be my last chance as MVP with all these younger players coming up.
“You know what I like to do when I’m stressed?” He asked, seemingly reading my mind. “I like to look up at the mascots and see what kind of stupidity they’re up to. It makes me laugh but also reminds me to have a good time and give the fans something to talk about.”
My mind floated to Catty and how much fun he had today, trying to get the most paid players to sign their money over to him and then pretending to play a virtual reality version of the game below. Stupid stunts, but the crow
d loved it, and I loved Catty. “Your Salamander is the living breathing embodiment of that,” Brody said.
“It’s not a salamander… It’s a catfish.” I corrected, but he didn’t take notice because the rest of the team came walking in. While we congratulated each other on the game, my mind was focused on one thing. How quickly I could get to Cali. Now that this game was over, she’ll want to put her feet up and relax. After our sexting session last night, I texted her this morning, inviting her back to mine tonight. I’d planned dinner and thought she might like a soak in my giant bathtub with all the work she’s done. Maybe I’d offer her a massage to help her sore muscles while she’s in the tub. All kinds of thoughts were running through my mind, and not all of them were decent.
It was another 45 minutes before I was able to leave the locker room. After showering and getting dressed, I lost track of time talking to the other players about their families and the rest of the season. It’s not often that we get to chat in a non-competitive environment, and I enjoyed it.
I strolled out, ready to make my way to Cali’s desk. Hauling the bag over my shoulder and running a hand through my still wet hair, I was ready to see my girl and claim all that was rightfully mine.
There were clicks of movement behind me, which I ignored, too focused on my next move with Cali. Maybe for dinner, I could take her to my private rooftop terrace since she hadn’t seen it yet. We’re so close to the stadium, she’d be able to see the lights shining from it.
“Tate.”
I stopped.
That voice.
My heart sank.
The one thing that has been standing in the way of Cali was now right here.