Behind the Plate: A New Adult Sports Romance (The Boys of Baseball Book 2)

by J. Sterling

  “I wouldn’t either,” I agreed because if Chance had made me feel that way when we were together, I wouldn’t have entertained being with him in the first place.

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  That was the million-dollar question. “I don’t know yet.”

  “Are you going to talk to Jared about what he said to Chance?”

  It was funny how little Jared’s opinion seemed to matter to me anymore. When we’d first started dating, I couldn’t have imagined not caring about what he thought. But I wasn’t that girl anymore. I felt more like my own person than I had in years.

  “Honestly? I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.” I knew that if I reached out, Jared would pat himself on the back after realizing that he had come between me and Chance. “I don’t want him to think he has that kind of power over my relationship. Or me,” I added before pushing off the counter.

  Sunny’s face turned serious, and it looked so odd to see her so expressionless when she always seemed to be smiling. “He hit on me once,” she spat out, and my jaw dropped, her eyes focusing on her hands in her lap.

  “What? When?” I asked as I took a step toward her.

  Months ago, I would have been furious, hearing this. But now, I just felt shocked more than anything else.

  She looked up at me, concern written all over her face. “It was last year. Around the football-player incident. He tried to kiss me one night while you were in your room,” she said.

  All the pieces started clicking together. The way Sunny had stopped liking me and Jared being together, calling us names, and encouraging me to break up with him. And how her face always soured whenever I brought him up. Or how she’d disappear into her room on the rare occasion that he actually came over. Which, now that I thought about it, he had stopped coming over here, always insisting that I go to the frat house instead for whatever reason.

  “Are you mad at me? I’m sorry I never told you. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. You two had so much history, and you’re from the same place. And I didn’t want to be the reason you broke up.” She was babbling, but it didn’t stop. “I don’t know … it was a crappy position for me to be in, but I should have said something.”

  I reached for her hands and held them. “I should have known.” I glanced up at the ceiling before focusing back at my best friend. “You changed around him, and he stopped wanting to come over here. I should have put two and two together, but it never occurred to me.”

  “Why would it?”

  “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me,” I said because I understood that she must have felt so shitty this whole time, keeping this information from me. It must have been eating her up inside. “Chance has never hit on you, right?” I asked with a small chuckle, and her smile returned.

  “No way. He’d never do that.”

  “You’ll tell me if he does?” I asked.

  “Promise,” she said, pulling her hands from mine and extending her pinkie.

  I wrapped my pinkie around hers, and we shook, the pinkie promise made even though I hoped we’d never have to use it.

  Propositions

  Two Weeks Later

  Danika

  I hadn’t meant for so much time to go by without seeing or talking to Chance, but it was just the way things ended up being. In my defense, Chance had been out of town for half of those days, traveling with the team, so it wasn’t entirely my fault. We had texted a couple times, basically saying how much we missed each other, but that was it. He gave me the space I needed, and I took it begrudgingly, knowing that it was for the best.

  I kept my distance, wanting to make sure that my decision—when I finally arrived at one—wasn’t one I’d change my mind about one day down the road. I needed to be certain—about everything. And it took me some time to figure out exactly how I could make this work between us and still have something of my own.

  Because at this point, that was what I wanted—both Chance and a career.

  Which was why I was currently pacing a hole in the carpet of my living room, waiting for my dad to call me back, thankful that Sunny was still at class for the next hour. Nerves raced through my body. Even though my dad had never been anything other than supportive of me, this was a very serious topic, potentially life-changing for us both. It involved his company, and that wasn’t something my dad took lightly, no matter who was propositioning him.

  If I was being honest with myself, this idea had been percolating in my mind for well over a year, but I’d never given it much thought because I always knew that Jared wanted to stay in the city after graduation. Since I assumed that he and I would be together and working for my dad, my idea didn’t make that much sense to pursue at the time. But ending things with Jared gave my life a new beginning. The idea had immediately sprung back into my head after talking to Chance the other night. Ever since then, I couldn’t stop trying to work out the details so that they’d make sense for both myself and my dad’s company.

  I wasn’t sure my dad would even agree to it, but I had to at least try. If he said no, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I’d be back at square one, but I decided to cross that bridge once I got to it. My phone rang in my hand, and I stared at my dad’s name flashing on the screen. I almost didn’t answer; that was how nervous I suddenly became.

  “Hey, Dad,” I answered before forcing myself to sit down at the round kitchen table. Reaching for the pen and pad of paper I’d put there, I looked over my notes.

  “Hey, kiddo. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s good.”

  “That Carter boy staying in line?” he asked, pretending to sound threatening even though there was humor in his tone.

  “He is,” I said, not wanting to get into the fact that we were on a break or taking time apart or whatever you wanted to call it.

  “Good. So, what’s going on? I can tell by your voice that you need to talk.”

  How did everyone seem to read me so easily? I never felt like the kind of person who was that transparent, but lately, I must have been.

  “I wanted to talk to you about my future with the company,” I said, clearing my throat as my words caught.

  “Okay. What about it?” His voice turned more curious than anything else, but I was relieved that he didn’t sound concerned.

  “I’ve been thinking about the role I want to take in it,” I started to say, and he interrupted me.

  “You still want to work here, right?” He sounded so sad.

  “Yes. Of course, I do. Just in a different capacity, if it makes sense.”

  “I’m listening.” He said. “What were you thinking?”

  I blew out a long breath and started to explain my vision, hoping that I didn’t sound stupid or naive. “I’ve heard you talk about your high-end clients and how they want multiple properties in various locations. But you only sell them in New York. You basically give the rest of their portfolio away to other people without earning a commission or a finder’s fee.”

  My dad laughed into the phone. “You’re not wrong. I do give away millions in potential profit because I simply don’t have the time to take on anything outside of the city. I’m just way too busy.”

  “I know. Which is why I was wondering if we could open a division for those clients. We could be really hands-on and offer them a sort of white-glove experience, if that makes any sense. We would provide all the initial research for wherever they wanted to buy property and present them with a portfolio of options based on their preferences and needs. And then we’d work with the seller’s agent to negotiate the deal. Is that possible? I mean, can we legally do that?”

  “Honey, anything is possible with the right amount of money.”

  “What about international properties? I know it’s different than in the States, but I’m not sure how.”

  “International doesn’t have agents like we do, where they split the commissions. It’s all based on negotiations.”

  I hadn’t known t
hat. “Okay.” I scribbled some notes. “What do you think?” I nervously tapped the pen against the pad, the thumping matching my heartbeat.

  “And you would run that division?”

  “I mean, eventually, yes. Once I have more experience and people trust me. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to that. Especially in the international market. But in the meantime, I was thinking of implementing a questionnaire for potential clients to fill out. The more clients we had, the better the questionnaire would become. It would be intuitive and create a report that would tell me exactly what they were looking for, as long as they knew. I’d go over it with them to make sure we didn’t miss any details, but that’d be something that I could do from anywhere.”

  “I see.” My dad’s voice turned almost animated. “Does this have anything to do with your new boyfriend? Am I to understand that you won’t be coming home after graduation?”

  “I didn’t say that, Dad,” I stumbled on the words, and we both knew I wasn’t telling the whole truth. “I just want options,” I admitted.

  “The working from anywhere kind of option?”

  “I mean”—I practically snorted from trying not to giggle—“kind of. Yes. Is that bad? I do think the division is a great idea, and I’d thought about it way before Chance was in the picture. And I could have an office in New York, so I could fly there to meet with our clients in person if they preferred that. Otherwise, we could do online meetings. But I know that a lot of your high-end clientele are traveling the majority of the time and aren’t in one place, so just coordinating time zones would be the biggest challenge.”

  “You’ve done your research. I’m impressed.”

  I smiled super big even though he couldn’t see it. “I’ve also created a mock questionnaire that I want to send you, so you can see how it works. And then I’ll send you a link to the report that it makes. I’ll also create a database as well, specifically for this division, which will be extremely detailed.”

  “You’ve given this a lot of thought then?” It was definitely a question and not a statement.

  “I have. I’d really like to do it if you think it makes sense and is a smart direction for the company to head in. But I understand if it isn’t something you’re interested in. I just wanted to ask.”

  “Sweetheart, I’d give you the world if you wanted it. And this is something I’ve mulled over at least a thousand times over the years. I just never had the time to pursue it, and at some point, I stopped caring about trying to expand my market.”

  A defeated sigh escaped me as I interpreted what my dad was trying to tell me.

  “Maybe I let the idea go because it was never the right moment. Life always seemed to get in the way,” he said, and I knew he was talking about Mom. “It seems like it might be the right time now.”

  “Really?” I felt my blood pressure rise because this was something I was genuinely interested in and wanted to do. The idea of finding beautiful properties for people excited me, and I knew I’d be good at it.

  “Really. If this is something you want to do, we should do it. We have nothing to lose.”

  “Dad, thank you so much. I won’t let you down.”

  He chuckled lightly into the phone, and I heard the sound of ice clanging in a glass through the line. “I know you won’t. But we’ll work it out. I really want to see the mock questionnaire you compiled, so send me that as soon as we hang up. And, honey?” He waited for me to acknowledge him before he continued, “It’s okay that you want to be with this Carter kid.”

  The tears instantly welled up in my eyes, and I tried to fight the emotions back. “It’s not too soon? I was with Jared for years.” Once again, I found myself wanting my dad’s approval.

  “When it’s the right person, you just know. And if you lose them, you never get over it,” he said, sounding a little emotional, and I ached with his pain. “But I’ll tell you something, honey. If your mother were still alive, she would have started the division you’re talking about. She mentioned it to me more than once.”

  “She did? Really?” My heart swelled inside my chest. I loved having anything in common with my mom, but this was something else entirely. It felt so bonding to be of the same mindset even though she was no longer physically here.

  “Really. She had this gypsy, entrepreneurial spirit. She loved New York, but she loved traveling and trying new things. You’re just like her in that sense. Manhattan is a big city, but even it’s not big enough to keep you.”

  I’d never thought about it like that before. I never even considered myself to be a gypsy spirit. I thought that I’d be perfectly content to stay in one place eventually, but maybe somewhere deep down, I always knew that I needed to get out. Which was why I had picked a college as far away as I could when it was time to go.

  “It would have been so much fun to work with her.” The thought came into my head, and instead of holding it back, I shared it, hoping it wouldn’t make him upset.

  “I know. I can see the two of you now”—he laughed—“running the damn world and selling a piece of it to everyone who crossed your path.”

  I smiled, too, as I pictured it. My mom and I would have made an incredible team. Life was so unfair sometimes. Right now, I felt like grieving her loss all over again.

  My dad sniffed before forcing out a cough. “I need to go, honey. Unless there’s anything else?”

  “No, that’s it.”

  “Don’t forget to email me.”

  “I won’t. Thank you, Dad. Thank you so much.”

  “I’m really looking forward to this,” he said, and my pain shifted back into excitement as well.

  “Me too.”

  We hung up, and I grabbed my laptop, checking over the mock questionnaire that I’d set up one last time before emailing him a link to it. I also told him to play around with the options, that depending on the answer, certain additional fields would appear. I sat there, staring at my sent folder as the front door swung open, and Sunny walked in.

  “Hey,” she said before tossing her bag onto one of the chairs. “It’s hot as balls out there.”

  I glanced toward the balcony window. “I haven’t been out yet.”

  “Did the call go well?”

  I’d told Sunny all about my idea as I tried to flush it out in my head. She’d loved it so much that she suggested I hire her as well. It wasn’t the worst idea, but picturing happy Sunny in Manhattan made me laugh every time I tried to imagine it. She’d stand out like a neon painting against a jet-black sky. But maybe that kind of change would be good for her, the way coming out here had been good for me.

  “He loved it,” I said with a grin, closing my laptop. “I just sent him an email with all the details.”

  “I knew it. It’s brilliant. You got me all crazy about it. So, I’ll just wait for my job offer.” She grinned as I considered the prospect of her being in the New York office permanently while I traveled with Chance.

  The only downside in my perspective was our combined lack of real-world experience. The people we’d be dealing with wouldn’t want “kids” handling their investment properties, and I wouldn’t blame them.

  “I’ll be in touch. Your interview went well,” I teased.

  “When will you tell Chance?”

  Sunny had been badgering me daily since Chance and I parted ways. Sometimes, it felt like she wanted us back together more than anyone else.

  “I’ll go over there tonight after his practice.”

  “Thank God. Thought you might torture us all and make him wait longer.” She shook her head in disapproval. “I could not stand another winter-break scenario. My heart couldn’t take it again,” she said, referencing the time when I’d kept my distance from Chance to make sure that I had done the right thing by breaking up with Jared.

  “I’d go see him right now if he wasn’t in class.”

  “Go anyway. Take him out of class. Go sit on his lap during practice. Straddle him like a spider monkey.”

&n
bsp; “It’s not the worst idea you’ve ever had.” I laughed as I pictured trying to straddle Chance while he squatted in his catcher’s gear. “Great. Now, I’m turned on with nowhere to go.”

  “Go to his classroom!” she yelled, and I grabbed my bag, pretending to run out the door before stopping short. “Tease!”

  I was tempted to go to his building and wait outside for him, but I didn’t want this conversation to be cut short, and that was exactly what would happen. There was so much I needed to tell him, and I refused to do it with a time limit.

  Tonight, I’d go over to Chance’s and pray like hell he still wanted me the same way that I wanted him—for forever.

  I Have My Answer

  Chance

  I sat in the kitchen of my parents’ house, just like I’d been doing every night we didn’t have a game. I’d been avoiding going home to the baseball house, trying to escape what being alone with my thoughts did to me. It wasn’t pretty. I tended to spin out pretty badly, creating a narrative that ended with Danika and Jared together and me alone for the rest of my life with only baseball to love. Not to mention the fact that it was too tempting to want to head over to Danika’s apartment and sit in the parking lot like a fucking psycho.

  “So, I gave her space. Told her to take her time and figure out if she could do this or not,” I said finally, explaining what was going on between Danika and me to my parents.

  Danika hadn’t been at a home game since the day of my worst game ever, so my mom knew something was up between us even though I hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Until now.

  “That was smart,” my mom said. “It must have been hard, but it really was the right thing to do.”

  “But it’s been two weeks. I haven’t heard from her in two weeks,” I said, grabbing my hair and pulling at it.

  “Chance, your mom has always told you that this lifestyle isn’t for everyone,” my dad chimed in. “You asked her to think it all over, and she obviously is. You can’t be mad at her for doing what you asked her to.”