by S A Clayton
He doesn’t respond, so I keep going.
“I also think having it upstairs would be great business for us.”
“How so?” his head tilts and I know he’s intrigued.
“Mel could offer dance classes at the same time as some of our classes and Mel can offer the parents special rates if the parents take one of our classes at the same time. I think that might boost membership over time,” I suggest and Henry stays silent for a minute again.
What’s going through that head of his? I can usually get a read on him, but right now he’s a mask of mystery.
“What does Mel say about all this?” he asks, and I mention that I haven’t told her yet, that I wanted his go-ahead before I told her anything.
“Okay,” is all he says and for a second I think I dreamed it, but when I catch that glint in his eyes and the big smile on his face, I leap out of my chair.
“Okay, as in ‘okay I’ll think about it?’ or ‘okay, let’s do this.’”
“It’s an ‘okay, let’s do this,’” Henry says just as I run and hug him behind his desk. “I love the idea of the studio also functioning as a day care of sorts and I think that you’re right that it will boost membership over time. So yes, I approve.”
I give him another hug before I go and grab all my papers.
“You are amazing!” I scream, loving the feeling coursing through my body. I can’t tell if it’s happiness or pride in myself for doing this. But either way, I’m on cloud nine. “I’ll talk to Mel and try to find some cheap contractors to help.”
“Before you go looking for hired help, talk to that boy of yours. I think he has some ideas on how to help with all that.” He winks, and I smile because of course Josh would have ideas of his own. All I care about right now is that I get to make my best friend’s dreams come true.
8
Josh
The Haws are playing in my hometown tonight, so when the sound of my phone wakes me up, I know that it’s my mother. I shake last night’s events out of my head because my cock is still at half-mast just from remembering the sounds Harper made, wondering if she could be louder next time.
“Hey Mom,” I murmur, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I look at the clock on my nightstand, realizing I still have a few hours before I have to get to the stadium.
“Hi sweetie, I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I chuckle at the concerned tone of her voice, knowing she will never get over that perpetual worry she always seems to have on my behalf.
“It doesn’t matter, I needed to get up anyway. I need to eat before going to practice.”
“I wish you would have told me you were flying in, I would have brought you home for some food.”
I smile, picking up the room service menu, knowing it will all pale in comparison to my mother’s cooking. I think about leaving and going to a restaurant but what’s the use of going out when I can just stay in my boxers and watch TV while eating pancakes and bacon.
“Ma, you know I love your cooking, but if you come here, then Will will come too, so will Cam and about ten of the other guys from the team.”
She laughs it off as if it’s no big deal to have thirteen baseball players in her house. She’s always been that way, wanting to support me any way she can, even when I make enough to support her. Which I do.
“Fine. Then when will I see you? I need to hug my baby before he leaves.”
“Ma, I’m here for three days. We have loads of time to see each other, don’t worry.”
She huffs a reply and I find myself smiling because I can picture her face perfectly, and we both know that if I actually saw her face, I would cave and invite her here right now.
“So who is this girl I saw you with in the paper?”
My head snaps up at the mention of a girl, and I wonder again when Harper and I were pictured together.
“She’s very beautiful, but she seems a bit too girly for you…”
I groan. She’s not talking about Harper, she’s talking about Angela.
“She’s no one. She sat next to me at a basketball game and tried to persuade me to go home with her. I didn’t.” For a split second, I wonder what Harper will do when her picture eventually turns up in gossip magazines. I know she understands that side of the business, but I still get this sinking feeling when I think about it, because it will happen. It’s not a matter of if but when.
“So, if she isn’t the girl, then who is?” she asks all coy, but I know for a fact that she knows more than she’s letting on.
“How do you know there’s a girl in my life?”
She just chuckles as I shake my head.
“A mother always knows.” I mouth the words as she says them, since she’s been spewing that bullshit since I was a kid.
“Fine,” I mock groan, leaning back against the headboard and crossing my ankles in front of me. “There is a girl. Her name is Harper and it’s very new so please don’t go stalking her on the internet or something.”
“Excuse me, when have I ever done that?”
Jesus. This woman tests my patience every goddamn time I call her.
“Don’t make me remind you of what happened the last time I had a girlfriend. You found her on Facebook and messaged her, wondering how many grandkids she was going to give you.”
I really wish I was making this shit up, but it’s one of the reasons we eventually broke up.
“Well, I’m not getting any younger…”
I laugh because she’s not even denying her stalking tendencies, she’s actually trying to justify them.
“Stop, Ma. I really like her. Can we leave it at that for now?”
She huffs. “Fine. But the minute it becomes more, you better bring her home.”
I agree and also agree to see her after the game this afternoon before hanging up.
I set the phone down, picking up the room service menu again when there’s a knock at the door. When Will’s smiling face greets me, I roll my eyes as he breezes past me and makes himself at home on my bed.
“Dude, you missed one hell of a night last night.”
I tilt my head, grabbing a pair of jeans off the floor and pulling them on.
“King got with this gorgeous chick, like playboy mansion type shit.”
Will has been single for as long as I’ve known him, and for good reason. He’s never been great at the monogamous stuff, at least not since making it to the show. I know there’s a story there, but I’ve never asked him about it. Him and King trade secrets almost every time they’re around each other and it still shocks me that neither of them has had a pregnancy scare yet.
“One of these days your dick is going to get infected, and I’ll be over here laughing my ass off,” I mutter as I grab the hotel phone and order breakfast.
“Well, at least I’m getting some action,” he says, taking out his phone and scrolling through social media sites I don’t have.
When I don’t say anything back, he looks over, and I guess he sees something in my eyes because he drops the phone and is on me like a kid on cake.
“You have a chick, and you didn’t tell me?” he asks as if I just told him that there is no Santa Claus.
“Fuck off, Harris.” I push him away, hearing my cell phone go off on the nightstand. He lunges for it before I have a chance to stand and read the message.
“Harper? Who is she? Is she any good in bed? Can I have her when you’re done?” He laughs although I know he’s kidding, the thought of him touching her sends a sensation of fury through my entire body. Will might come off as a player and loves that lifestyle, but I know my best friend, and deep down he wants to settle. Deep, deep, deep down. Right now, he has a reputation to protect.
“If you would give me back my phone, I’d tell you,” I mutter, holding out my hand for him as he places the phone in my palm. “And stop acting like you’re twelve years old. You’re not King.”
He shrugs and sits back down, waiting for me to spill my guts.
“I met h
er at Paul’s. She impaled me with a dart.” I smile at the memory, loving that we have that anecdote as a catalyst for our relationship.
Will belly laughs, leaning back into the headboard. A knock sounds at the door and I go and get my food, placing the trays on the bed just as Will decides he’s hungry and starts to dig in.
“Who is she?” he asks again with a mouthful of blueberry pancakes.
“She works at the gym I’m working with and I ran into her there after the bar. It was fate.” I cringe as the last part leaves my mouth, knowing he’s going to rib me about it.
“Fate? Are we in some kind of romance movie I didn’t know about? You sound ridiculous right now.”
I throw a piece of bacon at him.
“You throwing bacon will not stop me. If anything, it’ll egg me on more than ever.” He laughs again, eating the slice and moaning. “I fucking miss bacon,” he grumbles and grabs another piece.
Some guys, Will included, usually diet during the season. Me? I just eat what I want and work out enough that it doesn’t affect me.
“So, you like her?” he asks quietly, almost tentatively.
“I do. She’s sweet, funny, and sexy as hell. The best part? She knows baseball, and not in the cleat chaser way. She actually just loves the sport.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, and she has ties to the game.” I know I’m being covert about who she is, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to actually tell him the truth.
“How so?” Will asks, taking another pancake and shoving the whole thing in his mouth. He then proceeded to pour the syrup directly into his mouth and chews.
“Her dad was Hank Stevens,” I say quietly as his back shoots off the headboard and his eyes bulge.
“Fuck me! No way! That’s insane, that dude was a legend even after his death.”
“Yeah, I know, that’s why I’m taking it slow.”
“That can get complicated,” he warns and I know he’s talking from experience.
“Yes, I know, but this feels different.”
He’s silent as he eats all of my food. I take a bite out of the last remaining pancake and groan because, no offense to my mother, but they are the best pancakes I have ever had.
“I know you know what you’re doing. Dating during the season is hard enough, but dating the daughter of a legend? You’re just asking for insane press. And with Coach on your ass all the time as it is, it’s going to be damn near impossible to sustain it.”
Shit. I never thought about it like that.
“I won’t let the fact that I’m dating her affect my game.”
Will’s eyebrows rise.
“What?”
“When did you start seeing her? Or should I say when did you start pursuing her?” he asks, chuckling, taking a piece of fruit and throwing it in the air and catching it in his mouth.
“A few weeks ago.” I have this strong feeling that I won’t like where this conversation is going.
“So, about the time your game started to go south?” I fall back against the bed and sigh.
“Yup.”
“Like I said, be careful,” he mutters as I take another bite of the pancake, knowing that if I don’t get my game back on track, all of this is going to blow up in my face.
9
Harper
My phone goes off inside my office while I’m helping Henry look over this week’s schedule. I must have a look on my face that tells him just how much I want to go and get it because he rolls his eyes and motions for me to get out of his office.
“Tell Josh I say hi.” He winks as I head into my office, smiling from ear to ear.
It’s been a month since we’ve officially become an “us” and it’s been amazing, besides the fact that he’s been on the road most of the time. I forgot how much of a toll that takes on any relationship and for the first time in a long time, I feel sympathy for my mother for all the years she did this, let alone with a kid. I miss him every day, but tonight he gets home and promised to take me out.
Josh: Hey, Sunshine.
Josh’s text spreads warmth through my chest.
Me: Shouldn’t you be on a plane right now?
I sit at my desk, my door open so I can see the floor and make sure nothing happens when Henry locks himself in his office.
Josh: I will be in about half an hour, thought I’d text my girl before I’m cut off for the next five hours.
My breath hitches at the “my girl” aspect of his text. It’s the first time he’s used that and honestly, I’m not mad at it. The way it sounds over text will probably pale in comparison to the way it will roll off those talented lips of his. But for now, I’ll let the happiness roll through me as I text him back.
Me: Well I guess it’s my lucky day then.
I send the wink face emoji and decide to get up off my ass and clean a bit since I know if I sit here all day, the day will drag. So I head toward the outfield, and the second I see the mess that spewed around me, I groan. I pick up the stray towels, bats, and baseballs and before long I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket.
Josh: We’re taking off soon. I’ll see you tonight?
My body reacts to that question and remembers exactly what it felt like to be with him, and I know I need more of it. And soon.
Me: I’m working until seven
His text back is immediate.
Josh: Then I’ll see you at seven. I gotta go, see you soon.
I can’t help the shit-eating grin that crosses my face as I make my way back into my office and sit at my desk. We’ve been on a few dates so far over the last month, but it’s the prospect of seeing him again that’s got my stomach doing flips inside me.
I hear a knock at my door and inwardly groan when Angela walks in. As much as we need her to keep the gym operational and for me not to spend every waking hour here, I’m getting sick and tired of seeing her smug face. She looks like she does every day, practically perfect, and when she directs that fake ass smile my way, all I want to do is roll my eyes and tell her to get the fuck out of my office.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” she asks, sitting down in the chair opposite my desk even though I never gestured that she could sit down.
“What can I do for you?” I lace my fingers together and place them on the desk in front of me.
She sits forward and leans against my desk.
“I wanted to see if I could have the afternoon off?”
Of course this is what she wants, it’s what she always wants. I honestly don’t think this girl has worked a full shift in weeks and it’s driving me crazy. I really need to start looking for someone to replace her.
“Why is that?” I lean back in my chair, watching her eyes dart anywhere but where I’m sitting. I know for a fact that she’s trying to come up with an excuse.
“Family emergency.”
Of course. She knows I can’t ask anything more than that, so I take a deep breath, hating this part of my job.
“Family emergency,” I repeat, knowing she’s lying, but I can’t really do anything about it. But then an idea forms and I smirk. “Okay, sure you can leave early.”
“Great, thanks!” she says, smiling as she gets up to leave.
“But if you do, then you will be making up those hours next week.”
Her eyes bulge and she goes to argue before I hold up a hand to stop her.
“Angela, I understand that you don’t like me, and to be honest, the feeling is mutual. But you are an employee here and I expect you to actually work the shifts you’re given or tell me your new availability and we will try our hardest to work around that. But if things don’t improve going forward, then I will be forced to find someone to replace you.”
Angela sits there silently for a minute and then smirks, like what I just said meant absolutely nothing.
“You can’t do that. You’re not my boss.”
I shake my head because that is so far from the truth.
“Actually, I a
m. I own half this company, Angela. Henry might be the head honcho around here, but I do have a say in the day-to-day operations. And an employee not showing up for her shifts falls under my responsibilities and therefore, unfortunately for you, I am very much your boss.”
Her eyes narrow as I continue.
“So, like I said, you are more than welcome to take the rest of the day off, but you will have to get someone here to take your place and you will make up those hours next week.”
We’re silent for a moment before she stands.
“Never mind,” she mutters and leaves my office in a huff.
Thank God.
The end of the day can’t come fast enough. I find myself looking at the clock constantly, wanting time to go just a little bit faster as I silently tell myself to calm down. It’s finally time to start closing everything down, and since it’s a Thursday, I’m here alone, which I prefer. Everyone’s scheduled shifts ended about an hour ago and so it’s blissfully quiet as I walk around the space, taking my time to go through everything that needs to be done without distractions.
When I finish cleaning everything else, I go into the locker room and look myself over once more before Josh shows up. The mirror is not kind to me as I stare at my reflection. My hair is everywhere from sweating all day, my face is flushed and so I lean over the sink and splash some cold water on my face, hoping that will help. I have never been a makeup kind of girl, something Cole despised and would make me wear any chance he got, but now? I’m okay with the woman staring back at me, the one that put in a hard day’s work and doesn’t give a shit if a guy wants her to wear mascara on date night.
Feeling content, I leave and make my way to the front of the gym, only to find Josh standing by the front door.
“Hi,” I say, motioning for him to come inside.