Aimee was close to my age and not one of the bleacher bunnies so many young players attracted. Randy and Aimee were down to earth and spent their off seasons in Texas on their ranch. Steve assured me we would get along great. That was good. I wasn’t sure I could relate to the players’ wives most of whom were fifteen or more years younger than me.
As Steve took me inside, another player walked towards the exit. He was big and mean looking with a large mustache and a cheek full of chewing tobacco. He was already dressed out and wearing an opposing Dodgers uniform. Today was the last of a three game series between the rivals. As the man walked by, he stared at me and then glanced at Steve.
“Nice day to bring your mom to the ballpark, Wildman,” he said as he walked by and even bumped into me, though not hard. I turned and glared at him and then at Steve.
“Who’s the asshole?” I asked loud enough the man could here.
“Don’t worry about him. That’s Kurt Gurney. He’s mad because he’s 0-for in the series. He can’t hit,” Steve said and Kurt turned and stared back at us.
“Hey, maybe the old lady wants a piece of me, huh?” Kurt said and laughed. I started to go after him but Steve gently grabbed my arm.
“He’s just trying to get under my skin. Besides, he doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Steve told me and that put the fire out.
“He’s a jerk, you know that?” I replied.
“Yeah, everyone knows that,” Steve said and winked at me. I met Randy and Aimee and then she took me up to our seats. Both Randy and Aimee seamed nice. Aimee was beautiful, friendly and had a sweet, southern drawl.
“Ya’all want a beer or something,” she asked once we’d found our seats. I began to dig through my purse.
“Yeah, I’ll buy if you fly,” I replied and she laughed.
“We eat and drink for free and they bring it to us,” she explained and signaled to an usher. She ordered us a couple of beers and bag of peanuts. “Privileges of being married to a player. Or dating one,” she said. I could get used to this. We talked as we waited for the game to begin and watched batting practice. I was pleased to see Kurt, the jerk from earlier, struggle at the plate.
“Serves you right, jerk!” I shouted and Aimee laughed.
“You have something against him?” she asked. I told her what had happened and Aimee rolled her eyes.
“Sounds like Kurt. Randy used to play with him in Kansas City years back. He’s a real piece of work. I hear he has a small dick too,” Aimee said and made me laugh. The game finally began and Aimee and I probably spent more time chatting than watching the game. She asked me how Steve and I had met and I ended up telling her about my divorce and just about everything else.
“Steve’s a good guy. If you don’t mind me saying, he does have thing for girls like us. I’m glad you two are getting along,” Aimee told me after I spilled my guts. She must have been referring to our age or maybe our bust lines because Aimee was a tiny little thing but she had huge boobs and was only a few years younger than me.
“Me too, I really like him. I’m having a ball,” I told her just as the manager walked out and took the ball from the pitcher and signaled to the bullpen. The Dodgers had runners on second and third with two out in the seventh inning but the starting pitcher was running out of gas. I looked to see who was going to relieve him and Steve trotted out onto the field. Then Aimee pointed out Kurt in the on deck circle.
“This is going to be interesting,” she said. I looked at her, not understanding what she meant exactly.
“Why?” I wondered.
“Just watch, sweetie,” she replied. Steve took his warm-up pitches and then the umpire told them to play ball. Kurt stepped into the batter’s box and I was as nervous as I’d been in a long time. But Steve found Aimee and me in the crowd and tipped his cap before getting set. “Here it comes,” Aimee told me.
I watched as Steve went into his wind up and delivered the ball. I cringed hoping for a strike and fearing a hit that would break the 1-1 tie. Instead, the ball curved towards Kurt and hit him on the shoulder as he turned to shield himself. I could hear the ball hit Kurt even from the stands, a sickening hollow thump. Kurt turned and stared at Steve, threw his bat to the ground and rushed the mound. However, the catcher was quicker.
Steve readied himself for the bull rush that never came. Instead, the catcher tackled Kurt half way to the mound and the benches cleared. Players were everywhere, holding each other back, cursing and threatening to throw punches. Kurt was on his face struggling in the infield as the catcher held him there. Finally, the other players, the managers and umpires settled things down and sorted things out. The plate umpire tossed Kurt from the game and gave Steve a warning.
I noticed Steve nod at his catcher, thanking him I assumed, and then as Kurt’s manager tugged the brute off the field, Steve must have said something to Kurt too. Kurt went nuts and almost broke free of his manager’s grasp as several other players came to help. Kurt was cursing Steve up one side and down the other as he was all but dragged from the field. Steve wore a self-satisfied grin. As Kurt finally gave up and headed into the Dodgers’ dugout, I stood up and yelled, “Serves you right, you bum!”
Aimee laughed hysterically as Kurt gave us the middle finger and disappeared into the clubhouse. Steve got the next batter to pop up to shallow left field to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Arizona scored two runs and wound up winning the game 3-1. After the game, Aimee and I met Steve and Randy down by the players’ entrance where they were getting ready to get on a bus to go to the airport.
“You did that on purpose didn’t you?” I asked Steve when I saw him.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“You know what?” I told him.
“Oh that? No, the ball got away from me. I really feel bad about hitting Kurt,” Steve said trying to convince both of us he was truly apologetic.
“That’s a terrible thing but it happens,” Randy defended my boyfriend.
“Ya’all are horrible liars,” Aimee told them.
“Either way, I appreciate you defending my honor,” I told Steve.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. I laughed at the little game he was playing. I guess he couldn’t admit he plunked Kurt, especially since it was because he was being an ass towards me.
“Yeah, well you have a good trip. I’m glad I got to see you pitch,” I told Steve. I hugged him and he leaned down and kissed me. He was leaving for a week, a three game series in San Francisco, a travel day to get to Atlanta and then a weekend series against the Braves. I was going to miss him, but I was getting used to not seeing Steve for days at a time. Since he was playing again, he was at the ballpark or on the road a lot.
“See you when I get back, beautiful. Love you,” he said and I didn’t miss a beat.
“Love you too,” I replied and then I realized what I’d just said. I realized what Steve had said. Did he mean it or was it just a casual thing? I wasn’t sure and I didn’t have time to get into it. Steve grabbed his duffle, joined Randy and got on the bus. I heard Randy tell Steve, “You beaned him good, kid,” as they walked away.
I bid Aimee goodbye, went to my car and drove home. The kids wouldn’t be home until Monday so I had plenty of time to contemplate what Steve had said. Damn. Why couldn’t he have said it after we had sex or something? At least then I could talk to him about it. Now I was stuck wondering but the casual way he said it made me wonder if he even realized he’d said it himself. I replied as if I’d said it a million times myself so maybe it just came out. Still, people rarely said things they didn’t mean on one level or another - let the over analysis begin.
>>O<<
Usually Carl or Crystal would take the kids to school on the Mondays after they had them over the weekend and the kids would take the bus home as usual. However, they were out of school for the summer and were attending a summer camp that was on my way to work. Carl and the kids showed up about seven on Monday morning. He
said he needed to talk to me. I kissed and hugged the kids and they immediately ran upstairs to get ready for camp.
“So, what’s on your mind, Carl?” I asked as I toasted a bagel and made coffee.
“Penny, I’m concerned about this guy you’re seeing. I’m not sure he’s a good influence,” he said.
“What? Why would you think that,” I asked. Steve had done nothing that concerned me in the slightest. He hadn’t spent too much time around the kids because he was playing but when he did see them, Steve had never been anything but polite and even caring.
“He’s a ballplayer. His nick name is Wildman. I just think he’s trouble,” Carl said but I knew there was more to it.
“What exactly are you trying to say, Carl?” I wondered as my temper began to boil.
“I don’t think you should be seeing him. It’s not a good example for the kids. You shouldn’t be cavorting with a man that’s young enough to be your son. It’s unseemly,” Carl said. Was he serious?
“You’re the one that got caught fucking your intern and she really is young enough to be your daughter,” I retorted.
“That’s different, Penny. I’m in love with Crystal. We’re going to have a baby,” he said. Oh my lord, was he really going to try and claim what he did was OK because he knocked her up? Before I lost it completely, I took a deep breath and calmed myself.
“Jesus, Carl. So you get to have you’re little fuck toy but I’m not allowed? Fucking a girl barely older than our son is fine but if I date a younger man it’s not? Carl, you need to leave. My sex life is none of your business. You lost that right when you decided to have an affair,” I said in a harsh whisper barely able to keep from punching him.
“I knew it. You’re having sex with him. Penny, he’s using you. You have to see that. Penny, do you really think a guy like that finds you attractive?” Carl asked.
“Fuck you, Carl. Just because you weren’t man enough for me doesn’t mean Steve isn’t. How dare you lecture me. Is it guilt over your affair or are you just jealous? That’s it, isn’t it? You can’t stand the idea of Steve fucking me. Well, let me tell you. You aren’t half the man he is and I mean that in every possible way,” I said seething.
“Is that it, Penny? You just need a big dick to...,” was all he said before I slapped him.
“Get out, Carl,” was all I said and I went to open the door. I expected he might be mad but Carl looked hurt, even sorry for what he said. For a moment, he looked as if he was about to say something but he just turned and walked out. I took a cleansing breathe, grabbed my stuff and after Carl had driven away, I called the kids and left to take them to camp and then go to work.
>>O<<
“You’re kidding?” Deb asked honestly astonished at my ex-husband’s gall. I’d gone over to visit her after dinner that same evening. I needed to get the morning’s events off my chest.
“No, so I slapped him and told him to leave,” I told her finishing the story.
“Good for you? Who does he think he is? He got caught cheating with that redhead. If anyone’s a bad influence, it’s him. What a dick!” Deb said in her usual no-nonsense way.
“I’m so mad I could spit. I know it’s pointless, but I wanted to give him what for. I wanted to let him have it, you know,” I said.
“He’s feeling guilty and projecting. He’s trying to make himself feel better by pretending you’re doing the same thing he did,” Deb explained. I’d thought of that but there was another possibility.
“I wonder if he’s jealous,” I told Deb. She nodded.
“You might be right. Maybe now that you’re getting some, it’s bugging him. He can’t stand seeing you having sex with another man,” she agreed.
“You know, we had a decent sex life for two people that had been married with kids as long we were. It was tough to find time to be alone. I blamed myself for a while. I knew I wasn’t as beautiful and sexy as I used to be. I thought that if I’d only tried a little harder, he might not have been tempted,” I admitted. Deb frowned.
“You know that’s bullshit, right? It’s not like Carl’s some total hottie. He strayed because of his own issues, not you,” Deb assured me but I’d come to that conclusion already.
“I know. I don’t think that way anymore. I know it was his problem, not mine. Honestly, I’m glad he did it. Today just proves he’s not the man I married anymore. I’m happier now than I have been in so long, Deb,” I said and then I remembered what Steve had said at the ballpark. “I almost forgot with all this other shit going on. Deb, Steve told me he loved me,” I said.
“No shit? When? How?” she asked clearly intrigued.
“He said it as we parted at the ballpark. It was just a casual, ‘love you’,” I told her matching Steve’s spontaneous inflection. Deb scrunched up her face.
“That’s kind of...unsatisfying. What did you say?” she asked.
“I said it back out of habit before I even realized it. I say it to the kids all the time and I used to with Carl too. It just came out,” I told her. Part of me was thrilled he said it and saying it back to him made me excited. Another part of me, however, was worried he didn’t mean it and didn’t even remember saying it. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. I wasn’t sure I wanted that to happen with Steve. I wasn’t’ sure I wanted things to get serious. I was having fun and I wondered if this might ruin things. I just didn’t know.
“Wow! I got nothing,” Deb replied and shrugged.
“Me either and Steve won’t be back for a week.” I said.
“Maybe you should call him?” Deb offered. I didn’t want to do that.
“No, I don’t want to sound like a desperate teenager. Did you mean it, Steve?” I replied. Deb seemed to agree.
“Yeah, you’re right. Hell, I’d give my left nut for a fuck buddy like Steve. Why did I ever send him to your house? I should have asked him out myself. I’m such a good friend,” Deb said complimenting herself.
“Yes, you are. I already brought you flowers. Remember?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’d prefer it if you returned the favor and sent a young stud my way,” she replied. I laughed. I think Deb got her share of men. She just didn’t bring them home.
That next Saturday, I had the kids but Josh was staying at a friends and Audrey was at a slumber party. I had the house to myself but Steve was in Atlanta. I watched the game on TV since the Braves were always on TV, but Steve didn’t pitch. The starting pitcher went eight innings and then they brought in the closer - listen to me, I sound like I know what I’m talking about.
After the game, I slipped out of my tank and shorts and into nothing. I had the house to myself and I was going to go skinny-dipping in the pool and then sit in the hot tub and have a few beers. At least that’s what I thought I was going to do. Just as I was about to go outside, the phone rang. It was Carl.
“What?” I asked. I didn’t want to answer once I saw his number but it could have something to do with the kids. Even though he had been an ass, he was still their dad.
“Penny. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. I’m just all tied up in knots. I feel like I made a big mistake,” he said and I let my defenses down.
“Well, thank you. I accept your apology,” I said.
“Can I see you? I need to talk. I promise I won’t say anything about your boyfriend. I just need to say some things,” he said.
“Now?” I asked. I was hoping to be alone.
“If you don’t mind,” he said. I sighed and against my better judgment I agreed. “Thanks, Penny. I’ll see you in twenty,” Carl replied and hung up. My little skinny dipping party would have to wait. I dressed, but not in the casual shorts and tank I was in. I threw on a sundress instead over bra and panties. When Carl showed, I offered him a beer and we sat on the sectional. He looked nervous - I mean we were married a long time and I could read him like a book.
“You look nice, Penny,” Carl said. Kind of odd but maybe he was sucking up.
“Thank you, C
arl. So, what did you want to say?” I asked.
“First off, I’m sorry. I was way out of line. I know that. I’m just so lost. I’m not ready to be a dad again. I’m too old to start over,” he said. I‘d been wondering if that was still bothering him.
“So, you’re not just guilty or jealous?” I wondered.
“No. Well, not entirely. I miss you, Penny. I really fucked up. I thought the grass was greener but now I’m in the same boat I was before but just starting the journey. Crystal wants to get married. I just wanted to have some fun, you know. I wish I could go back and fix all this,” he said and sighed. Wow! He was messed up. I felt bad for him but I’m not sure why. This was of his own making.
“That’s water under the bridge, Carl. You have to look forward now,” I told him. Carl looked at me and inched closer to me. What was he doing?
“It doesn’t have to be. We had something pretty special, Penny. I know you probably don’t believe it, but I loved you. I still do,” he said. He placed his hand on my knee and I was surprised I didn’t ask him to take it away.
“Carl, what are you saying?” I asked though I already had an idea.
“You’re beautiful, Penny. I miss you so much. Can’t we start over?” he asked and leaned in. His hand found my breast and then his lips met mine. Time went backwards and I remembered all the years we spent together. I remembered the way he used to make me feel. I loved Carl deeply at one point. He was my best friend, my husband and the father of my children. You didn’t just suddenly expel those feelings one day. They lingered.
Carl kissed me as his hands roamed my body. I slipped my hands around his back and let him push me to the sofa. I’d made love to him in this exact spot many times and those memories flooded back. Carl’s hardness rubbed against my thigh as he tugged at my dress. I reached for his jeans. Clothing gave way and before I knew it, Carl was inside me.
Big Girls & Bad Boys: 8 Scorching Hot BBW Alpha Male Romance Novellas Box Set Page 14