“Oh. I heard his family has been having some financial problems. How does Coach Lipton know about him?”
“The coach from Bradley wants a charity game with Ridgemont. Charity for the Weathers Family.” His hands thread through his hair. I’m surprised this guy has hair left. “He gave me an out, but I agreed to go.”
“Why?” The word surprises me as much as Crosby.
He looks over at me, his eyebrows raised.
“I mean, Brax will play, but you being there will have consequences.”
He walks over, dropping to his knees. His hands rub along my bare thighs. “You know I have to do this, right? Putting my need to do this for the Weathers aside, let’s consider us. The town hates me. That hatred will only grow if I purposely don’t play.”
He has a point, but I hate the thought of him going through all that shit again. All the pointing fingers, hushed whispers, blatant lies.
“It scares me.”
“Yeah, me, too, but there’s no choice. It’s in one month. I need you there, by my side.”
His eyes plead and beg me, as though I’d ever say no.
“Of course, I’ll be right there with you the entire time.”
I fall to the ground, crawling into his lap. His strong arms hold me, and I pray our love will be enough to get us through this time.
Chapter Twenty
Crosby
The party is in full force after our scrimmage when Ella walks in with Jen. It’s been a week, and having Jen and Ella at The Ballpark hasn’t been that bad. I’m regularly getting laid, Ella cooks most nights, and Saucey isn’t complaining about his bunkmate either. Thankfully, there’s been no drama between the two.
Ella wiggles through the masses, meeting me in the back of the room.
“Hey you.” She rises on her tiptoes to kiss me, and I pull her closer.
“Hey.” I press my lips to hers, and that urge to drag her upstairs hasn’t waned. If anything, it’s stronger now.
“Ollie make an appearance yet?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.
Derek laughs next to me. “He’s probably upstairs, either oiling himself up or shitting his pants. Who can ever figure that guy out?”
“He wants attention. He doesn’t want attention,” I add.
Derek nods.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t miss it. After he called you out, he deserves a little embarrassment,” Ella says.
I love her more for her protectiveness.
“Remind me how much I love you,” I whisper in her ear.
She rubs against me like a cat to her owner. “You love me so hard that not even a meteor in space could dent it.” Her eyes twinkle, and she bats her eyelashes a few times.
“Yep. That’s about it.”
She laughs, and I place my drink down, grabbing her hand.
“See ya, King,” I say to Derek, who’s already chatting up a blonde.
“We aren’t disappearing upstairs,” she says behind me.
But I ignore her, walking out the front door. We reach the edge of the porch, and I prop her up onto the ledge, moving between her legs. Her arms find their usual place around my neck, and I get as close to her as possible.
“I missed you,” I say, kissing her.
She allows me to set the pace, and I deepen my tongue. The softest moan leaks out of her. I close the kiss, and she looks drowsy and satisfied.
“Well, I need to do a girls’ dinner again if I get a kiss like that afterward,” she jokes, linking the heels of her feet on the inside of my legs.
“We had to order pizza.” I pretend to pout, and she rolls her eyes.
Ella and I are in a good place. I hope we stay there. The charity game has been hanging over me, but tomorrow, I will go back to Mrs. Ford’s to fix up her windows, and I plan on talking to her about it.
A loud roar of laughter rumbles the house, and Ella unhooks herself from me, jumping from the ledge.
“Should I be worried that you’re this excited to see Ollie in his underwear?”
She stops, turning around, holding her hand out. I grasp it, and I allow her to yank me closer.
“This is the second best part of the bet. We get to razz him all night. I do this for you, not me.”
She drags me into the house. Sure enough, there’s our six-five first baseman in his sliding shorts and sunglasses with a bow tie around his neck. Written in what I assume is lipstick on his chest is, Suck Me.
“Hey, that’s my lipstick!” Ella yells over all the girls currently smacking his butt.
“Bathroom is community property!” he screams back. Then, he finds me in the crowd. He points. “This isn’t over,” he says.
But I’m too busy laughing to take his threat seriously.
Ella and I follow him into the kitchen along with the barrage of girls. We reach the doorway, and it’s being blocked by every female in the house.
“It’s over. He’s a sex symbol. Our bet made him even more popular with the girls.” Ella shakes her head. “We need something better for the next time you kick his ass,” she says.
I pick her up and swing her over my shoulder. “God, I love you.”
I smack her ass, and she yelps.
I’m at the staircase because I plan on going upstairs and showing her how much her sassy attitude arouses me when Jen steps into my path. Her eye is swollen, and blood is falling down her lip.
I release Ella, and she slides down my body, confused as to why we stopped. My hands land on her shoulders, and I spin her around.
“Jen!” Ella touches Jen’s face, and she winces. “What happened?”
Seriously, they only got back fifteen minutes ago, tops.
Then, I remember Saucey cuddled with that girl from my first night here. Fuck.
“She and her friends cornered me upstairs.” Jen’s lip trembles. She’d never want others to see her vulnerable.
“Take her upstairs to my room,” I say.
Ella wraps her arm around Jen’s shoulders and leads her upstairs.
“Lock the door. I’ll go through Brax’s.”
Ella looks over Jen’s shoulder, her eyes bulging, and nods in agreement.
I dodge the bodies coming at me and try to get in the kitchen, but it’s wall-to-wall people. Saucey’s in the back, flirting with some new chick.
Fucking dick. Pulling out my phone, I dial him up, but either he doesn’t have his phone on him, or he’s ignoring it.
“Ollie!” I yell over the people.
He actually hears me. Maybe because he’s five inches taller than most.
“Grab Saucey.” I point to the slimeball in the corner.
He nods, turns around, points to me, and Saucey waves me off.
Fucking prick, I swear.
Figuring there’s no way I’ll get into the kitchen, I go outside to the cooler and grab a few beers as well as a handful of ice. I walk up the stairs, and I hear Ella’s voice.
“Get out! You’re not welcome here!” she screams at three chicks.
One is the girl from the first night I met Saucey and Jen.
“Whoa, bitch. Who are you?”
The girl stands too close to Ella for my comfort.
“I’m Crosby’s girlfriend,” Ella says.
I still love hearing those words.
“Well, I’m Tyler’s girlfriend. He’s lived here longer, meaning that trumps your ass.” She places her hands on her hips, circling her head around.
“You should check because you’re one of many,” Ella sneers.
The girl’s hand cocks back.
I run up the last two stairs, stopping her arm before she nails Ella’s eye. My girl would rock a black eye, but let’s not go there.
“I’m guessing this is Crosby,” the girl from behind her says.
I stand in the middle to separate them. Not like I need to worry about Ella going apeshit on the girl. This is Saucey’s problem, and the fact that I’m dealing with it pisses me off.
“That’s me, and as an occupant of
this house, I’m going to ask you to leave.”
Polite and courteous.
“Fuck off.”
“Okay, we aren’t going to do this the easy way.”
Jen walks out to the doorway.
I look down to Ella. “Get her inside.”
Ella turns, but she’s unable to get Jen behind the door before another girl circles around me and grabs ahold of Jen’s hair.
“Shit,” I say, separating the two of them.
The other girls start toward Ella.
“These bitches take our men.”
“I was never any of yours,” I remark.
The one girl lets go of Ella and grabs my crotch. “You’d be begging for me if you’d let me blow you.”
This chick has to be joking.
Bile actually rises in my throat.
Ella’s eyes flare with anger. “Don’t you touch him!” She jumps on the girl’s back.
I’ve officially lost all control.
“El, don’t.” I attempt to pull her back.
Meanwhile, Jen’s fighting off two girls.
“What the hell?” Brax stops at the top of the stairs, his pants unbuttoned, his shirt half open.
The girl behind him looks like she’s wrestled a slew of bushes with her hair all teased, lipstick smeared on her lips, and her skirt hiked up high. I’m surprised I can’t see her vagina.
“Help!” I widen my eyes.
Brax works on Jen and the two girls as I do Ella.
“Ella, get off of her,” I plead.
But she’s got her one arm around the girl’s throat, and she’s pulling her hair with her other hand.
Shit, my girl can fight.
“She touched you.”
“And I almost threw up in my mouth,” I say.
Ella’s movements stop. She looks at me, jumping into my arms.
“They aren’t worth it,” I tell her.
She calms instantly. “You’re right.”
The girl comes after Ella, and I quickly spin us around, dodging her punch with my shoulder, probably hurting her more than me.
Soon, Brax separates the other girls, and Jen’s lip is split, and her hair is knotted. I give her credit. The other two look about the same.
Saucey finally comes upstairs with a blonde’s hand in his. He looks from Jen to the other girls, and his face falls.
“This is why I was trying to get your attention,” I say to Saucey.
We all stand there quiet, including Brax.
“Get your trash out, Saucey,” Brax says. He grabs Jen’s hand and moves them into his room, leaving the blonde in the hallway.
I grab Ella’s hand, and we move into my room before shutting the door and locking it.
“Oh my God.” Ella’s practically jumping up and down, like she’s Muhammad Ali before a fight. “I’ve never been in a fight before. Well, except for that one time when Tim Jennings made fun of my hair, and I knee’d him in the nuts.”
“Can I say again, that was wrong on many levels, baby?” I cringe every time she tells that story.
“But, oh, the exhilaration. Is this how you feel when you fight?”
“I try not to fight.”
“But when you do? Like that time when you and Noah fought those guys at the Dairy Mart because they touched Kedsey’s ass.”
Shit, I forgot about that. Man, we were hotheads, constantly starting fights for no reason.
“No, I worried about getting in trouble with Coach.”
Coach Weathers never put up with any of that shit. That fight at the Dairy Mart earned us spots on the bench for two games.
“Seriously, I can’t calm down. Look at my hands.” She holds out her shaking hands. “When I saw her touch your dick, I lost it. I mean, the only thing I saw was her hair, and I grabbed.”
“I saw.”
“Then, I jumped on her back,” she continues to rehash the fight.
“I saw.” I lie back on my bed, stretching my legs out in front of me.
She clenches and unclenches her hands. “They had it coming though, right? I mean, for what they did to Jen.”
Then, she freezes and looks at me, panicked. “Where is she?”
I point to the bathroom door that leads to Brax’s room. “In there.”
“No, no, no. She can’t get caught up with someone else.”
Her feet steadily move to the door, and I follow her to stop her from interrupting them. I’ve known Brax a long time, and although he’s mean to Jen, there’s something there, too. The fact that he’s allowed Saucey to fuck her under the same roof has seemed different than his usual MO. Back in high school, he’d never have let that happen. I mean, he was never one to settle down, but he wasn’t one not to go after what he wanted.
Ella busts the door open and stops. I stumble into her back.
On the bed, Jen is lying in Brax’s arms, sobs racking her back. His eyes find us in the doorway, and he says nothing, no smart-ass comment, only a shake of his head, as his fingers brush along her back, soothing her.
Ella backs up out of the room, and I slowly close the door, not to disturb them. We both go to my room and sit on the bed, dumbfounded from what we saw.
“Do you think…” she starts to ask me.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Friendship?”
“They’ve hated each other since I introduced them our freshman year, Cros.” Ella’s baffled face puzzles me more.
Either Brax has changed a hell of a lot over the last two years, or he’s hiding something.
“Well, at least someone’s taking care of her.” Ella scoots closer to me, and I lay us down on the bed.
The music thumps the floorboards, and I pull her closer.
“Watching you fight got me hot,” I say.
A wicked smile crosses her face.
“Really?” She circles out of my hold and climbs on my lap.
“You were all protective of me. My dick needs some reassuring that you’ll never let another woman touch it again.”
“Oh, does it?” Her hand snakes down my chest and unbuckles my jeans. “Well then, let me make sure I remind it who it belongs to.” She slides down the length of my body and rests between my legs.
“Damn, baby,” I mumble when she pulls my cock out of my jeans and deep-throats me.
I jot down a note about study group for Ella and climb into my truck. She won’t miss me today since she has her own study group this afternoon.
The drive down to Beltline still grips my heart as much as the first time I passed that sign. It’s nothing special, just a simple sign with Welcome to Beltline and a population number staked into the ground.
This time, when I pull into the Fords’ driveway, Mrs. Ford is outside with a family. If I had not been daydreaming about Ella and instead been paying attention to where I was going, I’d have driven by, but now, I have no choice but to park and talk to him.
Two boys and a girl run around the yard as a woman chases them. All eyes turn toward me, and my heart grips for them. It’s Coach Weathers and his family.
Shutting the engine off, I sit for a second. I could be polite and wait for them to leave before getting out of my truck. Surely, they don’t want to see me. I ruined their lives.
Coach Weathers, being the Good Samaritan and all-around awesome guy, stopped that night of the crash. He helped me attempt to get Noah out, but then a tree branch fell onto the coach’s back, paralyzing him from the neck down.
I sit in my truck, staring ahead, pulling my phone out so as not to interrupt their conversation.
“Lynch, get your ass out here!” Coach Weathers’s booming voice continues to incite a rapid pulse in me to do whatever he demands.
I toss my phone in the cup holder and walk out. His wheelchair is a few steps away, and his wife and kids all walk over. My heart constricts, and my mouth dries. I wish I were a superhero and possessed some power to form into liquid, so I could slide under my car like the oil leak I believe I am.
“No hug?”
Coach Weather says.
I step forward, about to place my hand out for him.
“Get off me,” he adds before I get too close.
“Don’t mind him, Crosby. Crankier than ever.” Mrs. Weathers approaches and lovingly puts her arms around my shoulders.
I stiffen.
“It’s good to see you,” she whispers.
“Put your arms around my wife,” Coach Weathers dictates.
I lightly pat her back.
“Better.”
“Stop it, Dean.” Mrs. Weathers shoos him with her hand and then bends down to kiss his forehead.
Coach Weathers’s eyes close briefly, showing how much that woman could bring him to his knees—if only he could get to his knees. With that thought, the guilt racks up another layer.
“Do you mind if I take Crosby on a little walk?” he asks Mrs. Ford, who is currently handing out cookies and lemonade to the kids.
“Please do before he hurts that arm while sanding my floors.” She smiles over at us.
“I’ll leave you two,” Mrs. Weathers says. But then she approaches me again. “Come around more often.” She pats my forearm and walks away.
“Come on then. Give the man who taught you everything a push.”
I unclench my fist and put my keys in the pocket of my track pants, steadily walking to the back of his chair.
“Around the back of the house,” he instructs.
I can barely gather one drop of saliva to coat my dry throat as we circle around the garage and out to the garden that Mrs. Ford maintains each day. I still remember when Noah and I helped her put in the water fountain that is surrounded by two benches and two chairs with flowers all around.
I cough, remembering Noah telling me that this would be the spot where he’d propose to Kedsey after they graduated from college. I swear, he was always a planner. Knew each step of his life. I didn’t have any plans, just two goals—Ella and baseball. I was scared shitless of what was going to happen to Ella and me after we separated for college. Little did I know the future would separate us for much longer.
Now that I have her, I have no intention of letting her go.
“Park me.” Coach Weathers pulls me from the memories. The recollections have the ability to suck me down into a sinkhole.
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