by Sean Michael
“At least until I had to kick someone’s ass, hmm?” Of course, that could be romantic too.
Benj giggled. “My stud.”
“That’s right. Your stud.” He patted Benj’s butt again. Nodded. This time, it only ached a little bit.
Benj continued talking, his voice flowing over Brett, making him feel better.
“I want to retire, baby.” The words surprised him even as they came out of his mouth, but they sounded… good.
Benj lifted his head from Brett’s chest. “What did you say?”
“I said, I want to retire. I’m going to get better, do my best, but… I’m ready. Is that bad?”
Benj shook his head. “No, no, it’s not bad at all. Oh, Brett.” A beautiful, slow smile grew across Benj’s face. “I love that you’re a baseball player, that you’ve been able to do what you love so much, but I miss you so much when you’re gone.” Benj’s voice went soft. “I’ve been looking forward to your retirement for a while now.”
Then Benj grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. “But I don’t think you should make a final decision right now. You need to recover from the surgery and then make it official.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”
Still, he knew this was right; this was what he wanted.
He knew.
Epilogue
RALPH WENT through his files one last time, making sure he had all the information in place for tomorrow’s incoming client.
They had this one for a month and then a week’s break before they were inundated. The summer months were always busy, their house full of people needing their special brand of help.
Another waft of something wonderful hit his nose, and Ralph gave in to the inevitable and set the files on the top of his desk. Supper had been wonderful, but Jean had promised dessert would be even better.
He made his way to the kitchen, but it was empty. Then he heard the TV, and he chuckled and walked into the den.
Jean had a plate of beignets and two cups of coffee sitting on the end table. “Chou! Chou, the wee cher jus’ called! The big growly gator’s fixin’ to be on the TV!”
“No shit? Cool.” He grabbed a beignet, his own private piece of food heaven, and sat next to Jean. “I’m getting spoiled tonight.”
“It’s our last solo night for a while, eh?”
The new man, a basketball player with a broken pelvis, had six kids.
Six.
“Uh-huh. Nearly a month.” He took advantage of the fact they were alone to kiss Jean full-on. They’d been spoiled by having Brett and Benj—while Brett would grumble and tease them, they could kiss all they wanted without raising any eyebrows.
Not to mention they’d had a couple of weeks on their own since Brett had been declared healthy and hale by Doc Trelaine.
The shoulder was never going to be back to its original condition, and it had taken weeks for Brett’s balance to return, but the headaches had gone and something had happened to Brett in that hospital. Something that had turned his focus to the canvases in the studio, to planning half-a-dozen trips with Benj.
Hell, by the time the holidays were over, Brett had hired someone to sell his artwork in three different galleries.
Benj had been glowing, the sweet man blossoming as Brett found happiness.
It had been a good winter, full of healing and joy. He and Jean couldn’t have asked for better, really.
Except for the fact that the stubborn son of a bitch never would learn to meditate.
Jean bounced. “Chou! Look!”
Brett stood in front of the camera, looking lean and healthy. “I would like to announce my retirement from baseball. It’s been a great ride, and I have no complaints, but after a series of illnesses and a long discussion with my family and management, we believe it’s my time to go. I will be doing commentary from the booth for the new website, livebaseball.com, along with my colleague, Mickey Bonost.”
“Oh ho, will you look at that? Retirement.” The camera panned back a little and Ralph nudged Jean. “Look at that, he’s got Benj right there next to him.”
Benj looked like a million bucks—standing there beaming, along with Brett’s friend and his wife and kids. Ralph thought, maybe, staying for the therapy had helped Benj most of all.
He put his arm around Jean. “We did good there, babe.”
“We did. I miss him.”
Ralph wasn’t sure how. Brett’s thank-you present to Jean was a laptop so that the man could chat and email Benj regularly, look up recipes in the kitchen, order strange and unusual spices without Ralph knowing….
“I thought you didn’t even like the growly gator,” he teased.
“Bastard. I… I’m glad he found his mind, eh?” But Jean would never really like Brett.
“Yeah, me too.” He nodded at the figures on the TV again. “They look good. Happy.”
“They do.” Jean leaned against his shoulder, hand on his thigh. “What about you, love? Happy?”
He turned and tilted Jean’s head so he could look into Jean’s eyes. “So very happy, babe. I wouldn’t change my life with you for anything.”
“No?” Jean leaned forward, and Brett’s voice seemed to fade away. “You don’t mind your Cajun?”
“No, I don’t mind my Cajun at all.” He pressed their lips together, slipped his tongue into Jean’s mouth. He tasted sweet there—Jean had already sampled the beignets.
Jean pushed close, arms going around Ralph’s neck. Ralph was going to miss this—making love in the family room, making love wherever.
But that was tomorrow. They had tonight.
Jean chuckled grabbed the remote, and clicked the power button, and leaving them together in the darkness.
More from Sean Michael
With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining—he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He’s caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker.
Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date. Finding a special someone isn’t really on his mind, but he goes to make his aunt happy.
Ryan and Alex enjoy each other’s company more than either of them expected, and they soon make a second date. Their lives are complicated, though, in very different ways, and soon family needs and their jobs conspire to pull them apart. They’ll need to figure out how to work through the things keeping them apart, but first they’ll have to decide if they even want to….
Despite a life-threatening injury sustained in a vaulting accident, top gymnast Christopher Allen is determined to get back to his former perfect condition and compete again. Brian Rainings is a coach in need of someone to believe in, and he takes Chris on, admiring the spirit and determination that drives Chris to succeed. And admiring the sturdy, muscled body Chris maintains.
Admiration soon leads to something much hotter as they train together. From their scorching first kiss, Brian and Chris’s chemistry is obvious, but they have a long road ahead to get Chris back into shape. Months of hard work lead to success, with Chris gaining strength every day and finally finding the elusive sponsor he needs for financial support. Secrets, hidden dangers, and family troubles plague them, though, and they have to face the fact that Chris might never compete again and score that perfect ten.
The Supers
Hunting ghosts and finding more than they bargained for.
Blaine Franks is a member of the paranormal research group the Supernatural Explorers. When the group loses their techie to a cross-country move, newly graduated Flynn Huntington gets the job. Flynn fits in with the guys right off the bat, but when it comes to him and Blaine, it’s more than just getting along.
Things heat up between Blaine and Flynn as they explore their first haunted building, an abando
ned hospital, together. Their relationship isn’t all that progresses, though, and soon it seems that an odd bite on Blaine’s neck has become much more.
Hitchhiking ghosts, a tragic love story forgotten by time, and the mystery of room 204 round out a romance where the things that go bump in the night are real.
The Teddy Bear Club
Two lonely men. One perfect family.
Aiden Lake adopted his institutionalized sister’s two daughters, and he’s a good dad. He works nights on websites and gets in his adult time twice a week at the Roasty Bean, where he meets with other single gay parents.
Devon Smithson wants to be a good dad now that his sixteen-year-old sister asked him to babysit her newborn… three months ago. But he’s overwhelmed with the colicky baby. An invitation to the daddy-and-kid gatherings at the café is a godsend. The pot is sweetened when his friendship with Aiden develops into more—maybe even something that can last.
But the mother who kicked Dev out for being gay wants to get her claws into the baby, and she doesn’t care if she tears Dev, Aiden, and everything they’re building apart in the process.
When his three-year-old daughter is kidnapped, Eric Wilson doesn’t have many options, and time is running out. With nowhere else to turn, he reaches out to his ex, influential businessman Brock Vencenza, whose money and contacts might be able to save Josie.
Brock never got over Eric’s loss, and he’s more than willing to help when Eric needs him most. Together with law enforcement and private security, they embark on a twisting investigation to find the little girl—and who wants to hurt her and destroy both men in the process. Under the circumstances, confessing he still has feelings for Eric would be inappropriate, but Brock can’t deny what’s in his heart. He doesn’t know if their love can be rekindled or if he can even protect Eric and Josie. But one thing is certain: Brock’s determined to be the hero in reality that he is in Eric’s eyes.
Readers love Sean Michael
Unlikely Hero
“If you like second chances, teachers, businessmen, gay dads, cute kids, drama and some hot but tasteful sex this is for you. I highly recommend it.”
—TTC Books and More
“All in all, this was a soft, sweet love story that I enjoyed reading.”
—Diverse Reader
The Supers
“I absolutely loved this story. The characters, the plot, the god damn creepy-ass setting, it all worked perfectly for me.”
—Love Bytes
“…it’s a very well written book, and Sean deserves a huge amount of kudos for what’s going on in this story.”
—Will’s Words on Books
Perfect 10
“This was an incredible read about living to life to the fullest. It is definitely an inspiring read. I truly enjoyed this book. It was incredible.”
—Gay Book Reviews
Often referred to as “Space Cowboy” and “Gangsta of Love” while still striving for the moniker of “Maurice,” SEAN MICHAEL spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection, and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs.
While collecting vast numbers of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the F-bomb and pursuing the Kama Sutra by channeling the long-lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to Chicago.
A longtime writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys. Barring any of that? He’ll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.
Website: www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Blog: seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Twitter: @seanmichael09
By Sean Michael
Add Love and Mix
Amnesia
Bases Loaded
Cupcakes
Daddy Needs a Date
First Steps
From the Get Go
Golden
Guarding January
Inheritance
Just the Right Notes
Making a Splash
Of Love
Out of the Past
Perfect 10
Sports Pack (Print Only Anthology)
The Swag Man Delivers
Unlikely Hero
Unto Us the Time Has Come
X-Factor
DREAMSPUN BEYOND
#6 – The Supers
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
#39 – The Teddy Bear Club
IRON EAGLE GYM
The New Boy
The Perfect Sub
The Luckiest Master
The Closet Boy
The Dom’s Way
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Bases Loaded
© 2018 Sean Michael.
Cover Art
© 2018 Tiferet Design.
http://www.tiferetdesign.com/
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-647-9
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64080-381-7
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2017913583
Digital published January 2018
v. 2.0
First Edition published by Torquere Press, June 2009.
Printed in the United States of America