by Katie Rae
“I meant on the field. A double, an RBI, and you called a great game behind the plate. Not to mention all those extra signs you were throwing.”
I laughed, I may have gone overboard on our secret code, but I really was thinking about her the whole time.
“Still would have been better if you were there,” I walked further into the room, taking stock of her room service spread and the rumpled sheets on the bed. “How are you feeling? Better?”
“Mmmhhhhmmmm,” she nodded, looking a little blissed out. “Just really, really missed you.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed me, wrapping her hands around my neck.
I savored the taste of her minty lips--something I hadn’t indulge in last night or this morning in case she was super sick. She leaned in for more, rubbing her stomach along the front of my shorts, feeling for any hardness and friction.
It was there. Her lips did that to me. But I pulled back. “I need a shower. I came right over here instead of showering.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “Let’s do that together.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice, and the hardness she was previously looking for showed up with her words. I followed her like a puppy into the bathroom and watched her undress and turn the water on.
Within seconds we were in the shower, fucking against the wall, and I let go of everything I wanted to talk to her about.
My conversation with Kace.
My contract negotiations.
The weather.
My dad.
Life.
Us.
Everything.
Chapter 26
Becca
The next day at work, I was greeted by Gary, smiling and asking me to come into the office. He was normally gruff and matter of fact, but he had somehow managed a smile this morning that made me smile back.
“Morning Becca! Come on in, come on in.”
“Ok,” I answered hesitantly, “Did I win the lottery?”
“Something like that.”
I raised an eyebrow in confusion and followed him into the office.
“We had meetings yesterday and it was a unanimous decision among the staff and coaches that we would like to offer you the full-time position with the team this upcoming regular season.”
Well he got right to the point. And holy shit, did he just say what I think he said?
“We have been very impressed with you these last few weeks. You have been the epitome of professionalism despite everything that was thrown your way,” he cleared his throat and added, “literally thrown your way.”
I sat still; my mouth gaped open.
“That includes knowing your limits and taking yesterday off to make sure you were well enough to be around everyone. Little things like that go a long way in this business.”
I still couldn’t speak. I never saw this happening.
“We know some of the guys have been unruly and haven’t taken to a woman roaming the locker room well, but you never let that stop you or get in your way,” he continued. Since I wasn’t talking, I assumed he was getting out whatever he could until I found my voice. “We need someone like you on this team, someone that can put these guys in their place when it needs to be done. You up for the challenge?”
I started nodding, still in shock. “Can I be honest? I didn’t see this coming. This isn’t an attempt to reach an equal opportunity employer quota is it?”
Why was I talking? Shut up and say thank you, Becca!
Gary scoffed at my words, “I assure you, the big guys that pay the bills do not give a shit about equal opportunity employment. They only want the best. And from what we have all seen so far, you’re the best.”
I stood and walked the length of the room and back. It’s not that I wasn’t excited, I was fucking ecstatic. I had just planned on not getting this job. Which meant I had gotten excited about moving forward with Chase.
There was no way we could make this work. We would be found out eventually. We were too close to parading each other around as it was.
But were we in so deep that we could call it off and still be friends? Could I work so closely with him every day, knowing I couldn’t have him?
Gary mistook my worry over Chase as concern for the job in general, so he spoke up to stop my pacing.
“Becca, this is a two-way street. If you have any concerns, you just have to ask. In the meantime, we won’t sign anything for a day or two, so you have time to think this offer through.”
I thanked him and told him how excited I was for this opportunity, but my main concerns were still the same.
I carried those concerns with me for the rest of the day, too. I kept quiet and to myself as much as possible, weighing the decision on a constant loop inside my head.
By the end of the day, Chase must have decided enough was enough, because he pulled me into a janitorial closet in the hallway as we passed one another.
“Baby, you ok? You’ve looked pale all day. You still sick?”
I just nodded, not knowing which question I was answering exactly. I was too busy debating on whether I should tell him the truth. Should I just ask if he and I are forever? Was that too much too soon for him? I didn’t want to scare him away.
I settled on the facts I had.
“Gary offered me the job,” I whispered.
In the dim light, I saw Chase’s eyes light up with excitement. He scooped me into his arms and twirled me around the best he could in the confined space. “Congrats! Baby this is what you wanted. You deserve this.”
I nodded again, still low on my word count considering the epic moment it was.
“Wait,” Chase backed up and looked into my eyes. “You are happy, right?”
“I am. This is my dream job.” I turned my back to him and collected the strength to finish my thought. When I turned back, a tear had escaped my eyes, falling down my cheek slowly. Chase’s eyes followed the tear for a minute, before using his thumb to wipe it away.
His fingers stayed on my cheek, giving me his hand to lean into for comfort. His concern for my emotional state was palpitating. He couldn't comprehend my war of emotions when my head should have been in the clouds.
“I am scared this means we need to end us,” I whispered. “I don’t think I am ready for that.”
“Oh shit, Princess. We don’t have to end this. We don’t have to do anything different.” His words were meant to be comforting, but what he didn’t realize was that I did want to do something different. I wanted to be with him in the open—like my daydream. I couldn’t hide him too much longer.
“Where do you see this going, Chase?”
“Baby, I have been trying to lock you down for a week now. I don’t want to lose you either. You have to know how deep this is for me, right?”
I didn’t.
Or maybe I did, but I hadn’t taken the time to acknowledge it.
I didn’t have a response, so I just kissed him. His hands found the small of my back and he pulled me in to deepen the kiss. He smelled so good, a mix of freshness from his shower and him.
This was the first time we had taken any chances here at work. Sex against the right-field wall didn’t count. Also, I loved that wall. I gazed at it every chance I got.
But this wasn’t one of those sexy moments. This wasn’t a right-field wall, and this was too dangerous for me to risk. So, I gave myself one more taste and backed away.
“Good call, Cupcake. We need to get out of here.”
I smiled, “Yeah, being caught in the janitor’s closet with the catcher, five hours after the biggest job offer of my life, isn’t a good idea.”
“You better go first,” he grimaced while adjusting his shorts. “Once again, you are responsible for another one of my boners.”
I laughed and elbowed him in his hard stomach before cracking the door open slightly and peeking out.
The coast was clear, so I took one last look at Chase, who was now leaning against the opposite wall, watching me with amusement in his eyes.
I blew him a kiss and left.
I didn’t get any clearer on a decision, but I felt lighter and happier for the first time all day.
That alone spoke to me loud and clear.
Chapter 27
Chase
Once again, Becca and I laid in her bed, sated from a fierce round of pent up sexual energy that almost exploded before we got back to the hotel.
When her lips touched mine in that closet, I came close to letting go of any fears of being caught and fucking her against the door.
It wasn’t my fears that stopped me. It was her fears. I wouldn’t do anything that would risk her future. But I did say a quick thank you to the Gods for her being the one to back away first.
Especially when I ran into none other than Kace when I came out of the janitor closet. Had Becca been seen with me, that shit would have been bad. Instead, he just eyed me like I had lost my mind. I could handle that.
“What are you thinking about?” She asked, as her head rested on my chest, her fingers lightly brushing the patch of hair on my stomach that led below the waistline.
“Nothing,” guys were never thinking about anything. This was normally a completely honest answer.
But tonight, it was a lie she called me out on.
“I can feel you tensing underneath me. Tell me.”
I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair. “Just thinking about next week. About how I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. To see this through.”
She looked up at me, lightness in her eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah, baby. Damn. I didn’t see this happening, but I don’t want us to be over. I also don’t want to do anything to make you unhappy. Or make you risk too much. I know how hard you’ve worked for this.” I sighed out the frustration that I felt at the impossible decision. This is all I constantly thought about. On repeat in my brain.
“Yeah, I have. But I didn’t plan on feeling this way either, Chase.”
“I never want to be the reason you have to walk away from your dreams, Becca.”
Her eyes glassed over, a mix of sadness and awe. I wasn’t ready to tell her I was falling for her, or that I had technically already fallen. But I promised myself that once the dust settled from spring training, and we were still in this together, that I would tell her.
Even though I normally slept like a fucking baby with Becca in my arms, I didn’t sleep a wink. I had no idea how I was going to play a whole game today.
The thoughts that had been swirling in my head were a mix of “I don’t want to lose her” and “I don’t want to hurt her.”
Never in my life had I cared about someone so much—to the point of utter madness. And no matter how many things ran through my head, the one thing I kept coming back to was that I needed to call Tim.
I sat at my locker and pressed Tim’s name on my phone. He had been in town a couple of days negotiating my new contract, but I needed him to meet with me after the game today, even if the negotiations weren’t done.
“Just the guy I was about to call,” Tim answered the phone.
“Yeah?”
“Contract is ready, Chase. You’re going to be a very, very happy man later today. The Kings don’t want to lose you and they’re willing to pay top dollar.”
“Fuck, that is awesome,” I breathed. I had forgotten how much I wanted that deal. I had been so wrapped up in Becca that it slipped my mind how huge it was for me.
“Yeah. So, if that is why you were calling, then worry no more. We are ready to sign when you are.”
“Yeah, that’s why I was calling.” It wasn’t, but I suddenly felt guilty for what I had been about to ask of him. He had been working on this deal for me and I needed to see it through.
As my agent, Tim had just as much to gain from it as I did. This deal would put his name at the top of the agent world.
“Ok then, why don’t I set the signing for today. Let’s get this deal done.”
“Yeah, as soon as I am off the field, let’s do it.”
I let Tim go and I finished getting dressed. I needed to get a wrap on my wrist, so I knew I was about to go see Becca. I just wished I could tell her about what was happening.
No one questioned me calling her Princess here at work, because obviously, it started by me trying to drive her crazy. Now it was just habit. Even when I called her Princess when we were alone, it was just a habit.
So, no one batted an eye when I walked into the training room and said, “Hey Princess.”
She spun from where she was writing in a notepad at the high counter along the wall. “Hey Turner, what’s up?”
“My wrist.” That was all I had to say. I had told her in bed last night it was sore. She’s the one that told me to wrap it before the game.
She nodded and grabbed some supplies from a cabinet. Once she was in front of me, I hopped on to a table next to Kris, who was getting the same thing done. At this point in spring training, we were all sore.
“Hey man,” Kris said.
I nodded to him as Becca grabbed my arm, her touch sending the same sizzle down my body that it did when we were alone.
“What you got going on tonight? I met some girls that might be too much for just me if you know what I mean.”
I raised one eyebrow at him. I did know what he meant. He wanted me to take one of them off his hands. Normally I would be all about that.
Now, I just noticed the way Becca stopped moving, the way her grip tightened on my arm, the way her eyes tried to stay impassive but burned in the depths.
“No way. You’re on your own,” I told him.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” Kris laughed. “You normally have a rotation of women during spring training. These days, though, you barely show your face.”
Becca had started breathing harder, her chest rising rapidly. Kris couldn’t see it, but I had explored every inch of her over the last few weeks. I knew her tells.
I shrugged, hoping I could change the subject before Becca got more upset. “Just laying low this year.”
“I guess its working. You’re having the best spring of your career from what I can tell.” He wasn’t wrong. My numbers were the best they’d ever been. Hence the major contract I was signing later today.
“I’m just doing my thing,” I played it off.
“Well, if you want a reward, come out tonight. These girls are just what spring is all about.”
I nodded, knowing I wasn’t going near another woman. Probably for the rest of my life. No one would ever measure up to what Becca had become to me.
Kris finished up and left.
Once he was out of sight, I looked back to Becca who had begun wrapping my wrist at a normal speed.
“Sorry,” I whispered, low enough that the guys across the room couldn’t hear.
Her eyes shot up to meet mine before looking around to see who was nearby. When she realized no one was too close, she whispered back, “He wouldn’t have said that if he knew.”
Kris was a good dude. Had he known Becca was my girl, he wouldn’t have talked like that to me. Especially not in front of her. This was the exact reason we were struggling with hiding this relationship all season. It was only going to get worse.
Not to mention, the longer I “laid low” the more likely someone was going to figure me out.
“I’m signing my contract today,” I whispered, not wanting to wait to tell her.
Her eyes shot up in excitement. The kind of excitement that only someone that truly cared about you can feel. “Oh my God, Chase. I am so happy for you.”
“Want to celebrate tonight?”
“If I had known we would be celebrating, I wouldn’t have told my friend that I would have dinner with her tonight.”
“Ah, you mentioned she had been texting you.”
“Yeah, and I finally caved and said yes.”
“How about after?”
“You know I will come straight to you when I’m done.”
I s
miled, loving her affirmation.
“Unless you’re out with Kris,” she added, a small smile playing on her lips.
“No way in hell, Princess. I’m yours.”
She blushed and finished up the wrap. Then her tone turned more professional. “You’re all set, Turner.”
“Thanks,” I said as monotone as I could, jumping down. I took one last look around and then grabbed her hand behind the table where no one could see. I squeezed gently, hoping it translated to “I will miss you” and walked from the room.
Chapter 28
Chase
I walked into the board room at the top of the stadium after the game. That is where I was meeting with the owner, the general manager, Coach and Tim, to lay out the parameters of my new contract offer.
They would give me the details and I would sign. Simple as that.
But as I waited for them to start, my mind drifted again. Back to Becca. The hurt in her eyes at Kris’ words. She wasn’t jealous, just sad. And I didn’t blame her. It was still a daily battle to not hire a banner plane that read “Chase loves Becca” across the city.
“You ready, Chase?” Tim asked.
I nodded and tapped my fingers on the long meeting table we were sitting at.
The general manager for the Kings started going down a list of things that would be involved with my contract.
A bonus for so many home runs.
A bonus for so many thrown out base stealers.
A bonus for a certain number of games played.
The contract was just what I imagined it would be. But I was barely registering with the excitement I thought I would. I wasn’t humming with the thrill or anxious to sign.
Instead, I found myself interrupting the speech.
“Wait.” The room turned silent and everyone looked at me.
“Any questions, Chase?” Tim asked.
“Yeah, um…” I trailed off, wondering if what I was about to say was the right thing to do. But I went for it because it felt right. “I want to retire.”
The room was silent. No one probably believed me.
But I meant it.
Baseball was everything to me until it wasn’t. Now Becca was, and her happiness meant more to me than this contract.