The Slider (Boys of Summer Book 5)

by A. M. Williams

  I nodded, not sure where he was going with that question.

  “Then I want to stay. If I want you, I get him. I need to get to know him better. I already think he’s a great kid, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

  The tension lining my shoulders suddenly dropped at his words.

  That was one of my fears. While Noah was a teen, a lot of guys wouldn’t want the baggage that comes from dating a woman that was essentially a single parent. It was a lot to take on.

  “What can I do to help?” he asked, pressing a light kiss to my nose before releasing me.

  “Can you scramble eggs?”

  He nodded and handed me my mug before grabbing his own.

  I pulled everything out and got started on the bacon and handed him everything else.

  We worked in tandem to get breakfast ready, like we’d been doing it for years.

  It was relaxing working with him, knowing we didn’t have to speak to each other. We were just in tune with what the other person was doing.

  I’d dated Paul, my last boyfriend, for years and we’d never reached this level of comfort.

  That said an awful lot about our relationship that I didn’t want to dwell on.

  And this said an awful lot about Jacob and me.

  “Y’all need help?” Noah asked from behind me.

  I shook my head. “Nah, we’re about done. You want to set the table?”

  He nodded and grabbed the plates and silverware.

  By the time he finished, I was putting the scrambled eggs on the serving platter and handing it to him. The three of us got everything to the table and sat down, quickly serving ourselves and digging in.

  None of us spoke for several minutes, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt like we’d been doing this for years.

  “You have all your homework done?” I asked Noah.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I need to study later, though. Do you think you might be able to take me to the batting cage?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I can.”

  What I didn’t say was that I didn’t really want to go. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy helping him with his baseball by taking him for batting practice, but he could stay for hours, and I wasn’t sure I was up for that today.

  “You want to do batting practice?” Jacob asked.

  Noah nodded. “Yeah. I had a batting coach a few years ago, and he drilled in me practicing when I had a chance.”

  Jacob nodded and glanced at me. “I don’t have to be to the field until later this afternoon. If you want to go this morning, I’ll take you so your aunt can stay here.”

  Our gazes locked, and I could see the question he was asking. I glanced at Noah and saw the hope there. If Jacob and I were serious, which I thought we were, then he’d need to be by himself with Noah at some point.

  “Okay, that works for me.”

  Noah pumped his fist in the air and grinned at me, then Jacob. “I can’t wait.”

  He quickly finished eating, cleared his place, then practically ran from the room.

  Jacob stared at me for a few beats before asking, “Did I just make a terrible mistake?”

  I laughed. What else could I do?

  “No. But he takes it seriously. Get ready for a lot of questions. He might ask you to record or take photos.”

  “I can do that. You okay with me taking him out to lunch after?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. He’ll probably ask to marry you, though.”

  Jacob grinned. “Too bad for him, I’m already taken.”

  31

  Jacob

  I handed Noah a handful of quarters and set his baseball bag on the bench next to me, watching as he strapped his batting gloves on, then his helmet, before stepping into the cage we were directed to.

  I said nothing as he fed the machine money and stepped up to the plate, going through his routine before squaring up at the plate.

  He had a good stance. He didn’t crowd the plate. He looked ready to murder the ball that was now coming his way.

  He clipped it, sending it bouncing in front of him.

  He shook his head, jammed his helmet further down on his head, and squared up again, his stance loose.

  He got more of the next ball and sent it soaring behind the pitching machines.

  “Good one,” I called out.

  His shoulders tensed briefly, but he quickly relaxed and got into a rhythm with the pitches.

  I studied him while he hit, noting a few things I could give him some pointers on if he wanted later.

  But really, I just sat there and enjoyed the time I was with him, even if we weren’t talking.

  It was obvious he not only loved baseball, but took it seriously. I loved seeing that, it reminded me of myself in a lot of ways.

  “What’d you think?” Noah asked, panting slightly as he stepped from the cage and walked toward me, leaning on his bat from a few feet away.

  I nodded. “You looked good. Want me to give you a few pointers?”

  He nodded, and I stood, taking his bat and showing him what I’d noticed, walking him through the changes he needed to make.

  Once finished, I handed him his bottle of water and watched him chug it.

  “You don’t have a batting coach anymore?” I asked him as he screwed the lid back on.

  Noah shook his head. “Nah. When my mom got sick…” He paused and glanced at me briefly before continuing. “When she got sick, a lot of the extra stuff went away to help cover her medical bills. She didn’t want me to get rid of my coach, but I told her I wanted to.”

  “Have you asked your aunt to find you another one?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. I don’t know that I need one.”

  I arched a brow at his words, and he grimaced before looking at me sheepishly. “I don’t want her to feel bad for not finding me another one when she said she would.”

  “When did she say she would?”

  “A few months after I started living with her. She moved into our old house.”

  I filed that information away for later consumption. I had no idea she was living in the house Jewel owned. I wondered how that made Zoe feel.

  “I don’t think she’d feel bad,” I told him. “You should say something. You’re a good player and having the appropriate coaches to help you be better before heading to college, or even pro play, can make all the difference. I know some guys that do one-on-one coaching if you’re interested. You just have to say something to your aunt.”

  Noah studied me for a few beats before nodding. He glanced back at the cage.

  “Another round?” I asked him.

  He nodded and stepped back inside the cage, going through the motions of getting set up once more.

  We repeated this cycle of batting, correction, and water several times until I checked the time and grimaced.

  “I’m sorry, man. But we need to get lunch, then I need to drop you back home so I can head in.”

  Noah nodded and pulled his helmet off, shaking his wet hair. He pulled everything off and packed it away.

  “Have you thought about playing in college?” I asked him as we walked toward my car.

  He nodded. “Yeah.” He sighed. “Pops talks to me about it a lot. He thinks I have a good chance of getting noticed by scouts if I can continue playing like I have been.”

  “That’s good. Any schools in mind?”

  Noah grimaced and glanced at me. “Not really…” he hedged.

  I arched a brow as I unlocked the doors. “Really? I’m not sure I believe you.”

  “Well, Carolina is a given.”

  “Naturally,” I said with a grin, chuckling.

  He grinned, too. “But so is Duke, and State. A few others, if I’m lucky.”

  I nodded. “I mean, I’m obviously opposed to those two since I’m a Carolina grad,” I told him as I climbed into the car. “But if you want to go there, then I’m all for it.”

  We spent the ride to lunch talking about why he was interested in those prog
rams, and I hoped I was still around to see his dream of playing college ball become a reality.

  By the time I pulled into Zoe’s driveway, I felt like I had the start of a bond with Noah. As I turned my car off, Zoe opened the front door and walked to where I parked.

  I couldn’t stay too long, but I wanted my chance to see her once more before I went to the field.

  “Have fun?” she asked Noah.

  He grinned. “Yeah. Jacob had some great pointers for me.”

  She nodded and smiled at me. “Awesome. Thanks. He’ll never want to go with me again.”

  Noah laughed. “Like that upsets you.”

  He shook his head and walked into the house, leaving me alone with Zoe.

  “Thanks for taking him,” she said, stepping close enough I could reach out and grab her.

  So I did, pulling her into me. She wrapped her arms around my waist while I pushed my fingers through her hair, appreciating how soft it was.

  “You’re welcome. It was no problem. I enjoyed taking him.” I glanced toward the house before looking back at Zoe. “I don’t know if Noah is going to bring this up to you or not. We talked about it, and he said he would. But he needs a batting coach.”

  Zoe arched a brow. “He does?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. He’s good. Really good. If he stays on top of his game, he has a real shot at being recruited by colleges. But only if he has the right tools. A batting coach, or even a one-on-one coach for him, would go a long way to making that happen. I know some guys if you decide to pursue it and can put you in contact.”

  Zoe studied me for several moments before nodding. “Okay. I’ll see if he brings it up or not.”

  I nodded. “Just let me know.”

  “You need to get going,” she said.

  I nodded again. “Yeah. Gotta head home real quick, then to the stadium. Wish me luck?”

  She grinned. “Good luck.”

  She pressed up on her tip-toes and pressed her lips against mine.

  I wanted nothing more than to drag her closer to me and deepen the kiss. But who knew if Noah was watching or even her neighbors. I wasn’t about giving a free show. And I really needed to go.

  I pulled back. “Talk to you later?”

  She nodded. I pecked her lightly on the lips once more and released her.

  She backed up a few steps and waved to me as I climbed back into my car and left.

  The entire ride home, then to the stadium, I thought about Zoe and Noah, though my mind was more on Zoe than anything.

  The night before had been more than I ever thought it would be, and it helped to highlight the glaring differences in my marriage to Lexi and my budding relationship with Zoe. I didn’t like to compare the two, but Zoe gave me more than Lexi had in our entire marriage, which left a sour taste in my mouth.

  If Zoe gave me as much as she did after just a short amount of time with her, what would it be like farther down the road?

  32

  Jacob

  My phone rang after the game and I smiled, assuming it was Zoe. Since I stayed at her house and took Noah to the batting cage, we’d talked every night after my games, and I’d gone over a few more times to hang with her and Noah.

  It was great, and so fulfilling, to be around them.

  It was obvious how much they loved each other, and I loved watching them razz each other.

  Noah was a great kid, and I hated what happened with his Mom and Dad. No one should have to deal with that shit.

  And he loved baseball just about as much as I did, which gave us a lot to talk about.

  But as I looked down at my phone, I realized it wasn’t Zoe. It wasn’t Noah, either.

  It was Lexi.

  I sighed and hit the ignore button, stuffing my phone into my pocket as I walked to the parking lot where the bus was waiting to take us to our hotel for the night.

  My phone rang again, and I sighed, pulling it out. I was expecting to see Lexi’s name on my screen, but it was Zoe this time.

  I gladly answered.

  “Sounds like you had a good game,” she said when I answered.

  I smiled. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “Yeah, I mean, a home run in the top of the ninth? No big deal, right?”

  I laughed. “You got it.”

  Zoe’s laughter filled the line and I couldn’t help grinning as I went up the steps to the bus.

  Some guys were already on there on their phones like I was.

  I made my way to my seat and settled in to wait for the others while we talked.

  “Only two more days,” she said.

  A warm feeling spread through my chest. “Yeah, only two more days. You ready to see me again?”

  She made a humming noise. “I don’t know. I’m kinda cool with you being gone. Let’s me see my other boyfriend. Noah, on the other hand… I think he’s started a list of things he wants to tell you.”

  “I have not!” Noah shouted in the background.

  Zoe’s voice was quieter when she replied, telling me she’d pulled the phone away from her mouth. “Then what was that list I saw in that notebook on your desk?”

  “You were in my room?”

  “How else am I supposed to make sure the science experiments you try with those cups don’t continue until they take over your room?”

  I didn’t hear what he had to say in reply because I was laughing too hard.

  This was exactly what I needed after being on the road for close to a week and seeing my ex-wife’s name on my screen.

  “Sorry about that,” Zoe said. “Kid thinks he runs this place sometimes.”

  “I do not!” he said faintly in the background.

  “I’m ignoring him,” she muttered.

  I heard the click of a door on her end, and she sighed. “There. I’m in my room, away from the little eavesdropper.”

  “Is it eavesdropping when you speak loud enough that he can hear?”

  “God. It’s like you two share a mind or something because he’s said the same thing to me in the past.”

  “Then I guess we must be right.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Zoe muttered.

  “Didn’t you have a girls' night tonight to get to know the other women?” I asked.

  Zoe sighed. “Yeah.”

  I waited to see if she’d elaborate, but she didn’t.

  “Isn’t it a little early for you to be home?”

  She sighed again. “Yeah.”

  I glanced around, not seeing any of the guys that were with the girls she was going out with.

  I dropped my voice. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed once more. “It was… interesting.”

  I blinked and tried to figure out what to say. I thought she liked the women the last time she hung out with them and the few times she’d seen them since. But based on her sighing, I worried that wasn’t the case.

  “We were at Emma’s house, and it started out fine. But Callie quickly devolved into tears because apparently her mother has popped back up.”

  My brows rose, and I looked around again for the guys, mainly Derek.

  “She called her earlier today and tried to demand money or something. I’m not sure, honestly. I only caught part of what she was saying. I think I missed the main part, so I don’t quite understand everything she was going on about.”

  “I don’t know a lot either, but I know she has a pretty bad relationship with her parents, her mom, especially.”

  “That meshes with what she was saying, and what I understood from the conversation.”

  “So you left early?”

  “No, I was going to stay, but Emma ushered us all out when Callie started crying uncontrollably.”

  I winced. “Yikes, that sounds bad.”

  “Yeah. So I’m just disappointed. I was hoping for a better girls' night, but we plan to do another one in a few weeks when Noah is at my parents' so I can host.”

  I smiled, glad it wasn’t as bad as I was fearing. “Th
at sounds like fun.”

  “I hope it will be. I’ll have a sign saying there’s no crying in my house or something.”

  I laughed and caught sight of Derek.

  “I’m gonna let you go,” I blurted. “Derek just got on the bus and I want to make sure he knows what happened tonight.”

  “Okay, talk to you later. Love you,” she said, then hung up.

  I froze at her parting words. Love you?

  Did she mean to say that?

  We hadn’t traded those words yet, though I was ready to say them. But I didn’t want to rush things.

  Before I could think about it anymore, Derek dropped into the seat across the aisle from me. “You good?” I asked him as I got a look at him.

  He looked tired, much more tired than he had right after the game.

  He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Emma left me a message during the game. Callie lost it tonight because her mom called today.”

  I winced. “Zoe said something about it.”

  Derek glanced at me blankly before he nodded. “Tonight was girls' night, wasn’t it?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Zoe was telling me about it.”

  Derek shook his head. “Callie is going to be embarrassed about this.”

  I shrugged. “It is what it is. Shit happens and she couldn’t have predicted that her mom would come out of the woodwork and stir shit up.”

  Derek sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just hate that I’m not there. Though I am glad she was with Emma when she broke down. She has a tendency to bottle things up, and that’s never a good thing when her mom is involved.”

  I nodded and watched as Alvarez and King made their way to us.

  “Callie good?” Alvarez asked.

  Derek nodded. “As good as can be. I can’t wait to get home, though.”

  “Charlotte said she was sticking around, too and would make sure she wasn’t alone when she got home,” King said.

  The three of them chatted for several more minutes about Callie and what was happening at home. Seeing their dynamic made me thankful Zoe was befriending their girls, and that I had befriended them when my marriage imploded.

  “When we get to the hotel, we’ll get some beer or something to take the edge off. We’ll be home tomorrow night and you can put your eyes on her.”