Clutch Player

by Ash, Nikki

  “No.” I shake my head. “Should I have?” I know she goes a few times a week—and complains about it—but we always meet back at her house when she’s done.

  “You doing anything after we leave here?”

  “Nope. I was hoping to hang out with Harper and the kids, but I haven’t heard from her yet. She usually texts me after she’s done to make plans.”

  “We’re meeting them for lunch afterward, but I’m going by the studio first.” Simon grins and nods slowly as if he’s in on some sort of secret.

  When we arrive at the studio, Simon walks in like he owns the place. The boys wave hi to the owner—who Simon introduces to me as Calliope—then run off to the playroom. Apparently she keeps a gaming console here for the older kids.

  “Four smoothies,” Simon says. “I’ll be in class.” He winks, and Calliope rolls her eyes playfully.

  “Sure thing.”

  “We have to hurry,” he says, speed walking down the hallway. “Class is almost over.”

  “Wait, we’re not joining them, are we?” I might be a professional athlete, but yoga is definitely not my workout of choice. Plus, I’m in jeans. I can’t imagine that would go over well.

  “No.” He laughs. “You’ll see.”

  We enter through the door and Simon walks straight to the back. It only takes me a second to find Harper amongst the other women. She’s on all fours with her skintight yoga pants stretching taught across her round ass, which is up in the air. The instructor says something and Harper’s leg goes straight, her ass rising even farther into the air. The instructor says something else, and Harper goes back to her previous position, on all fours, rocking her hips forward and backward. Holy fuck! It’s like watching porn… No, I take it back, it’s better than porn. Much better.

  My gaze swings over to Simon and he chuckles. “Yep.” He nods slowly, not even needing me to say a word.

  “Smoothies,” Calliope says, handing us each two cups.

  “Thanks, luv,” Simon says, his eyes never leaving his wife’s ass. “Nothing better than a snack to go with the show.”

  Calliope snorts. “Did Bridget tell you we’ve booked the girls’ trip for next weekend since Harper’s ex has the kids?”

  “Yep,” Simon says without making eye contact with Calliope.

  We watch as the women stand up straight and then bend over to the side. Harper either heard Simon talking or looked around, because she looks back and makes eye contact with me. At first, she looks shocked, but then her eyes swing over to Simon and she rolls them.

  “Do you come here a lot?” I ask Simon.

  “Define a lot,” he says with a laugh.

  “Every chance he can get,” Calliope says.

  “It’s not my fault.” He huffs. “My wife has the most perfect derriere.”

  “You’re such a perv,” Calliope jokes. “And now you’re bringing others down with you…” She nods toward me.

  “It’s my friendly duty to make my man, Landon, aware of what he’s been missing out on.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she says. “Here’s the hotel and spa information you wanted.” She hands him some kind of brochure. I quickly glance at it before I go back to watching Harper, who’s now lying on the ground, slowly lifting her pelvis up and down.

  Yep! Definitely better than porn.

  “I’ll call ahead and pay for everything,” Simon says to Calliope. “I want to make sure Harper’s stuff is covered too.” His words get my attention.

  “You’re paying for Harper?”

  “Yeah, she tends to be stingy with her money.” He shrugs. “The last time they went to the spa for the day, she didn’t want to get all the treatments Bridget was getting, so I’m going to prepay so she can’t say no.”

  I look over at Harper, who’s now standing and rolling up her mat, laughing with Bridget and touching her pregnant stomach. Harper and I haven’t really discussed money, but my guess is she’s worried about wasting her money since her only income until she’s working is the money she gets from Richie. And even once she does start working, there’s no way her teaching salary will cover the cost of all her bills.

  “Actually, can you send me the info?” I say to Simon. “I’d like to pay.” Then I add, “But keep it between us, please.”

  “Will do.” Simon grins and pats me on the shoulder. “Glad to see Harper with a good man.”

  The women come walking over, both with knowing smirks on their faces. Bridget wraps her arms around her husband, but Harper stays a few feet back, looking at me shyly. We haven’t done much PDA. Even though the kids know about us, we try to keep it G-rated.

  Not able to take her being this close and not in my arms, I grip the front of her top, which is showcasing her luscious tits, and pull her toward me. “You looked sexy as hell out there,” I whisper into her ear.

  She laughs. “I see Simon has corrupted you.”

  “More like educated me.” I nip at her earlobe. “I see a lot more yoga watching in my future. Any time you need someone to drop you off or pick you up, I’m your man.”

  Harper giggles then kisses me. My hands find her ass and I give it a good squeeze. “Now I know why you have such a perfect ass.”

  “We’re going to eat lunch,” she says, snaking her arms around my neck. “You coming?”

  “Mmm… not yet, but soon.”

  Harper snorts. “Let’s go, cheesy-ass.”

  Since we all came in separate vehicles, we agree to meet at the restaurant. I take the kids with me, so Harper can rinse off and get dressed in the locker room.

  “Have you bought my mommy a pretty ring yet?” Ella asks from the back seat of my truck. I’ve actually been looking at rings, but haven’t found the one that screams Harper yet.

  “Not yet, but if you have any ideas you can send them my way.”

  “Okay,” she says with a content smile.

  “I spoke to the Reds’ owner,” I tell Hunter. “He said we’re good to go for your birthday. You can invite whoever you want.”

  Hunter grins. “This is seriously going to be the best birthday, ever.”

  We arrive at the restaurant, and since Simon got here first, he’s snagged a table for all of us. He’s sitting with the twins and Brendan. The kids and I sit down and we order drinks while we wait for the women. A few minutes later, they walk through the door. Bridget is frowning and Harper’s eyes are rimmed red like she was crying.

  I immediately stand, needing to know what’s wrong. When she spots me stalking toward her, she quickly composes herself.

  “What happened?” I ask, pulling her into my arms.

  “Nothing.” She sighs. “I’m just being stupid and emotional.” She rolls her eyes, trying to play off whatever’s wrong, but I’m not buying it.

  “Let me be the judge of that.”

  “Richard texted me this morning while I was in yoga that he has a medical conference he has to go to, so he won’t be able to take the kids next weekend.” She laughs humorlessly. “He actually asked me to go with him and offered to pay for a spa day at the resort he’s going to be at. Said he would watch the kids while I’m there.” She snorts. “As if I would ever go away with him…”

  Fucking dick… I knew he would attempt this bullshit. He made it clear he wants Harper back, but what he’s too dense to acknowledge is that he’s already lost her and he’s never going to get her back. If she wanted to be with him, I’d never stand in the way of a couple getting back together, especially when the couple has kids. But Harper doesn’t want him, and the only reason he wants her is so he can go back to doing what he wants while having his family at his fingertips. Harper and the kids deserve better than that. They deserve to have someone’s full attention. To be someone’s everything. To be put first and not be an afterthought.

  “It’s no big deal,” she says with a sad smile. “I didn’t really need to go.” She shrugs, then pulls out of my arms and walks over to the table to join everyone.

  “The kids can stay with me,�
�� Simon says as we sit down. Bridget must’ve filled him in.

  “And leave you with five kids?” Harper laughs. “I really appreciate it, but I can’t do that to you.”

  “I can stay with them for the weekend,” I offer. Everyone glances in my direction.

  “Yeah,” Hunter agrees. “We can hit the batting cages.”

  “No!” Ella argues. “He can play on the balance beam with me and we can have a dance party!”

  Hunter’s nose scrunches up in disgust. “Landon is a man, El. He’s not playing girly things with you.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Whoa,” I say, cutting Ella off. “One, there are many men who do gymnastics and are professional dancers.” I give Hunter a pointed look, and he shrugs. “And two, if your mom says I can stay with you guys, we can do all that. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. But we can’t put her on the spot like that. We’ll discuss it later.”

  “Fine,” they both say in unison.

  When I look over at Harper, her lips are curled into a small smile. “We don’t have to discuss it later,” she says. “If you’re okay with staying with them, then I’m okay with it.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”

  The waitress comes over and we place our order. While we’re talking, a few kids come over and ask for my autograph. I stand and take a few pictures with them, and their mother thanks me.

  “Why do people always ask for you to sign things?” Ella asks.

  “Because he’s a famous baseball player,” Hunter says. “He won the World Series. He’s the best pitcher ever.”

  I laugh at Hunter’s explanation. “While I appreciate that, I’m hardly the best pitcher, ever.”

  He shrugs as the waitress sets our food on the table. “Pretty much. Plus, you’re the reason they won the World Series. You’re the Clutch Player.”

  “What’s that?” Ella asks.

  “It’s when a player is badass and saves the day,” Hunter explains. “He’s like the superman of baseball.”

  “Watch your mouth,” Harper chides.

  “Can you come to my dance camp?” Ella asks. “My dance teacher loves baseball and he always wears a Reds shirt. I bet he would give me the front spot in the dance if you signed something for him.”

  “Of course,” I tell her, while everyone cracks up laughing.

  “Ugh,” Harper chokes out. “I think there’s something wrong with my sandwich.” She sets the sandwich on the plate and pushes it back.

  I grab her tuna melt and take a bite. “It tastes good,” I tell her. “Want to switch?”

  “You sure?” she asks, eyeing my turkey, bacon, and avocado club sandwich.

  Even if I wasn’t, I would still switch with her. Hell, I would order this entire menu, just so she could taste test everything and decide what she wants.

  Without responding, I switch our plates, and Harper smiles. “Thanks,” she says, taking a bite of my sandwich. “You really are my white knight.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Harper

  “This is exactly what I needed,” Bridget says through a moan as the nail technicians massage our calves and feet. “If I were rich, I would pay someone to come to the house and massage my feet every day.”

  Calliope and I giggle.

  “Same,” I agree, closing my eyes and thinking about how relaxing today has been. Bridget, Calliope, and I drove up in one vehicle last night. After checking in, we went to the restaurant for dinner, where we gossiped for hours before going back up to our room and crashing. It was nice to be able to talk with other adults without the kids around.

  “Umm… I’m pretty sure Landon could afford it,” Calliope says with a laugh. “Nigel loves the Reds and mentioned Landon was the highest paid baseball player. He’s also begged me to ask you to get his autograph.” She rolls her eyes. “Boys.”

  As I’m about to respond, my phone rings. Bridget told me I should leave it in the room, but I don’t want to not be available to Landon in case he needs to get ahold of me. He’s doing me a huge favor by staying with the kids this weekend.

  Seeing that it’s my doctor’s office calling, I answer. “Hello.”

  “Good morning, Ms. Peters. This is Emily from Providence OB/GYN Specialists. We saw that you canceled your appointment and haven’t rescheduled.”

  Shoot! “Yes, I’m away this weekend, so I don’t have my calendar in front of me. Can I call you Monday?”

  “Sure! We can also call you back if you would like.”

  “That would be great. Thanks!”

  We hang up and Bridget asks who that was. “My gynecologist’s office. I need to reschedule my annual checkup. I had to cancel it.”

  A minute later, my phone rings again. This time it’s Richard. I tap the message icon and respond with a pre-made message: Sorry I can’t answer right now.

  A second later, he’s calling again. “Yes, Richard?” I say, knowing he’ll just keep calling until I answer.

  “Why the hell is he watching our kids?”

  “Hello to you too.”

  “Harper!” he shouts through the phone. He’s so loud, Bridget’s and Calliope’s faces swing over to look at me.

  “You couldn’t take them and I had plans, so he offered to stay with them,” I say calmly, refusing to let him get to me.

  “It’s my weekend!”

  “Yes, it is. And you couldn’t take them.”

  “That doesn’t mean you leave them with whoever the fuck you want without discussing it with me first.”

  Okay, well, I’ve had enough of this. I’m not about to let him ruin my weekend. “When you choose not to take the kids and leave it up to me, I get to make that decision. Just like when the kids are with you and you leave them with the woman you’re with at the time. Now, I’m in the middle of getting a pedicure, so I’m going to have to discuss this with you later.” I hang up before he can say another word, and when he calls right back, I mute him so I won’t see any of his calls or messages until I choose to.

  “You handled that well,” Bridget says. “He needs to learn he’s not God.”

  “Yeah. I better call Landon and warn him in case Richard decides to show up.”

  I dial his number and it rings a couple of times before he answers. “Hey, babe. What’s up?” I can’t quite decipher his tone, but it sounds off… almost nervous… and that makes me nervous.

  “Everything okay?” I ask slowly.

  “Umm… yeah, everything is good.”

  “Landon… Are the kids okay?” The mom in me is starting to freak out.

  “What? Yeah. We’re all okay. The kids are right here with me.”

  “Okay, then what happened? And don’t tell me nothing. I can hear it in your voice.”

  “Well, there might’ve been an accident.”

  “What?” I hiss. “Landon…”

  “Let’s just say your daughter definitely takes after you.” He laughs, but it’s off. He’s obviously nervous I’m going to freak the hell out, and he isn’t wrong. “But don’t worry,” he continues, his words rushed. “I have everything under control. You just enjoy yourself and we’ll see you when you get home. Love you. Bye.”

  He hangs up and I drop my phone onto the table next to me. Putting my head back, I close my eyes and relax. Whatever the hell is going on will be there when I get home.

  “Oh my God!” Bridget shrieks with laughter. “Look at this!” She turns her phone around. It’s a picture on Instagram of Ella, in her Princess Aurora dress and crown, holding a bat up in the air. She’s grinning like a Cheshire cat. Bridget swipes left and there’s another photo of Ella, this time of her swinging the bat. One more swipe. A photo of the neighbor’s second story broken window. It was posted on Landon’s Instagram about thirty minutes ago and the damn photos already have thirty thousand likes! I grab the phone from Bridget, so I can read the caption: I might’ve taught the princess how to hit TOO WELL.

  The comments range from women begging Landon to marry him, to
asking who Ella is, if she’s his daughter or niece. There’s even a couple comments from celebrities.

  “Oh, goodness.” I groan through my laughter. “This explains why he was so nervous on the phone.”

  Bridget and Calliope laugh.

  I grab my phone and pull up Landon’s Instagram account. I’m not big on social media, but when Landon and I got back together, we did add each other on Facebook and follow each other on Instagram. Of course I never really go on, so if it weren’t for Bridget showing me what he posted, I’d probably never have found out.

  Without thinking about what I’m doing, I click on the comment bubble and type: Guess this is why you were nervous on the phone…try not to break anything else before I get home ;) Then I exit out of the app and focus my attention on the nail tech who is now painting my toenails a cute shade of pink.

  I’m lounging on the terrace with a glass of wine in my hand, enjoying the cool breeze coming off the ocean. Our room is directly on the beach and overlooks the water. We returned to our room about an hour ago after spending the day getting pampered. After taking a quick shower and throwing on a pair of comfy pajamas, I poured myself a glass of white wine and came out here to listen to the waves.

  I think back to earlier. When we finished with our pedicures, the woman running the front desk handed us our itinerary for the day so we’d know where we’d be heading next. I damn near had a heart attack when I saw all the services we were scheduled for: mud wrap, spa massage, manicure, lunch, facial, waxing. There was no way I could afford everything on that list. I mean, technically I could. I’m good at saving. But I try really hard not to spend my money frivolously.

  I didn’t fully understand how expensive everything was until I was on my own. Richard used to handle all of it. He’s controlling in that way. He would give me an allowance for groceries and extras and if I needed more, I’d have to ask. It’s scary being on my own, paying my own bills, but I’m handling it.

  So, when she gave us our itinerary, I asked for a price list and told her I’d let her know what I’m going to do. She gave me a confused look and told me it was already all paid for. When I asked Bridget if this was Simon’s doing, she said if it was, she wasn’t told. I asked the woman to find out who paid. I was shocked and in awe when she returned and told me the credit card name on file is Landon Maxwell. I don’t know how he even did that, and while I hate the thought of him paying for all this, it was beyond sweet and I’m not going to bitch at him for trying to do something nice.