Page 15

15

CREW

The moment I walked out the door, I felt as though I was leaving a part of myself behind. Knox Singleton wasn’t just a teammate, and his trade didn’t feel like just another hazard of our profession to me. It felt like I’d lost someone who could have been more than a teammate if we’d only had the time.

I didn’t have time to think about it now, though. So, I shoved everything down and tried to focus on the game. But as I crouched behind the plate, calling pitches, framing fastballs, and keeping runners in check, my mind betrayed me. Every time I glanced toward first base, I expected to see Singleton standing there, adjusting his glove or giving me a quick nod like he always did. It was nothing anyone else would notice, just a small thing meant for only me. And now, when I looked and he wasn’t there, it hit harder than I wanted to admit.

I hated it.

By the third inning, I could feel the frustration creeping into my at-bats. My timing felt off, and my patience at the plate was thinner than usual. I swung at a pitch I never should have chased, grounding out when I knew I should have worked the count. I jogged back to the dugout, jaw clenched, gripping my bat tighter than necessary.

Neal eyed me as I dropped onto the bench. “You look like you want to punch something.”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

He leaned in, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Let me guess, you’re missing your favorite first baseman, huh?”

I shot him a quick glare, already feeling the heat rising in my cheeks. “It’s not like that.”

He raised an eyebrow, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Uh-huh. Sure. You guys were pretty close, even if you tried to hide it. You’re gonna miss that smartass mouth of his, aren’t you?”

You have no idea.

I snorted, unable to keep the smile from my face. “I swear, Neal, you’re out of your mind. It’s all part of the game.”

He shrugged, still grinning. “Hey, I know you two had your thing going on, even if it wasn’t that kind of thing. Still sucks, though. I liked the guy.”

Me too.

And it did suck. I didn’t know when I’d see Singleton again. If I’d see him again. Baseball was like that; one day, a guy would be standing there in the dugout, and the next day he was halfway across the country wearing another team’s colors.

This one wasn’t supposed to matter.

But it did.

I thought about the way he looked at me before he left. The way his arms felt around me, like he didn’t want to let go. The way his lips pressed against mine, like the kiss was a final goodbye. I hadn’t felt that kind of pain in my chest since my ex-girlfriend, Mallory, had told me she no longer wanted to chase my baseball dreams with me and ended things after I signed with the Rockies.

I knew what that feeling meant, but I wasn’t going to tell Singleton now.

He was gone.

Maybe we’d meet up during the season at some point.

But I didn’t know if fate would be that kind.

One Week Later

Me: How’s Minnesota?

Singleton: It’s all right. Colorado still the same?

No, because you aren’t here.

Yep. So I was thinking …

Go on …

Maybe we can meet up during the All-Star break. If you want to that is

I stood and started to pace in my hotel room as I watched the dots on the screen dance while he typed. We hadn’t spoken since he’d left so suggesting we get together was making me nervous. But I had to. I missed him and wanted to see him while we had a break. Even if it was for only one or two nights.

I’m down. Where?

Anywhere

I can fly wherever

Want to meet halfway in Nebraska?

Nebraska? What the fuck is there to do in Nebraska?

Well I wasn’t thinking of sightseein g

It took a moment for him to reply:

Tell me the place and I’ll be there

I couldn’t wipe the smirk off my face as I looked up some info:

It seems we can both drive to Lincoln in just around seven hours. My flight wouldn’t take that long but for some reason yours wouldn’t be direct

I’ll rent a car

Are you sure?

I want to see you

I want to see you too

Good. Let me know the deets

I’d been counting down the weeks until it was time to meet Singleton in Nebraska. I’d decided to drive since by the time I went to the airport, waited for my flight and all that shit, it wouldn’t be that much difference in time.

The closer I got to Lincoln in my truck, the more my heart skipped a little beat and a rush of excitement raced through me. I’d never felt this way about anyone before, but that was just it: Knox Singleton wasn’t just anyone. He made everything feel effortless and I could never get him out of my head no matter how hard I tried.

Singleton: I’m here

I’m about thirty minutes away still

A few minutes later he texted:

Checked in. Room number is 312

Be there soon

I punched the gas a little harder and made it to the hotel in under twenty minutes. My nerves were buzzing, but I tried to shake it off, telling myself this was only Singleton and it would be like any other time we’d spent together in a hotel room.

After parking, I grabbed my bag and headed inside, then took the elevator up to the third floor. When the doors opened, I strode out into the quiet hallway. Room 312 wasn’t far, and I found it easily.

I knocked twice, and before I could even process how nervous I still felt, the door swung open.

“Hey.” Singleton smiled.

“Hey,” I replied, walking inside, my pulse quickening the moment the door clicked shut behind me. “You already settled in?”

“Yeah. Made myself comfortable.”

I grinned, eyeing his T-shirt and basketball shorts. “I see that.”

His gaze was hot on me, and the sexual tension between us was exactly how it had been when we’d been together before. Like it had never gone away. “You look good,” he stated.

“You too,” I muttered, not sure how else to answer.

Then, without another word, he closed the space between us, his lips finding mine in a kiss that was everything I remembered.

My bag fell somewhere near the door as he tugged at my clothes and peeled my shirt off. I yanked his over his head and let it fall, then pushed him back, all while kissing him hard enough to erase the weeks we’d been apart.

“I’ve been hard since you said you were almost here,” he rasped against my jaw as he undid my jeans.

“Yeah?” I hooked my fingers in his waistband. “Let’s do something about it.”

My legs hit the bed and I sank onto the mattress, dragging him with me until we landed hard, mouths locked, hands greedy.

I shoved down his shorts far enough to free him. He got my jeans and boxers halfway off, allowing us to grind together. I rocked up into him, and he cursed, then buried his face in my neck as our dicks slid against each other. I did it again, angling my hips until I found that sweet friction that made both of us groan.

Knox’s breath hitched. He rutted against me like he couldn’t stop himself, his length dragging over mine, our bodies slipping against each other with nothing in the way. I grabbed his ass and pulled him tighter.

We continued to move like that—fast, frantic, filthy—like it was the only way to erase the weeks we’d been apart.

When he started to shake, clearly teetering on the edge, I flipped him. Pinned him to the mattress with my mouth, my weight, and a look that told him we weren’t done.

I ran my tongue over his chest, pausing to suck each nipple until he twisted the sheets in his grasp. Then I went lower to his abs, then to the soft skin just above his shaft that was neatly trimmed. I licked there, slowly and deliberately, before taking him into my mouth without warning.

His hips jolted, a strangled sound tearing from his throat. “Fuck, Stratton?—”

I popped off him. “You missed this?”

“You know I did.”

My strokes were slow and tight, while my tongue trailed along his length, teasing the head and keeping him hanging by a thread. His skin was flushed, his mouth parted, and his hair a mess, yet I’d barely gotten started.

“Turn over,” I ordered, breathless.

He obeyed quickly, like he had been waiting for that command.

He got onto his knees, then to his forearms, ass high and ready.

No words. No hesitation. Just need.

I coated myself with lube, lined up, and slid inside him in one slow, long stroke.

He groaned low as he trembled beneath me. I held his hips, my movements fast and relentless. My thighs burned from the pace, sweat dripping down my spine, but I couldn’t stop—couldn’t fucking breathe—because he felt too good, too tight, too perfect around me.

He reached for himself, but I caught his wrist and stopped him. “Don’t come.”

“Stratton—”

“I mean it. Not yet.”

As he moaned into the comforter, his whole body was strung tight, ready to snap in half if I didn’t let up, but I wasn’t about to. My grip dug in, and I fucked him rough and fast, like I couldn’t get deep enough.

“Take it,” I growled through clenched teeth. “You feel that? Your ass is mine.”

“Don’t stop, Stratton. Fuck. Don’t you fucking stop,” he panted.

The tension in my spine coiled tighter with every thrust. “You’re gonna make me come,” I groaned. “You feel too good. Too tight. You were made for this.”

“Then fucking come in me. Fill me up. Do it.” He clenched around me and I lost it.

I came hard inside him, my hips jerking as a ragged breath tore from my lungs. I collapsed over him, our bodies slick with sweat, my heart racing like it was trying to burst out of my chest.

“I’m not done with you yet. I want to swallow every drop of you,” I said as I slipped out and flipped him over.

Dropping to my knees at the edge of the bed, I slid him toward me. He lifted his legs and pulled his knees up. My cum leaked from his hole as I spread him open to watch it slide out slowly.

He reached for his cock, but I beat him to it. I wrapped my mouth around him and took him deep, my tongue teasing the head, tasting salt and everything that made him mine . My other hand slid between his legs to drag my fingers through the sticky mess I’d left inside him. When I pressed one against his hole and then slipped it in, his entire body shook.

“You like my cum in your ass?”

He clenched around me like he didn’t want to let a single bit of me go. “Yes.” He blew out a breath. “I want it in me. All of it. ”

I added a second digit then took his dick back into my mouth, swallowing him whole while my fingers still worked his ass.

“Fucking hell, Stratton,” he choked out, his hand gripping my hair.

I groaned around him, pushed my fingers deeper, and curled them just right.

“Come for me,” I growled. “Hold on to my cum while you give me yours.”

He did as I told him, his cock jerking against my tongue. I took it all, then kept sucking him slowly, knowing exactly how wrecked he was as he gasped for air.

When he finally sagged back into the mattress, I crawled up over him and caught his mouth with mine. I kissed him, letting him taste what he’d just given me. His hands gripped my jaw, holding me there like he needed the contact just as much as I did.

I looked him in the eye. “That’s one.”

His mouth curved. “You keeping score?”

“Planning to lose count.”

He huffed a laugh. “Then get back to it.”

I spread his thighs open again, and ran my fingers through my cum.

“Still full of me,” I stated. “Exactly how I want you.”

He didn’t answer. Just lifted his hips and gave me everything I asked for.

Again and again.

Two days later, I woke with a pit of dread in my stomach. Our time to say goodbye had come too quickly. We’d spent almost the entire time in bed and I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. However, I had a feeling we were both thinking the same thing even though neither one of us had uttered a word about what was coming once we parted ways again.

I lay on the bed, propped up against the headboard, trying to avoid looking at Singleton, who was sitting in the chair by the window, staring down at his phone. We’d been silent for a while, each lost in our own thoughts, but the minutes kept ticking by and I hated that time couldn’t stop.

I could feel the tightness in my chest, the knot that had settled there as soon as I woke up. We couldn’t make this work, and we both knew it. Not when we were on different teams, several states between us, and had no time to be together.

I finally broke the silence. “I should start packing up my stuff.” Granted, it wasn’t much since I’d been naked most of the time and had only put on clothes to run out and get us food.

“Yeah, me too.” He stood.

We were quiet again and I knew I just had to rip the Band-Aid off. I cleared my throat and faced him. “You know this isn’t going to work, right?”

He looked up from stuffing the last bit of his clothes into his bag and blew out a breath. “Yeah, I know.”

I swallowed hard. “It seems everything is stacked against us.”

He nodded, his jaw tightening as if he were wrestling with the same feelings I was. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I wish I was still in Denver.”

I let out a breath, trying to keep it together, but the reality of the situation was too much. “Me too. I don’t want to say goodbye,” I murmured, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Singleton’s eyes softened as he sauntered over to me and grasped my hand. “I don’t either but we know it has to be this way.” He paused, and I could see the conflict in his eyes, the frustration, the sadness we both felt. “I’m gonna miss you,” he added quietly. “More than I thought I would.”

“Me too,” I replied, my throat tight. I pulled him against me. “I didn’t expect to feel ... Well, I didn’t think I’d fall in love with you but I did.”

He drew back slightly and stared into my eyes. “You love me?”

I lifted a shoulder, an attempt to act as though it was no big deal, but the truth was, my heart was breaking. “Yeah.”

A tear slid down his cheek. “I love you too.”

I hauled him back against me, needing to wrap my arms around him for as long as I could. I held him tight, not wanting to let go, like somehow, if I just clung to him long enough, the clock would stop ticking and we could pretend we didn’t have to go our separate ways. But I knew better. We couldn’t outrun the truth.

His breathing was uneven. Like he was trying to keep it together just as much as I was. “This isn’t fair.”

I nodded, fighting past the lump in my throat. “No, it’s not. But it’s the way the majors work.”

Another long silence stretched between us as he stayed in my arms. Finally, Singleton stepped back and wiped his eyes. “Guess we’ll just have to find a way to move on, huh?”

I nodded slowly. “I guess so.”

I reached for him again, pulling him in for one last kiss. This time, it was unhurried and bittersweet, both of us knowing it would be the last. When we finally broke apart, I didn’t want to speak. Didn’t want to ruin it with more words.

Instead, his hand slid into mine one final time. “Take care of yourself, Crew,” he whispered.

I nodded, fighting the tears I could feel threatening to spill. “You too, Knox.”

He snatched his bag and I watched him go, knowing this was the last time we’d share a room like this, the last time we’d stand so close.

As the door closed behind him, I let out a long breath and for the first time in a while, I realized I wasn’t sure what to do with all the pieces of my heart that had been left behind.

But somehow, I would figure it out.

I had to.