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BODHI

I can’t get out of the bathtub.

Jesus Christ.

We’ve been back to practicing for a whole two days and I already can’t move. My legs feel like a ton of bricks and my hamstrings are screaming.

Three months off from practicing and conditioning led me here.

Sore muscles scold me.

You’d think I spent the three months of the postseason sitting on my ass all day, but I didn’t. I’ve been in the gym every day, working on maintaining my strength, especially in my legs. Being a catcher requires hours upon hours of squatting and pressure on your knees.

If I don’t target-train those muscles, I’m fucked.

Spring training games start in a couple of weeks for the new season and Coach Leggins is running us into the ground. Usually, I’d love it.

Not today.

Gahhhh. I grunt loudly.

I don’t think I can move.

I place my hands on the sides of the tub, attempting to motivate myself and suffer through the agonizing ache to lift up.

I once heard that men are simply unable to lift themselves without support like women can. It’s a studied strength that men lack.

I can now confidently support that theory.

Maybe I should invest in a support bar to attach to the wall?

What am I, eighty?

“What happened? Oh my god, are you okay?”

My eyes bulge out of their sockets, embarrassment filling me at the vision of Navy standing before me…while I’m paralyzed and naked in the tub.

Have mercy.

It doesn’t take her long to discover the compromised position she finds me in before her full-body laughter takes over. “Are you stuck? You’re stuck, aren’t you?”

This cannot be happening right now.

I thought I’d experienced embarrassment in my life, but it has nothing on this. “Navy, I’m fine. I was not stuck, I’m soaking in the water, thank you very much. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

I nod my head toward the door, hoping she leaves. She does the opposite and walks directly beside me, scooping her hand in the bath water to test the temperature.

I attempt to try and cover myself, but I doubt I’m concealing enough.

“The water is practically cold, Bodhi. Why were you grunting so loud? I heard you from my room,” she asks me.

I’ve reached the lowest of lows.

“Just drop it, Navy.”

“Not gonna happen, catcher.”

I secretly love when she calls me that.

Navy stands before me with her arms crossed, leaning nonchalantly against the concave wall the bathtub is nestled in.

I take a deep breath. “I can’t get up.”

The cutest giggle leaves her lips, and if I weren’t so humiliated right now, I’d probably smile. “I’m sorry…I don’t think I heard you right,” she teases.

Another giggle. And another.

Is this what rock bottom feels like?

I murmur quietly, “I said…I can’t get out of the bathtub. I’m stuck. My muscles are locked up.”

Her hand cups her mouth in another giggle. Jesus, this woman is ruthless at 9 a.m.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll stop. How can I help?” she asks, stepping closer.

I hold my hand up to stop her. “Help? Navy, I’m fucking naked and can’t move. My dick and ass are out in the open. I’d say it’s probably not the best idea for you to help .”

Navy cocks a sinister smile. “I never got to see it before. No time like the present, right?”

Before I have a chance to argue, she’s coming at me, and she refuses to look away. Yep. Navy never does things halfway. She charges head-on and doesn’t relent. I’ve always admired that about her.

But now, I’m regretting suggesting she live here. She wouldn’t be able to witness something as embarrassing as this.

Only regretting it for a second.

The confidence in Navy’s stride makes no room for an argument from me. I don’t think I could defend myself if I tried.

Navy is on a mission and I’m her pursuit.

Without thinking twice, she leans her body at an angle to give herself stability and scoops her arms under my armpits, securing a firm hold around me. The proximity of her chest to mine is close, making me feel hazy.

Her smell.

Her curl cream.

The moisturizer with SPF I can smell slathered across her skin, telling me she already did her religious routine.

The minty flavor of toothpaste I can smell lingering on her breath.

God, she’s edible, even like this.

And I now can concur this is a very bad predicament not only for us to be in, but for my dick to be standing at attention.

I won’t lie and say I never imagined her seeing my thick length, hard and ready for her—but definitely not like this. I feel like a child in need of his mommy.

She could be my kinky mommy. Nope. Not going there.

“Practice?” Navy asks, as supernatural strength comes over her and she lifts my heavy body up.

She means I’m like this because of practice.

I grunt, trying not to think about how vulnerable I feel. “Yes.”

Navy takes her time lifting me and it feels good to have the support.

“Wait,” I choke out halfway to standing. “Let me have one of my arms.”

Navy stills. “That kind of defeats the purpose of me helping you, catcher.”

My head lifts, sending her a look of impatience. “I’d like to cover my dick if that’s okay with you.”

Her eyes protrude at my forwardness. “Oh. Yeah. Okay.”

I slowly remove my right arm from over her shoulder and reach for the towel on the hook directly beside me.

I’m big, so I doubt it’ll actually cover me in my hasty attempt, but I don’t care enough to look down and check. This will have to do.

“You good?” Navy asks me, waiting to continue.

I nod while she pulls me to stand in one long drag, putting us face-to-face.

Well, her face to my chest, to be exact.

Still, close enough to feel lightheaded by her nearness. I’m standing in the cold bath water while she stands on solid ground and you’d never sense the small amount of distance between us.

She’s practically on top of me.

Our eyes connect steadily. “You really should take Advil or something for that soreness. Menthol cream and Epsom salt can do wonders,” she tells me.

“And what makes you such a professional in muscle recovery?”

Navy smiles, and I swear to god, I can feel it touch my skin. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because my brother is your best friend and he’s played baseball his entire life. That might be it.”

Shit. It’s as if a gallon of water is dumped on my head.

We can’t be this close, let alone with my dick only concealed by a towel.

It’s wrong, and there are too many people with big mouths in this house.

She’s Callaway’s little sister and I can’t let this happen again.

My hand twists to gently latch onto her upper arm. “Navy, thanks for your help. I think I’ve got it from here.”

Bury me in embarrassment.

I swiftly summon the strength to get my legs over the side of the bathtub and wrap the towel more appropriately around my waist as a loud groan escapes me.

“Fuckkkk.”

Navy wastes no time helping secure the towel as my arms fly up and I cry out in agony. “Go sit on the bathtub,” she commands.

I look at her with confusion, despite my obvious pain.

Shit, I need to hydrate.

“Have you had any electrolytes? You’re dehydrated,” she tells me.

We’re thinking the same thing, clearly. She’s confident in her diagnosis.

Does she not understand what I said? I need her to leave.

“Navy, I need you to leave.”

Of course, she ignores me. “And I need you to sit your ass on the bathtub,” she snaps back.

I feel my dick instantly get hard. She’s fine as hell when this assertive and bossy side of her comes out.

“Navy—”

Smack.

A loud smack on my ass cuts off my response, causing me to lose balance and drop unintentionally to the side of the clawfoot tub, exactly as she hoped for. I attempt to stabilize myself and crane my neck to the side, giving her a look of surprise. “Damn. What was that for?”

“When are you gonna stop pushing me away and let me help you for once?”

I love her like this. Riled up and feisty.

I can’t respond truthfully without hurting her, so I choose to stay silent and do what she asks— commands.

I attempt to get comfortable. “Shit. These tubs were not meant for six foot seven and two hundred fifty pounds.” Woah.

I wobble like a fish out of water. So much that I don’t realize the moment soft hands land on my thighs in front of me.

And what a sight I see. Holy hell.

Navy is on her knees in front of me with nothing but one of those teeny, tiny workout sets on, wild curls in a messy bun, socks with marigold flowers, and a tube of Tiger Balm grasped in her hands.

I should get stuck in the bathtub more often.

“Don’t you dare complain about your size. You’re perfect,” she tells me seriously.

Where did that come from?

It’s been ages since I’ve heard a compliment come out of those perfect lips.

“It has its disadvantages.” I smirk.

“I can’t think of a single one,” she tells me, and the small room falls silent.

I let myself soak in the quiet around us as Navy squeezes a generous amount of Tiger Balm onto her palm. She rubs the menthol cream between her hands to warm it up and drags those dainty hands down my massive thighs.

Fucking hell. That feels good.

“You need to take better care of your body.” Not if I get you to do it for me instead, terremoto.

I keep that to myself.

“I take care of myself just fine,” I reply like a prick.

Her hands roam over each of my thighs, covering them completely with her touch and working the menthol cream into my sore muscles.

My body tightens as her hands find the underside of my thighs, working the tense muscles I know are strained from all the work they’ve been put through.

My eyes roll to the back of my head in intense pleasure, making me unable to hold back a moan.

Navy’s hot pink nails dragging across my tan thighs are all I see when I open them. I take a deep breath and shut down my thoughts of her sliding those pretty little fingers higher and wrapping them around the bulge I’m now suffering with.

She makes no move to reach higher and keeps her eyes on her task.

“God, your legs are huge, B.” She exhales deeply.

Did I hear her right?

“You called me B.”

My heart fucking soars at the nickname she once called me, my eyes searching for answers, forgetting about how she complimented the size of my legs altogether.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” Navy responds casually as she rubs circles across me.

“It feels good.”

Navy nods. “Yeah, hopefully this will help relieve the soreness for a little while. Take some pain meds and hydrate too.”

“Not that.”

She looks at me in question.

“It feels good to be more than just Bodhi to you. B is us before I fucked everything up. It feels like I have you again,” I admit, and I mean every word of it.

I don’t expect a response from her. Truthfully, I’m not even sure why I admitted that. I couldn’t help it. She and Cal are the only ones who have ever called me B, and when she stopped, it felt like my heart was ripped from my chest.

I suppose I did that to myself, though.

I see the moment Navy shuts down. Her body freezes up and suddenly her hands are in her lap and my thighs are struck with a chilling coldness.

I shouldn’t have said that.

Navy’s eyes find mine as she caps the menthol cream, places it on the ground, and stands to her feet. “I should go.”

I don’t say anything. I’m not sure what I could say to make this right.

I put this tension between us, and she was only trying to help me.

Although, in an intimate way, it felt really fucking right at the time.

I know I’m not the only one who thought so.

The one time I let her be close to me, she pulls away.

All I do is nod and watch as she flees the bathroom, leaving me stuck once again, seated and unable to move.