Page 28 of Knox (Comeback Duet #2)

Knox

It was just after midnight when I got to my hotel room in Cincinnati. We had a four-game series against the Reds, followed by three with the Chicago Cubs, before we’d return to Portland for a homestand prior to the All-Star Break.

If everything went according to plan, Crew would be cleared to return after the break, making this the second and last road trip I’d have to take without him.

Since our conversation where I was finally honest about my worries and concerns, he’d made an effort to show me that I wasn’t just fitting into his life, but that I was an important part of it.

Obviously, it was easier to do that when we were under the same roof, but while I was away from home, I was doing my best to hold onto his words and finally stop letting the doubt make me miserable.

I sat in the chair next to the window and hit the video call button on Crew’s contact. It was a few minutes past nine back home.

“Hey,” he answered, already smiling.

“Hi, Knox!” Grady’s voice called out before he wrapped a small arm around his dad’s neck and leaned in until his face took up most of the screen.

“Hey, you two,” I replied. “What are you doing up so late, G?”

“Dad let me stay up late so I could say goodnight to you,” he said around a yawn.

“Oh really?” I grinned. “That makes me feel pretty special.”

“You are special. You’re my best friend,” Grady explained.

My chest tightened, and for a split second, I wondered if it would scare him if he saw me cry. “I am?”

“Yeah.” He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Archer is my other best friend, but you’re the first one.”

I chuckled. “I’ll take it.”

“What about me?” Crew teased.

Grady wrinkled his forehead. “What do you mean? You’re my dad.”

Crew ruffled his son’s hair. “Fair enough. Now it’s time for bed.”

He yawned again. “Will you read me a story?”

“You’re already up way past your bedtime, kiddo.”

“Just a short one. Please,” Grady pleaded.

Crew looked at me through the screen. “Want to listen in on story time?”

I nodded. “I love story time.”

With one hand on Grady’s shoulder and the other holding the phone, Crew led his son to his bedroom, propped the phone up so I could see the bed, and got him tucked in before grabbing a story about a T-Rex and his dinosaur friends.

Grady passed out only a few pages in, and I watched as Crew pulled the blanket up around his shoulders, kissed him on the forehead, and took the phone and moved out of the room as quietly as he could.

He eased the door shut behind him and walked back to our bedroom. “I’m glad you called. I’m missing you already.”

“Miss you more.”

“That’s impossible.” He smirked.

“At least this should be the last road trip without you.”

“It needs to hurry up and be over with already.”

I laughed. “You’ll have me back home soon enough.”

“Looking forward to that,” he confessed.

“And what exactly do you plan on doing to me when I get back home?” I asked, followed by a huge yawn that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Crew barked out a laugh. “As much as I would like to explain it to you in vivid detail, you look exhausted. You should get some sleep.”

“I’m never too tired for you,” I mumbled, my eyelids getting heavy.

“Right.” He shook his head. “Still, I don’t want to risk getting a call from Skip bitching at me for keeping you up too late. We can chat tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll be dreaming of you, though.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

As soon as I ended the call, I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into bed.

The space beside me might have been empty, but my heart was full, and in the grand scheme of things, that was all I really needed.

Four days later, when we rolled into Chicago, the doubts and fears were trying to take root in my mind, but I forced myself to focus on the positives.

Crew had answered most of my calls, even if we could only chat for a few seconds.

He’d replied to my texts even if it took a while to get a few words back from him.

And sure, his phone had gone straight to voicemail when I had called him from the airport, but that didn’t mean I needed to be worried. At least I hoped it didn’t.

As soon as we were on the bus, I sent him a text:

Tried to call you. Hope all is good

By the time we arrived at the hotel, I still hadn’t heard from him.

As the team gathered in the lobby, my attention was drawn toward the corner.

My breath hitched when I caught a glimpse of a man dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans with a baseball hat pulled so low you could hardly see his eyes.

He may have been trying to go incognito, but I would recognize him anywhere.

He smiled wide when I approached. “Surprise.”

“This feels vaguely familiar,” I mused, thinking back to him surprising me at the hotel after the ESPYs a year prior.

Crew stood. “Yeah, but this time we won’t have the awkward moment after sex before going our separate ways.”

“Oh, I see the real reason you came to see me.”

“You complaining?”

“Fuck no.” I laced my fingers with his and pulled him toward the elevator.

“Looks like Singleton’s about to get laid,” Ramos teased from behind us.

I looked over my shoulder. “Don’t be jealous just because your usual cleat chasers aren’t around.”

Pearson grinned. “We already have plans to meet up with a couple once we drop off our shit in our rooms.”

As if Ramos on his own wasn’t already a lot to handle, it seemed that he and Pearson had struck up a friendship, and not a night went by when they weren’t acting as each other’s wingmen.

The elevator was packed as Crew and I made our way up to the sixth floor. Once we were in my room, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pressed him against the wall, bracing one hand beside his head, the other cupping the side of his face as I kissed him.

When we finally pulled apart, I kept my forehead resting against his. “So I’m guessing this little surprise of yours is the reason my call went straight to voicemail?”

“Yeah. I got your text right after I got here, but I didn’t want to call you back and risk ruining the surprise.

” He leaned in again. His kiss was messy—all tongue licking and teeth nipping—but I couldn’t get enough.

I lifted his shirt over his head, and he yanked mine off with a growl.

The next second, he was grinding against me with our jeans separating me from what I really wanted.

“Fuck, I missed this,” I said as he nibbled along my jaw.

He spun me around and pressed me face-first into the wall. I braced myself with one hand while I worked the button of my fly with the other. He helped by shoving the denim past my thighs, then I heard him unzip his pants next.

“Been thinking about this since I left Portland,” he said, lips pressed to my ear.

“Then what are you waiting for? I’m all yours.”

He growled, then I saw him pick up his jeans before I heard the tell-tale click of the cap on a bottle of lube.

“Where the hell did that come from?” I asked.

“You think I would have traveled over 2,000 miles to see you and not be prepared?”

“Good point.”

A second later, I felt cool liquid dripping down the crack of my ass, followed by the fingers of his non-injured hand rubbing it over me. He worked me open fast but gentle, like he wanted to hurry but also didn’t want to hurt me. But he didn’t need to be so careful.

“Need you now,” I panted.

“You’ve got me,” he breathed. “Always.”

He lined up behind me and pushed in with one smooth motion until he was buried to the hilt. My forehead rested against the wall as I slowly adjusted to his size.

“You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, you can move now.”

Once he was convinced I could handle it, he wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around my chest and pounded into me.

“Goddamn. You’re so tight. Your ass is fucking perfect.” He pulled back and slammed forward again.

My knees nearly buckled. “You keep talking like that and this isn’t going to last very long.”

“We can’t have that.” He pulled out of me with a chuckle. “Get on the bed.”

Not caring if it made me look desperate, I all but ran over to the bed and laid back as he stalked toward me.

“Get your legs up,” he demanded softly.

I did as he said and he caught my calves in his hands, pushing them back until he had a perfect view of my needy hole.

He slid back in. He hooked one of my legs over his shoulder while continuing to hold the other back with a grip behind my knee.

“Fuck,” I moaned as he hit the spot deep inside me that made my toes curl.

Beads of sweat formed along his brow as he continued to drive into me over and over again. “Touch yourself while I fuck you.”

I reached between us, already close to falling apart. It didn’t take much, maybe three strokes, before I shouted incoherently through my release.

“I’m coming.” His thrusts became erratic, and his body shuddered as he spilled deep inside me.

We were both a sweaty mess when he rolled off me, but neither of us made an effort to clean up right away.

After my breathing slowed, I looked at him. “You were really bossy tonight.”

He gave me a lazy grin. “Didn’t hear you complaining a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining now either. Feel free to take control like that anytime. I won’t stop you.”

He leaned over and kissed me hard. “I’ll remember that.”

It always felt a little odd walking into the visitors’ clubhouse at any stadium.

Things looked and were set up differently than they were back home, but it usually only took a few minutes to settle in.

And even better, this time, was that Crew was by my side.

He still couldn’t play, but at least he was here.

I changed into my team-issued workout clothes and said, “I’m going to hit up the treadmill for a few before batting practice.”

Crew nodded. “Okay. I already told Reynolds I wanted to check in with him, then I’ll probably stop by Skip’s office.”

“See you in a bit.” I gave him a quick peck and headed out of the workout room.

After my run, I wiped down the machine and stretched while going over what I knew about the opposing pitcher in my mind so I could plan my approach for my at-bats. On my way back to the locker room, I passed the office Parker was using. I planned to keep walking until I heard Crew’s voice.

“I love him,” he said. “There’s no question he’s my endgame.”

I stopped in my tracks. I knew better than to eavesdrop on their conversation, but his words kept me rooted to the spot.

“I just worry about the schedule and being away from Grady so much,” he continued.

Through the slightly cracked door, I saw Parker nodding.

“You know, when I was Grady’s age, my dad was playing too.

The house felt too empty most days, even though he called each night from wherever he was.

The calls didn’t stop me from missing him, but I still thought it was the best thing.

I told all my friends my dad was in the big leagues, and just like Grady, I sat in the stands every home game and watched him, thinking there was nothing better.

It made me want to play, and now I’m the one hoping my girls look at me the same way.

Grady’s gonna grow up proud of who his dad is.

Might not always say it, but he will be. ”

“Thanks, Skip.” Crew gave him a small smile and stood. “This talk has convinced me I don’t have to choose between my son, my man, and baseball. I can actually have it all.”

I’d never make it back to the locker room before he came out, not without making it look like I was fleeing the scene of a crime. So I stayed where I was, pretending to scroll through my phone, although I couldn’t think of anything other than Crew claiming I was his endgame.

He stepped into the hallway and nearly bumped into me. “Oh, hey. I didn’t know you were out here waiting.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, about that. I was walking by and heard you talking.”

“You did?”

I nodded. “I know I shouldn’t have been listening. I’m sorry.”

He stepped closer to me. “I’m not upset, if that’s what you’re worried about. If you had any lingering doubts about what I wanted, hopefully, it’s cleared up now.”